90 percent of the Head Start teachers had degrees in early childhood education or had obtained the Child Development Associate (CDA) credential or a state certificate to teach in a pre-school classroom.

The recent economic downturn has made addressing the needs of young residents and their families a tougher job for cities today. At a time when needs are rising, cities' ability to provide programs and services for children and families is constrained by limited resources and tight fiscal conditions. Despite these difficulties, cities are making significant strides in developing the support and resources needed to help children grow into healthy, productive adults.

These findings, from the recently released National League of Cities and Institute for Youth, Education and Families (IYEF) survey, Strengthening Families in America's Cities, spotlight the challenges and successes in municipalities' efforts to create a positive environment for the well-being of younger residents. The comprehensive survey of 501 elected officials from communities nationwide was supported by the Annie E. Casey Foundation, and is the third in a series of NLC surveys on conditions, policies and resources for the nation's children and families. Building on surveys conducted by NLC in 1988 and 1995, Strengthening Families in America's Cities examines the most critical needs for families and children in America's communities today, and highlights strategies cities are using to meet those needs.

Municipal officials see the greatest program needs in their communities as a lack of affordable housing, named the top issue by 28 percent, and availability of affordable, high-quality child care, mentioned by 24 percent. Before and afterschool programs are called a critical community need by 22 percent of elected officials, and another 22 percent cite substance abuse programs as a top local need. Other major needs mentioned by municipal leaders include employment opportunities for adults, parenting education, raising children to have healthy values, youth employment and youth crime prevention, elder care, and child abuse prevention and early childhood education.

Forty-five percent of city officials said single-parent families are the group with the most pressing needs in their communities, followed by lower-income working families, elderly and aging residents, children 13 and older, immigrant families and children under 3. Asked which groups are most underserved in their communities, local leaders put low-income working families at the top of the list, with nearly half saying their cities are doing a less-than-adequate job of meeting the needs of households where at least one member works, but makes too little to achieve family financial stability. Municipal leaders point to significant fiscal challenges in providing programs and services for children and families. City budgets for children and families have remained nearly flat over the past five years.

While just under half say their city is spending more on children and families today than it was five years ago, 42% report spending the same amount, and 11% are spending less. This represents a drop from the 1996 NLC Children and Families Survey, when 57% of cities reported an increase over the previous five years, and only 36% said their budget had remained the same. City officials say current conditions have limited their community's ability to address the needs of children and families in the past year. Forty-eight percent say their community has been able to do an excellent or good job, while half rate their cities as doing only a fair or poor job. Although these ratings are nearly identical to those expressed in the 1996 survey, there is a widespread belief now that cities' are less able to provide programs and services due to recent trends in state and federal funding.

While the survey identifies barriers to cities' ability to improve conditions for children and families--75% say a lack of funding is a major barrier--it also highlights numerous municipal successes. Many cities have made significant progress in meeting the needs of their child and family residents, with more than seven in 10 rated as doing an adequate or better job in providing public elementary through high school education, early childhood education, recreation, children's health care, child care for older children, and family-friendly workplaces. A sizeable number of cities provide programs supporting children and families as direct services, including recreation, afterschool and youth crime prevention.

Municipal officials also provide substantial leadership and advocacy on children and family issues. Looking to the future, city leaders are cautiously optimistic. Nearly four in 10 expect the environment for children and families in their communities to improve over the next two years, and 35 percent think things will stay the same. Only one in six municipal officials think conditions for their younger residents and families will worsen.