FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: March 7, 2017

(Washington, D.C.) – In response to the release of the American Health Care Act by Republican leadership in the House of Representatives last evening, a bill that would repeal major provisions of the Affordable Care Act (ACA) and impose a per capita cap on the Medicaid program, First Focus Campaign for Children (FFCC) releases the following statement by President Bruce Lesley:

The American Health Care Act would, as currently written, be a major step backwards for our nation’s children. The uninsured rate for children reached a record low of 4.8 percent in 2015 and has dropped by 68 percent since passage of the Children’s Health Insurance Program two decades ago. As a nation, we have made enormous progress in terms of ensuring our nation’s children have health insurance coverage. Now is not the time to reverse this progress; the American Health Care Act would seriously threaten the health and well-being of millions of children.

First and foremost, FFCC strongly opposes the provisions in the bill that impose a per capita cap upon the Medicaid program, which currently provides coverage to an estimated 35 million low-income children in this country. Per capita caps are nothing more than arbitrary limits imposed upon states by the federal government that, by definition, shortchange states for the costs associated with care for children with special health care needs, such as children with cancer, spina bifida, cystic fibrosis, asthma, and sickle cell anemia, or other higher-cost populations such as newborns and children in foster care. It is the care to these vulnerable groups of children that could be threatened and rationed by the federal imposition of a per capita cap on states.

In fact, since the entire purpose of a per capita cap is to cut federal support to Medicaid, states may be forced to either finance any shortfall themselves or implement various forms of rationing, such as making cuts in coverage, benefits, and payment rates to provides, shifting more costs to low-income families, or limiting access to care for children, pregnant women, adults, people with disabilities, and senior citizens. This could be an outright disaster for millions of our nation’s most vulnerable citizens.

Although the American Health Care Act retains the provision in the ACA that allows children to stay on their parents’ health care to age 26, which we support, it phases out parallel language that allows children in foster care to retain their Medicaid coverage to age 26 through presumptive eligibility. Children aging out of foster care are some of our nation’s most vulnerable young adults with health care needs associated with their childhood trauma that threaten their well-being. Now is not the time to impose greater administrative burdens and delays on their health coverage, while also underfinancing the care of all children in–and who have aged out of–foster care through the Medicaid per capita cap.

These provisions also violate a campaign promise by President Donald Trump to not cut the Medicaid program and to ensure that no one would lose health coverage under the bill.

As for the changes made by repealing the tax subsidies in the ACA and replacing them with a different set of tax credits in the individual market, FFCC is concerned that such changes may leave children with special health care needs particularly vulnerable. Unfortunately, the legislation currently does not include a much-needed score by the Congressional Budget Office (CBO) along with an analysis of how the bill might impact existing coverage.

Congress should commit to “do no harm” to the health insurance coverage upon which our nation’s children rely. Since this bill threatens to do real harm to Medicaid coverage that an estimated 35 million count on for their care, we urge Congress to return to the drawing board, schedule congressional hearings to discuss and receiving input on health care reform proposals, allow Members of Congress and the public ample time to read and study the legislation, and wait until the CBO does its job in providing a score and analysis of how the bill would impact coverage rates and our nation’s health care system. Children deserve better than to have adults in Congress threaten their health coverage.

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: FEBRUARY 8, 2017

(WASHINGTON, D.C.) – Amid sweeping changes by the incoming Trump Administration, First Focus Campaign for Children has issued its policy recommendations with a clear “do no harm” standard toward policies that impact America’s children during the first 100 days of the new presidency.

These child-focused recommendations come in light of President Donald Trump’s inauguration speech in which he acknowledged the universality of the rights of all children, saying: “And whether a child is born in the urban sprawl of Detroit or the windswept plains of Nebraska, they look up at the same night sky, they fill their heart with the same dreams and they are infused with the breath of life by the same Almighty Creator.”

Top recommendations from First Focus policy experts include:

• Improving the health of children by funding the CHIP program, reducing asthma triggers, and protecting against lead poisoning;
• Applying a “do no harm” standard for any repeal-and-replace measures of the Affordable Care Act;
• Ending child poverty by strengthening family tax credits and setting a national Child Poverty Target;
• Ensuring immigration policies protect child safety and well-being by protecting DACA and providing increased support to unaccompanied minors;
• Reauthorizing the Maternal, Infant, and Early Childcare Home Visiting (MIECHV) program to ensure the best start in life for young children; and
• Focusing on child abuse and neglect response efforts to support children in foster care and end human trafficking.

In a statement First Focus Campaign for Children President and CEO Bruce Lesley said, “The recommendations we are putting forth are bold. We will not shy away from issues that impact every citizen – including the 16 million children that will be born in this country be born over the next four years. Those children deserve to be met with and be assured of a bright future.”

Read the entire list of child policy recommendations at CampaignForChildren.org.

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The First Focus Campaign for Children is a 501(c)(4) nonprofit organization affiliated with First Focus, a bipartisan children’s advocacy organization. The Campaign for Children advocates directly for legislative change in Congress to ensure children and families are a priority in federal policy and budget decisions
First Focus Campaign for Children is a bipartisan nonprofit children’s advocacy organization that advocates directly to ensure that children and families are a priority in federal budget and policy decisions.

Over the course of the next four years, 16 million children will be born in this country and they deserve to be met with and be assured of a bright future.

As such, the following are child- and family-focused policy recommendations that the President can follow to create a future that our children need and deserve.

Our recommendations are broken into seven broad categories:

• ensuring a safe and healthy future;
• supporting families with children;
• ending food insecurity and promoting child nutrition;
• providing children with an early, solid foundation;
• helping every student succeed,
• focusing child abuse and neglect response efforts on child well- being; and
• promoting child and family values.

Within each category is a list of goals, and actions the new Administration can take to reach those goals, all of which will improve the lives of our children.

To truly make America great, we must invest in our nation’s future – our children. First Focus Campaign for Children looks forward to working together towards creating a future that all children – and our nation – deserve.

Download the 100 Days Recommendations here.

YouthToday

1/9/17

By Molly McCluskey

WASHINGTON — Candidate Donald Trump offered little insight into his prospective policies surrounding youth and families, and President-Elect Trump has not provided any more clarity. Many youth advocacy groups say their approach to the beginning of the new administration is a sort of cautious optimism.

Their top priorities for the first 100 days are strengthening tax credits for families, increasing access to affordable child care, making more housing more affordable, investing in mentoring and after-school programs, and ensuring that youth employment is included in plans to increase jobs nationwide.

Read More...

H.R. 4722 would deny millions children access to the refundable portion of the Child Tax Credit (CTC).

Currently, immigrant parents who are ineligible for a Social Security Number (SSN) pay their taxes using an Individual Identification Number, and are able to claim the CTC and its refundable portion for qualifying children. By requiring a SSN, more than 5 million children living in low-income immigrant families, the vast majority of whom are U.S. Citizens, would be directly harmed.

The CTC and the ACTC were designed to benefit children, and we are opposed to any change in eligibility that would undermine the best interest of children.

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 flee.

ThinkProgress

By Esther Yu-Hsi Lee

2/12/16

At immigration court hearings, young children clutching teddy bears for comfort have been known to face off against trained government lawyers to prove that they deserve a chance to stay in the country. As with all immigrants appearing before judges, these children are not entitled to a public defender — and though some children are lucky enough to obtain pro bono lawyers, only about one-third are represented by counsel.

That’s why Democratic senators are hoping to fill the void in legal representation by introducing the “Fair Day in Court for Kids Act of 2016,” a bill that aims to expand legal access for asylum-seeking immigrants and children in deportation proceedings.

“We know that having a competent attorney can make the difference between life and death,” Joanne Lin, American Civil Liberties Union legislative counsel, said in a press statement. “The ACLU urges Congress to swiftly pass this measure to ensure due process and fairness for children and families fleeing persecution and brutal violence.”

The bill would require the appointment ...

Read More

Washington – Access to legal counsel dramatically improves the outcomes of Central American refugee children seeking asylum in the United States and new legislation introduced in the U.S. Senate would guarantee that no immigrant child would ever have to face the court system alone.

The First Focus Campaign for Children (FFCC) applauds the introduction of the Fair Day in Court for Kids Act, introduced today by U.S. Sens. Harry Reid (D-NV), Dick Durbin, (D-IL), Patrick Leahy (D-VT), Patty Murray (D-WA), Bob Menendez (D-NJ), Al Franken (D-MN), and Mazie Hirono (D-HI).

“Leaders in the U.S. Senate today took an important first step to acknowledge that this is a refugee crisis, not a border security issue, and that children and families coming to the U.S. from Central America deserve a fair shot at asylum,” said Bruce Lesley, President of First Focus Campaign for Children.

In January, FFCC and more than 50 national and state children and families’ advocacy organizations sent a letter to President Obama urging his administration to stop prioritizing the removal of children and families and instead focus on ensuring that children and families seeking asylum have appropriate legal representation and access to legal services.

“This is an important shift away from deportation and enforcement to a more humanitarian response that ensures children and families with valid asylum claims are properly screened, get their day in court and are represented equally and fairly,” Lesley said. “We commend Senators Reid, Durbin, Leahy, Murray and Menendez for not turning their back on children fleeing the unconscionable levels of violence and abuse in Central America.”

Today, FFCC Vice President of Immigration and Child Rights Wendy Cervantes delivered the following remarks during a joint press conference with Sen. Menendez and representatives from the American Immigration Lawyers Association and Kids in Need of Defense:

“The First Focus Campaign for Children applauds Senators Reid, Durbin, Leahy, Menendez, Franken, Murray, and Hirono for introducing the Fair Day in Court for Kids Act of 2016.

In America, no child should be forced to face a courtroom alone, especially when the outcome may be a matter of life or death. Children are not little adults. This bill would ensure that children seeking protection in the United States are guaranteed legal counsel in their immigration proceedings.

As advocates for children, we’ve been urging the Administration, as well as Congress, to put the best interest of children first, ever since the beginning of the Central American refugee crisis. Children fleeing Honduras, Guatemala, and El Salvador do so because they have no other choice.

These are children who deserve the very best protection our country can provide, yet many continue to go without a fair day in court, and others are returned to the very danger they were trying to flee without adequate assessment.

As advocates for children, we’ve also been gravely concerned with the Administration’s enforcement-heavy response to this crisis because it puts children in harm’s way. We have seen kids go through expedited removal proceedings—often without counsel; children and mothers locked up for months in detention facilities; and communities terrorized by ICE raids in the middle of the night.

We’ve also seen increased enforcement efforts to stop children and families who are seeking help from ever reaching the United States. We agree with Senator Menendez that a deterrence is a flawed and dangerous strategy, and that no family or child should be returned to their death.

Instead of showing children compassion, these misguided policies have caused them further trauma.  We as a country can and must do better than this.

We believe that this bill is an important first step to fulfill our moral and legal obligation to do right by vulnerable children who urgently need our help.

In addition to ensuring that all children and mothers have a lawyer, the bill ensures that all individuals in detention, including families with children, receive legal orientation programs so that they understand their rights.

We’re also pleased that this bill creates a pilot program to help unaccompanied children better access legal counsel and get connected to the basic services every healthy child needs, such as enrolling in school.

As a bipartisan children’s advocacy organization, our interest lies in the welfare of kids. We’re interested in seeing our legal system, hailed by many as the greatest in the world, do right by kids who come to our country looking for help. Every child, no matter where they come from, deserves a fair shot at safety and prosperity. While this bill won’t fix the conditions that are driving thousands of unaccompanied minors to seek refuge in our country, it will address a major flaw in our legal system that continues to put the lives of innocent kids in peril. ”

Learn more about the First Focus Center for the Children of Immigrants.

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The First Focus Campaign for Children is a 501(c)(4) nonprofit organization affiliated with First Focus, a bipartisan children’s advocacy organization. The Campaign for Children advocates directly for legislative change in Congress to ensure children and families are a priority in federal policy and budget decisions. For more information, visit www.campaignforchildren.org.

Washington – The end-of-year spending bill and tax package released by Congress today calls for permanently extending the Earned Income Tax Credit (EITC) and Child Tax Credit (CTC), effectively helping millions of America’s children and families from falling deeper into poverty.

Studies have showed that combined, the EITC and CTC expand children’s opportunities to be healthier, perform better in school, and have higher earnings in adulthood. The credits are a critical support to help families offset the cost of raising children.

“We applaud Congress for coming together in the best interest of children and making the EITC and CTC permanent,” said Bruce Lesley, President of First Focus Campaign for Children. “Working families need and deserve opportunities to succeed, and today Congress and the White House came together to agree to extend these important federal family tax provisions.”

While the family tax credits benefit the majority of working families, proposed eligibility changes in the new package are concerning, specifically because they prevent some individuals who are issued new Social Security numbers from being able to make retroactive EITC claims. Also troubling is a provision that would make it more difficult for immigrant parents to obtain an Individual Taxpayer Identification Number (ITIN) to pay their taxes, an additional barrier that singles out working immigrant families.

“Children of immigrants comprise more than 30 percent of all children in low-income families in America, and it’s critical that Congress makes decisions based on the best interest of all of America’s children,” Lesley said.

Studying the Cost of Child Poverty

Included in the omnibus spending bill is a provision that requests the National Academy of Sciences (NAS) to provide an evidence-based, non-partisan holistic analysis of the cost of child poverty, and make recommendations to Congress to reduce the number of children living in poverty by half in 10 years.

First Focus Campaign for Children has worked diligently with lawmakers in both chambers in support of the NAS study. The study is also a critical component of the Child Poverty Reduction Act, which would establish a national goal of eradicating child poverty in 20 years.

“We’re pleased to see that policymakers on both sides of the aisle are supportive of this practical, first step toward ending child poverty for our children and families,” Lesley said. “We’re especially thankful of the leadership of Reps. Lucille Roybal-Allard and Barbara Lee, who championed this effort.”

Strengthening the Pillars of Education

Today’s spending package increases discretionary spending in education by $1.171 billion, including a $500 million increase in Title I allocations and a $4.958 million increase for programs targeting the education of homeless children and youth. The increase in spending still falls under the provisions of No Child Left Behind, as new education provisions under the new Every Student Succeeds Act are not scheduled to take effect until the 2017-18 school year.

“There are more than 1.3 million homeless children and youth in America’s schools today,” Lesley said. “Homeless children and youth face unique barriers to academic success, and we’re grateful that this funding will help the kids who need it most. For many children without homes, school is their life.”

Additional spending provisions that strengthen children’s education include an important funding increase for Head Start and the Child Care and Development Block Grants – by $570 million and $326 million, respectively – and reauthorized funding for Preschool Development Grants. These bipartisan investments are an important commitment to early childhood programs that support and nurture the youngest children during their most important stages of development.

“These programs yield short- and long-term benefits to children’s health, educational achievement, and future success, all to the benefit of our national prosperity,” Lesley said.

Protecting Family Health Plans

The tax extenders package places a two-year hold on the “Cadillac Tax,” a provision of the Affordable Care Act that was intended to rein in high-priced employee-offered policies but instead, disproportionately harms kids’ coverage. The tax incents employers to begin increasing health care costs to families who are already struggling.

The two-year delay will allow working families to avoid higher costs and reduced benefits when it comes to employee-sponsored healthcare.

“Although this is a well-intended effort on the part of the Administration and lawmakers, the reality is that the Cadillac Tax disproportionately harms dependent coverage for children, and we’re pleased to see there is broad, bipartisan support to delay or repeal it,” Lesley said.

Keeping Tobacco out of the Hands of Children

Lawmakers protected the health of children and teenagers by rejecting a proposed policy rider that would have shielded electronic cigarette manufacturers from the standard FDA approval process.

A new generation of smokers is becoming addicted to nicotine. The Centers for Disease and Control Prevention reported that e-cigarette use among middle- and high-school students tripled in one year, and a recent Harvard study has linked the flavoring contained in e-cigarette vapor to a condition called “Popcorn Lung.”

Moreover, e-cigarette retailers have aggressively marketed their products to children, by naming and branding e-cigarettes as popular children’s candy and cereal brands.

“We’re optimistic that Congress will do even more to protect children from these dangerous and deceitful marketing practices,” Lesley said. “For example, the Child Nicotine Poisoning Prevention Act would require child safety packaging for all liquid nicotine containers.”

Better Nutrition for Kids

Child nutrition standards prevailed in the omnibus package by excluding riders that would have undermined them, as previously proposed.

The spending bill also provides $6.35 billion for WIC to fully fund participation of low-income pregnant, breast feeding, and postpartum women as well as infants and children up to age five, and summer Electronic Benefit Demonstration grants will receive $23 million to provide families of low-income children access to food during the summer months when school is out.

“This compromise isn’t perfect, but it’s good for children, good for families, and offers a hopeful glimpse into a more cooperative environment in Congress where America’s children have a better seat at the negotiating table,” Lesley said.

Download the First Focus Omnibus and Tax Agreement Fact Sheet. 

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The First Focus Campaign for Children is a 501(c)(4) nonprofit organization affiliated with First Focus, a bipartisan children’s advocacy organization. The Campaign for Children advocates directly for legislative change in Congress to ensure children and families are a priority in federal policy and budget decisions. For more information, visit www.campaignforchildren.org.

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.