First Focus Campaign for Children President Bruce Lesley sent a letter to Representative Rosa DeLauro and Kirsten Gillibrand thanking them for reintroducing the Family and Medical Insurance Leave (FAMILY) Act of 2017.

The FAMILY Act would make workers in all companies, regardless of size, eligible for up to 12 weeks of partial income for family and medical leave, including pregnancy, childbirth recovery, serious health condition of a child, parent, spouse or domestic partner, birth or adoption of a child and/or military caregiving and leave. Workers could earn 66 percent of their monthly wages, up to a capped amount.

Read the letter here.

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.

###

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...

Read the letter

The First Focus Campaign for Children and 21 other members of the Children's Budget Coalition today sent a letter to Sens. Roy Blunt, R-Mo., and Patty Murray, D-Wash., and Reps. Tom Cole, R-Okla., and Rosa DeLauro, D-Conn., urging them to support robust funding under a bipartisan compromise on federal programs that impact children under the jurisdiction of the Appropriations Subcommittees on Labor, Health & Human Services and Education.

According to the 2015 Children's Budget Book published by First Focus, total government spending on children in the last five years, when adjusted for inflation, is down 9.4 percent, more than twice the rate of overall spending decreases of 4 percent. Members of the Children's Budget Coalition are concerned that disproportionate cuts to children’s programs will have a long-term impact on the future of our nation’s children and families.

Signatories to the letter include:

Alliance for Strong Families and Communities
Child Welfare League of America
Children’s Health Fund
Easterseals
First Focus Campaign for Children
Institute for Child Success
MENTOR: The National Mentoring Partnership
Moms Rising
National Association for the Education of Homeless Children and Youth
National Education Association
National Network for Youth
National Title I Association
Public Advocacy for Kids
Save the Children
Save the Children Action Network
Share our Strength
United Way
National WIC Association
YMCA of the USA
Youth Villages
American Academy of Pediatrics

Read the letter here.

On April 15, 2016, the First Focus Campaign for Children submitted a Statement for the Record to the House and Senate Committees on Appropriations Subcommittee on Labor, Health & Human Services, Education, and related agencies.

There are more than 200 distinct child and family programs and the Appropriations Subcommittee on Labor, Health & Human Services and Education has jurisdiction over many. Every year for the last ten years, First Focus has published an annual Children’s Budget book that offers a detailed analysis and guide to federal spending levels and priorities on children and families.

Last year’s Children’s Budget 2015 showed that the share of federal spending dedicated to children fell to just 7.89 percent, down from its highest level of 8.5 percent in 2010. Consequently, the federal share of discretionary spending dedicated to children has dropped by 7.2 percent over the last five years.

In its April 15 Statement for the Record, the Campaign for Children asked Congress to increase funding for several critical programs that directly impact children and their families.

Washington – The Hygiene Assistance for Families of Infants and Toddlers Act (HR. 4055) received a boost of support today as more than 300 national and state organizations expressed their strong approval of the legislation.

Introduced by U.S. Reps. Keith Ellison (D-MN), and Rosa DeLauro (D-CT), the “DIAPER” bill directs the Department of Health and Human Services to provide grants to states to create demonstration projects to make diapers more affordable to low-income families. It also amends Title XI of the Social Security Act to exempt diaper benefits from the territorial payment ceiling.

“This legislation puts the developmental needs of young children first, and we commend Representatives Ellison and DeLauro for thinking of this as a children’s issue,” said Bruce Lesley, President of First Focus Campaign for Children. “Being able to afford diapers, food, healthcare, and other necessities are struggles that low-income families have to face every day.”

The diverse coalition of national organizations who support the law – from the National Women’s Law Center to the Augusta Food Bank in Maine – understand the importance of making diapers affordable and available to all families. The current lack of a formal support system to ensure the hygiene needs of more than 5 million children living in low-income families makes diaper affordability one of the biggest economic challenges for families today.

Diapers can cost a family more than $100 per month, disproportionately affecting the poor. According to a 2014 Center for Economic and Policy Research (CEPR) report, the poorest 20 percent of families spent 14 percent of their income on diapers. Because so many parents lack the diapers they need, hundreds of diaper banks have popped up around the country in the last decade. The National Diaper Bank Network (NDBN) estimates that one in three families struggle with the cost of diapers today.

“All babies deserve access to clean diapers,” said Joanne Goldblum, NDBN executive director. “The legislation introduced by Representatives Ellison and DeLauro demonstrates Congressional leadership and readiness to improve the well-being of all U.S. families, especially those experiencing diaper need – a hidden consequence of poverty. Because of the bill, more Americans are learning about diaper need, supporting the growing diaper bank movement, and working to improve all of our communities by getting clean diapers to babies in need.”

A lack of diapers can affect the physical wellbeing of millions of infants and toddlers and prohibit parents from accessing child care, as well as cause considerable stress for struggling families. According to a Yale School of Medicine study, diaper need is a stronger predictor of depression and anxiety among mothers than food insecurity.

“Living in poverty undermines babies’ brain development in key areas that are critical for school success,” said Matthew Melmed, executive director of ZERO TO THREE. “Too many parents are forced to make dangerous choices between basic needs, such as providing diapers, buying food or heating their home. The Hygiene Assistance Act helps families meet those needs – a crucial step in ensuring their children get off to a strong start.”

To learn more about the Hygiene Assistance Act, click here. For a full list of organizations that support the Hygiene Assistance Act, click here.

###

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.

The National Diaper Bank Network (NDBN) is a nationwide nonprofit dedicated to eliminating diaper need in America, by leading a national movement to help meet the basic needs of all babies and their families…including access to clean, dry diapers and other material goods. Founded in 2011 with the support of Huggies^®, the network raises national awareness of diaper need (#DiaperNeed) and supports the development and expansion of diaper banks in communities throughout the country. Its active membership includes more than 280 diaper banks, diaper pantries, and food banks located in 45 states, the District of Columbia and Guam. More information on NDBN and diaper need is available at www.nationaldiaperbanknetwork.org, and on Twitter (@DiaperNetwork) and Facebook (facebook.com/NationalDiaperBankNetwork).

ZERO TO THREE is a national nonprofit that provides parents, professionals and policymakers the knowledge and know-how to nurture development. Founded in 1977, ZERO TO THREE is a leader in the field of infants, toddlers and families – reaching more than 2 million parents each year. The organization brings together experts on parenting, child behavior and development, care and education, and public policymakers to help ensure every child from birth to three years old gets a strong start in life. For more information, please visit zerotothree.org or follow us on Twitter at @ZEROTOTHREE.

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 need in the United States by creating a demonstration program for distributing diapers to eligible families. States will have flexibility in developing and implementing their program. These demonstrations will reveal the best ways to help eligible families access diapers for their young children.

I stand w/ 300+ orgs in support of Hygiene Assistance for Families of Infants and Toddlers Act: http://bit.ly/1VndFwh v/ @Campaign4Kids
Tweet this now.

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. 

###

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.

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 to healthy and nutritious food.