Media & Resources

This morning the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services and the U.S. Department of Education raised the important connection between health coverage and education for student success, and issued guidelines and a toolkit of promising practices to spur action in school districts and health care systems across the country.

“The Children’s Defense Fund applauds this effort by Secretary of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services Sylvia Burwell and Acting Secretary of the U.S. Department of Education John King. Children do not come in pieces. Health matters. Every child in America should have access to health care. Connecting children to health coverage through school enrollment helps close the opportunity gaps for children to thrive and succeed in education and life in this 21^st Century competitive world.”  Marian Wright Edelman, President of Children’s Defense Fund.

“We talk frequently about an educated workforce being the foundation of our economy, but health is just as important. Everything we can do to help schools improve the health of their students will pay us back for decades to come.” Lan Bentsen, Co-Chair of Children’s Defense Fund Board of Directors.

“In Texas we have seen the tremendous difference for child outcomes when there is a strong connection and support for children and families for access to health coverage through school districts.  Superintendents, teachers and parents see the vital difference health care makes to keeping children in school and learning. This makes our children stronger today and Texas stronger tomorrow. Every child in Texas should have an equal opportunity to succeed.”  Patrick Bresette, Executive Director of Children’s Defense Fund-Texas.

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The Children’s Defense Fund Leave No Child Behind^® mission is to ensure every child a Healthy Start, a Head Start, a Fair Start, a Safe Start and a Moral Start in life and successful passage to adulthood with the help of caring families and communities.