Children have never needed a strong and independent advocate more than they do right now. Threats to the well-being of our nation’s children range from rising numbers of children losing health coverage to traumatizing family separations, from the growing gun violence epidemic to unsafe living conditions, and so much more.
That’s why the Children’s Defense Fund keeps pushing for policies that will improve the odds for all children and fighting against those that would harm them, as we have for 46 years. And we couldn’t do it without you. Here’s a look at some of the ways your support helped us defend children this year:
10. More than 12,000 children in need developed reading skills and self-esteem at CDF Freedom Schools® across the country. Read more.
9. More children will be kept safely with their families and out of foster care thanks to a technical guide we created with our partners to support states and agencies implementing the Family First Prevention Services Act. Read more.
8. Hundreds of teens stood up against the gun violence epidemic when they hand-delivered copies of CDF’s new Protect Children, Not Guns report to Capitol Hill. Read more.
7. NPR shared with millions of Morning Edition listeners how the CDF Freedom Schools movement is training the next generation of advocates. Read more.
6. New York City’s children will be healthier after CDF-New York worked to pass laws to remove the leading cause of childhood lead poisoning from homes. Read more.
5. Youth in the Los Angeles criminal justice system will be safer under the care of a Probation Oversight Committee that CDF-California fought hard to create. Read more.
4. A federal judge blocked a dangerous rule that ignored standards for the care of children in U.S. custody, citing a friend-of-the-court brief that we submitted with our partners on behalf of immigrant children and families. Read more.
3. Hundreds of people showed their support for immigrant families and children at a rally CDF-Texas organized to protest a new detention center for children. Read more.
2. More than 75,000 people have joined us and 18-year-old Israel Glenn to call for a child poverty question in an upcoming presidential debate. Read more.
1. The Guardian told the heartbreaking stories of children living in poverty who would most benefit from the policy proposals in CDF’s recent End Child Poverty Now report. Read more.