More than 20 years and 151 presidential debates have passed without a single question on child poverty. Candidates have been asked about the World Series, cursing in movies, and flag lapel pins but not preventable, costly, and immoral child deprivation in the wealthiest nation on earth. When a child is born into poverty every 51 seconds in America, we cannot afford to wait for our leaders to take this crisis seriously.
Read MoreSupporting and affirming the loving parents who provide homes for children in foster care is in the best interest of those kids. To fulfill our duty to children, it is imperative that we build policies that help foster and adoptive parents be the best they can be.
Read MoreAs we reflect back on the year – and look ahead to 2020 – we celebrate the wins that will make the future brighter for children, reflect on the attacks that put our children in danger, and recommit ourselves to the fight to protect vulnerable children and families.
Read MoreAlthough the mammoth physical wall envisioned by Trump hasn’t gone up the way he imagined, and although no new laws have actually been passed, the unseen shifts in administrative choices have erected an invisible wall against any immigration, legal or otherwise.
Read MoreToday, Congress passed two large spending packages to fund the government through FY2020 and thus averted a government shutdown. The packages authorize nearly $1.4 trillion in spending and include some important wins for children, including the FFTA.
Read MoreThe Child Tax Credit (CTC) is a powerful tool to stretch the family budget and lift children out of poverty.. From its initiation in 1997 to its recent expansion and inclusion of high-earners in 2017, the CTC has enjoyed bipartisan support. But as conversation about the credit gets louder, it is exciting to see bipartisan enthusiasm for tweaking the CTC to deliver greater benefits for the poorest families.
Read MoreCDF submitted comments against this proposed rule as it is a license to discriminate and is in direct opposition to the cardinal rule of child welfare, that the best interests of the child must always be paramount. Simply put, this rule threatens the safety, permanency and well-being of children.
Read MoreThere is no safe way to detain children and families. This administration’s attempt to expand family detention is dangerous, and the Children’s Defense Fund will continue to fight its cruelty.
Read MoreSeven years ago today, twenty first graders walked into Sandy Hook Elementary School but never walked out.
Read MoreVaccines are essential to protecting children, families, and communities, and herd immunity is especially critical for vulnerable children with medical conditions as well as infants too young to be immunized. To maintain and increase vaccine coverage that will ensure necessary herd immunity, parents must have confidence in the safety and efficacy of vaccines, exemptions must be restricted, and existing exemptions must be monitored.
Read More