Letters and Correspondence

The First Focus Campaign for Children submitted this statement for the record for the U.S. Senate Judiciary Committee hearing on February 23, 2016, entitled “The Unaccompanied Children Crisis: Does the Administration have a Plan to Stop the Border Surge and Adequately Monitor the Children?” The statement calls on the Administration and Congress to uphold the best interest of the child in all decisions impacting unaccompanied children, including ensuring adequate protections and resources are provided to children once they arrive in the United States and addressing the conditions in the Northern Triangle causing children to...

These 300 leading national, state, and local organizations wrote to Rep. Keith Ellison (D-MN) and Rep. Rosa DeLauro (D-CT) thanking them for introducing the Hygiene Assistance for Families of Infants and Toddlers Act of 2015 (H.R. 4055).Nearly half of infants and toddlers in the United States are living in low-income families. This means that over 5 million young children are living in families that have a hard time covering the cost of their family’s basic needs, including diapers for their young children.The Hygiene Assistance for Families of Infants and Toddlers Act would address diaper...

Thanks to the great advocacy by the Children’s Budget Coalition, led by First Focus, Congress passed a two year budget deal, the Bipartisan Budget Act of 2015, and an omnibus spending and tax package before the holidays. These were among the asks the Coalition in previous letters and in meetings with Leadership in the fall. To that end, the Coalition sent a thank you letter to House and Senate Leadership which was signed by 21 organizational members of the Coalition.

400 national, state, and local organizations sent this letter thanking cosponsors for their leadership in making homeless children and youth a legislative priority. As organizations committed to securing a bright future for children and youth, we applaud efforts to amend the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development’s definition of homelessness to include children and youth who are verified as homeless by other federal program personnel, and to restore decision-making to local communities.Support for the Homeless Children and Youth Act.Proud to stand w/ 400 orgs in support of Homeless Children and Youth Act to make homeless kids...

While the final bill is not perfect, the Every Student Succeeds Act (ESSA) is a prime example of how strong bipartisan efforts can lead to improved outcomes for children. Under No Child Left Behind, students and teachers were left with constant instability as a result of waivers granted by the Department of Education. The ESSA will put an end to this patchwork approach and allow states to develop their own accountability measures and interventions to ensure every student is thriving in the classroom.

This Foster EITC Act, introduced by Senators Bob Casey (D-PA), Patty Murray (D-WA), and Elizabeth Warren (D-MA), would help youth formerly in care by lowering the age that former foster youth could claim the EITC from 25 to 18, among other things. This would help youth who exit care and on their own – often these youth have earned income but are still struggling to make ends meet. By allowing youth formerly in care to claim the credit during the time they are transitioning to adulthood, it helps to create parity with young adults of the same age...

First Focus Campaign for Children sent this letter to the U.S. Senate Committee on Finance and the U.S. House Committee on Ways and Means to make important improvements to Earned Income Tax Credit, Child Tax Credit, and the Child and Dependent Care Tax Credit.

On November 19, 2015, the First Focus Campaign for Children sent this letter to the House of Representatives in opposition to the “American Security Against Foreign Enemies Act of 2015,” or “American SAFE Act of 2015” (H.R. 4038). The letter emphasizes the need for the United States to welcome Syrian refugees, many who are children rather than create bureaucratic hurdles that could essentially halt Syrian children and families from seeking refuge in the United States.

The Fairness for Victims of Crimes Act protects victims of abuse, child trafficking, rape, and other heinous crimes by ensuring that the money in the fund can only be used to aid victims of crimes. By ensuring that the fund is used for what it was originally intended for, funding for victim compensation and support services will be preserved.

First Focus Campaign for Children thanks Representative Bonamici and Representative Stefanik for their leadership in introducing The Early Childhood Nutrition Improvement Act of 2015 (H.R. 3886). The Act would make important changes to the Child and Adult Care Food Program (CACFP), ensuring that kids can receive an additional meal or snack when in full day care as well as simplifying the eligibility process to ease the burden on smaller centers. First Focus Campaign for Children advocates based on the idea that no child in our nation should go hungry, and every child should have access...