Children's Defense Fund - Campaign for New Priorities

One Year in the Life of American Children:
2,243 children and youth under 20 commit suicide.
4,941 children and youth under 20 are killed by firearms.
112,230 children under 18 are arrested for violent crimes.
531,591 babies are born to teen mothers.
613,514 children are corporally punished in public schools.
1,200,000 latchkey children come home to a house where there is a gun.
1,977,862 students are suspended from public schools.
2,695,010 children are reported abused or neglected.
Meanwhile...between 1995 and 1999 the Defense Department will spend $150 billion on nuclear weapons alone. That money could fund:
4.4 million low-income college students
2 million summer jobs for youth annually
Head Start for 1.4 million kids
Tutoring for 9.8 million students
Treatment for 30,000 drug addicts in one year
Infant care for 2 million families...
and much, much more.
Sources: Children's Defense Fund, Center for Defense Information, Defense Budget Project, and Campaign for New Priorities.