Every facet of the lives of children and families are being disrupted during this historic public health and economic crisis. Unfortunately, both their short-term and long-term consequences and challenges are not being fully considered or discussed. This crisis is severe and will last for months or even years to come. Moreover, the resulting physical and mental health consequences, impact on education and child development, and economic implications of this calamity will last well beyond the coronavirus itself.

That is why First Focus Campaign for Children called on Congress to safeguard the physical, emotional, financial, and developmental health and well-being of our nation’s 74 million children with a specific package of legislative proposals across a range of issues — including early childhood development.

Child care providers across the country have already closed, temporarily or permanently, due to the coronavirus crisis. Families are without care and early educators are without jobs. Those providers that are still open are struggling to provide care and services to the families of health and other essential workers to enable those parents to work, while also trying to maintain their businesses and staff who need to provide for their own families. Not only do child care providers need help with costs and paying employees now, but we also must ensure that these providers are able to reopen when our economic recovery from the coronavirus begins. Child care is quite literally the backbone of our economy, and our economy cannot function without it. Child care needs an investment that reflects its true value and demand.

The CARES Act provided $3.5 billion as a down payment for child care through increased funding for the Child Care and Development Block Grant. The legislation also provided $349 billion in Small Business Administration (SBA) loans that child care providers, as well as providers of vital services including healthcare and human services, can potentially access. These were encouraging starts, but do not address the comprehensive needs of the child care field right now. A total investment of $50 billion is needed in flexible, dedicated child care funding to provide:

• Support for Child Care Providers: Pay providers to cover ongoing operating costs while they are closed for public health reasons, or open but with reduced enrollment to serve children of essential workers.
• Support for Workers: Provide essential duty pay for child care workers in programs that are remaining open during the crisis.
• Health and Safety Needs: Provide materials, resources, training and other public health supports regarding health and safety practices.
• Support for Families: Eliminate copayments or tuition for families during this public health and economic crisis while ensuring that providers are still paid.
• Substitute Staff: Fund and pay substitute educators where needed and available.
• Supplies: Purchase materials for providers that cannot afford or find supplies.
• Virtual Learning: Provide virtual learning opportunities when appropriate and mental health supports for families.
• Child Care as Small Businesses: Support for helping child care providers navigate small business loan application processes.

Additionally, increased funding for the SBA Paycheck Protection Program should be included in forthcoming legislation so that more child care providers and others can access money vital to keeping their businesses open. The PPP is not a comprehensive fix for child care and $50 billion is needed in dedicated child care funding, but these SBA loans could help some child care providers in the short term.

Families served through the Maternal, Infant, and Early Childhood Home Visiting (MIECHV) program who were already facing complex needs are now experiencing unprecedented challenges as they try to maintain the vital relationships and services provided through the MIECHV program. Home visitors provide a critical link of support for families who are facing a variety of challenges that will be exacerbated by this crisis. Home visiting was not included in the coronavirus packages passed by Congress, and program flexibility as well as additional funding is needed. We encourage you to include the following in future coronavirus legislation:

• MIECHV Funding: Prioritize a one-time $100 million appropriation for MIECHV. These funds can be used to train home visitors to deliver services through technology that enables home visits from a distance, as well as tangible needs for families including technology, formula, and diapers.
• Approval for Remote Access: Allow virtual visits to be considered home visits through the end of the calendar year to safely preserve valuable relationships without being penalized.
• Support for Home Visiting Staff: Maintain all funding for and staffing levels of MIECHV programs regardless of potential temporary reductions in enrollment to preserve the existing home visiting infrastructure.

For a full list of our specific policy recommendations across the array of children’s issues, check out our letter to Congress.

Every facet of the lives of children and families are being disrupted during this historic public health and economic crisis. Unfortunately, both their short-term and long-term consequences and challenges are not being fully considered or discussed. This crisis is severe and will last for months or even years to come. Moreover, the resulting physical and mental health consequences, impact on education and child development, and economic implications of this calamity will last well beyond the coronavirus itself.

That is why First Focus Campaign for Children called on Congress to safeguard the physical, emotional, financial, and developmental health and well-being of our nation’s 74 million children with a specific package of legislative proposals across a range of issues — including juvenile justice.

There are approximately 43,000 justice-involved youth who are detained in facilities away from their homes on an average night in our country. According to the Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention (OJJDP), nearly 60 percent of these youth are detained for violating terms of their probation, committing status offenses (such as skipping school or running away), or committing misdemeanors. In addition to other status offenses, youth should also not be subject to criminal punishment for violation of quarantine protocols, as their brains are still undergoing critical stages of development. Facilities pose a serious risk to these young people during the pandemic and an increased health cost to states. Justice-involved youth are particularly vulnerable because they are more likely to have underlying health issues. Congress can respond to the needs of states and justice-involved youth by taking the following actions:

• Increase Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention Programming: Appropriate $100 million to prevent and mitigate the COVID-19 risks for justice-involved youth. These funds should remain available until September 30, 2021, to prevent, prepare for, and respond to coronavirus, of which $75 million shall be granted to state and local agencies for juvenile delinquency programming authorized by section 221 of the Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention Act of 1974, and $25 million for delinquency prevention, as authorized by section 504 of the Act.
• Incentivize States to Release Youth from Detention Facilities: Incentivize states and localities to release detained youth by increasing the FMAP by 2 percent for any state or jurisdiction that enacts widespread policies that release 10 percent or more of their state prison and youth detention population. Allow states to receive an additional 1 percent increase in FMAP for working with local jurisdictions to release 15 percent or more of their local jail population for the duration of the pandemic. These states and local jurisdictions can remain eligible for an increased FMAP if they maintain these decreases after the immediate COVID-19 crisis has passed.
• Urge Bureau of Prisons to Release Juveniles from Custody: In 2017 there were fewer than 45 youth in the custody of the Bureau of Prisons. The recidivism rates for youth in BOP custody is low but the risk of them contracting this deadly virus while in congregate care is unacceptably high. Congress should incentivize BOP to release juveniles from custody and provide funding for alternative ways to meet these youth‘s supervisory and treatment needs.

For a full list of our specific policy recommendations across the array of children’s issues, check out our letter to Congress.

Every facet of the lives of children and families are being disrupted during this historic public health and economic crisis. Unfortunately, both their short-term and long-term consequences and challenges are not being fully considered or discussed. This crisis is severe and will last for months or even years to come. Moreover, the resulting physical and mental health consequences, impact on education and child development, and economic implications of this calamity will last well beyond the coronavirus itself.

That is why First Focus Campaign for Children called on Congress to safeguard the physical, emotional, financial, and developmental health and well-being of our nation’s 74 million children with a specific package of legislative proposals across a range of issues — including child welfare.

Policymakers have worked to keep families safe and together by passing the Family First Prevention Services Act and the Family First Transition Act and thereby investing in programs that prevent abuse and neglect and keep children from coming into foster care. However, the COVID-19 public health crisis threatens the supports that are critical for the children, youth, and families that receive a variety of services from state child welfare agencies. COVID-19 has caused increases in known risk factors for child abuse and neglect: social isolation, parental stress, and economic strain.

State funding is likely to be sparse. Congressional action is needed to maintain services for the first-time parents whose home visiting professional is teaching them how to babyproof their home for their baby with special needs; for the retired grandparents who are receiving kinship funds to help cover the cost of caring for their grandchildren while their parents get substance abuse treatment; and for the child who is meeting with a child protection worker during an investigation of abuse or neglect. Furthermore, older youth in foster care need extended support as they prepare to age out of foster care with no academic or occupational stability as the country’s physical and economic health are in disarray. To achieve these goals, Congress must:

• Prevent Child Abuse and Neglect: Increase funding to CAPTA Title II Community-Based Child Abuse Prevention (CB-CAP) grants by $1 billion to quickly deploy resources directly to locally-driven prevention services and programs. CB-CAPs provide community-based grants to all 50 states for the express purpose of preventing child abuse and neglect, including key services like state child abuse hotlines, voluntary home visiting programs, parent support programs, baby pantries, distribution of food and medication, family resources centers, and respite care services. This will target specific prevention services to communities where it is needed most, help state and local systems adapt to the unique challenges of serving families during this pandemic, and avoid waiting lists.
• Continue Supports for Youth Aging Out of Foster Care: Amend the Fostering Connections to Success and Increasing Adoptions Act of 2008 to allow state child welfare agencies to receive federal reimbursement through Title IV-E of the Social Security Act for 100 percent of the cost of supporting youth who turn 21 during this public health crisis and for 180 days after its declared end.
• Stabilize Families and Support Foster Parents: Increase funding to Title IV-B, Part 2, the MaryLee Allen Promoting Safe and Stable Families Program (PSSF) by $1 billion to help eliminate the need for out-of-home placements, both to protect children and to prevent the child welfare system from being overwhelmed by the crisis. PSSF is a critical funding source for stabilizing families, supporting foster parents, and other prevention efforts for states during times of crisis.
• Apply FMAP Increase to Prevention Funding Now: Ensure the FMAP rate increase is provided to the new Title IV-E Prevention Program. This is important to clarify because the Title IV-E Prevention Program is not currently reimbursed at the FMAP rate, but instead is reimbursed at a 50 percent rate (it moves to FMAP reimbursement in 2027), so we recommend a total of 50 percent plus the final FMAP increase.
• Provide Tech and Protective Resources to Child Protection Workforce: Increase funding to CAPTA Title I by $500 million to ensure state and local child protection systems can adapt to these new circumstances while continuing to respond quickly to the reports of child abuse and address barriers to ordinary service delivery during the pandemic. This funding will ensure the child protection workforce has necessary technological and protective resources to prevent the interruption of vital support services to children and families amidst this crisis. In-person investigations are being disrupted in ways that put children at risk of great harm.
• Keep Child Welfare Courts Safe and Open: Increase funding to the Court Improvement Program (CIP) by $30 million to mitigate the impact of the pandemic on the functioning of child welfare courts. Court shutdowns, need for emergency investment in technology, and reduced staffing are already resulting in delayed hearings, and, ultimately, compromised child safety, delayed family reunification, and loss of accountability and critical support to child victims and their families. CIP is the only source of federal funding for state courts related to child welfare and is well-positioned to help address challenges in the administration of legal proceedings in this field.
• Increase Amount of and Access to Funds for Independent Living Services: Boost Title IV-E Chafee Foster Care Independence Program (Chafee) funds above the current level by $500 million and temporarily waive the 30 percent Chafee housing cap for the duration of the crisis in order to provide additional support for living independent services for current and former foster youth.
• Provide Hazard Pay for Social Workers: It is best practice for social workers to increase face-to-face contact with children on their caseloads during a crisis. This increased contact helps prevent abuse and neglect, allows for the youth to communicate confidentially with their worker, and also provides increased support to the child and their caregiver during times of instability. While many workers are replacing face-to-face contact with virtual meetings, there will be times that face-to-face contact is best for the child and their family. Congress should incentivize the necessary use of this best practice by allowing state agencies to be reimbursed for hazard pay through CAPTA.

For a full list of our specific policy recommendations across the array of children’s issues, check out our letter to Congress.

“This is the most harmful healthcare bill yet. It’s beleaguering for American families to wonder what their future holds, as Congress cobbles together its latest answer to the ACA. We need policymakers to rethink this bill, with a clear ‘do no harm’ focus on our youngest citizens. The Graham-Cassidy bill is the complete opposite – it would do significant harm to the 37 million children who rely on Medicaid.”“The First Focus Campaign for Children strongly urges the Senate to oppose the Graham-Cassidy proposal, and instead create a healthcare solution that both sides can agree on – one that puts children and families first, and builds a brighter future for generations to come.”

WASHINGTON—The First Focus Campaign for Children strongly supports the bipartisan agreement in the Senate Finance Committee to fund a five-year extension to the popular and effective Children’s Health Insurance Program (CHIP), which covers 9 million low-income children. Funding for the program is set to expire on September 30.

First Focus Campaign for Children President Bruce Lesley said:

“We applaud Chairman Hatch and Ranking Member Wyden for making the health and well-being of America’s children a priority. Nearly 9 million kids from hardworking families who can’t afford health coverage, but earn too much to qualify for Medicaid, depend on CHIP.

Since CHIP was enacted 20 years ago, the uninsured rate for children in the US has been slashed by two-thirds. We’ve made too much progress to move backwards or put the health of millions of children at risk.

CHIP has proven to be an enormous, child-centered success story. We urge Congressional leaders to take action and pass, without delay, this proposed bipartisan five-year CHIP extension.”