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.

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

In the early hours of Thursday morning, the U.S. Senate approved a budget resolution, the first step in the process of repealing the Affordable Care Act (ACA). Also this week, Senator Brown (D-OH) introduced an amendment to protect comprehensive, affordable coverage for children, and Senator Baldwin (D-WI) introduced an amendment to preserve health coverage for young adults until the age of 26, including former foster youth who age out of state care. Both failed to be adopted. The House is expected to take up the measure today. 

First Focus Campaign for Children President Bruce Lesley issued the following statement:

“We applaud the efforts of the bipartisan Members who voted this week to protect children’s coverage as the Senate moved legislation to repeal the Affordable Care Act. It is critical that Congress adopt a 'do no harm' policy towards our nation’s children and youth, especially at a time when the numbers of uninsured children have fallen to record lows. We urge Members of Congress to oppose any efforts that could dismantle programs like Medicaid and CHIP that are working well for children and take coverage away from youth transitioning into adulthood. The ACA repeal would be a major step backward for the health of America’s children.”

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...

First Focus Campaign for Children joined other child advocates submitted a letter to Congress calling for policymakers to keep the Affordable Care Act to ensure that any changes do no harm to children.

Thanks to Medicaid, the Children's Health Insurance Program (CHIP) and the ACA, ninety-five percent of children in the United States have health coverage – an historic high. Children must not lose ground: any health reforms must build on achievements already made to further improve coverage for children.

Read the letter.

MEDIA STATEMENT

(November 28, 2016) – “As organizations dedicated to protecting and improving the health, safety and well-being of America’s children and families, we feel it is critical that Congress passes funding assistance before the end of the year for Flint, MI and other communities affected by lead contamination.

“No level of lead is safe for children and even trace amounts can cause irreversible damage to a child’s brain development and nervous system.  Yet children and families in Flint, MI and other communities have been waiting for over a year for help to address this crisis and prevent future cases of lead exposure.

“Congress promised this funding in September, and we strongly urge them to keep their word and pass the $220 million in funding approved by the Senate before the end of the year, so that these communities can begin to take steps to improve water systems to assist those affected by lead-poisoning, and make sure our schools and homes are safe for kids and families.”

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The American Academy of Pediatrics is a non-profit professional organization of 66,000 primary care pediatricians, pediatric medical sub-specialists, and pediatric surgical specialists dedicated to the health, safety and well-being of infants, children, adolescents, and young adults.

CHN is an alliance of more than 100 national organizations, representing hundreds of thousands of people nationwide, including service providers, faith-based groups, labor, civil rights, and policy expert organizations, and other advocates concerned with meeting the needs of low-income and vulnerable people.

The First Focus Campaign for Children is a 501(c)(4) nonprofit organization affiliated with First Focus, a nonpartisan 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.

MomsRising.org is an online and on-the-ground grassroots organization of more than a million people who are working to achieve economic security for all families in the United States. MomsRising is working for paid family leave, flexible work options, affordable childcare, and for an end to the wage and hiring discrimination which penalizes so many others. MomsRising also advocates for better childhood nutrition, health care for all, toxic-free environments, and breastfeeding rights so that all children can have a healthy start. Established in 2006, MomsRising and its members are organizing and speaking out to improve public policy and to change the national dialogue on issues that are critically important to America’s families. In 2013, Forbes.com named MomsRising’s web site as one of the Top 100 Websites For Women for the fourth year in a row and Working Mother magazine included MomsRising on its “Best of the Net” list.  MomsRising also maintains a Spanish language website:  MamásConPoder.org.

Washington – Congress yesterday voted to pass a continuing resolution (CR), a stopgap measure that prevented a government shutdown.

“The government funds so many programs that are crucial for kids,” said Bruce Lesley, president of the First Focus Campaign for Children. “While we are glad that a government shutdown has been averted, we know that a full budget deal is better for kids. A long-term spending package ensures funding for services that are critical to support and improve the well-being of America’s children.”

Two areas critical to kids’ health came through in the short-term deal: funding that will begin to combat the Zika virus and the opioid epidemic:

• $1.1 billion to combat the spread of the Zika virus was included for through fiscal 2017 as emergency funding. The Children’s Budget Coalition, of which First Focus Campaign for Children is a member, called on Congress to prevent millions of pregnant women and children from being at risk in a letter sent to Congress on September 14, 2016.

• $37 million was included to fund programs authorized by the Comprehensive Addiction and Recovery Act (CARA) to combat the opioid drug epidemic and support kids in families struggling with addiction. This includes $20 million for programs through the U.S. Department of Justice and $17 million for programs through the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. The departments are authorized to issue grants to states, localities and American Indian tribes for opioid abuse programs.

However, the short-term deal does not include funding to address the problem of lead in places like Flint, Michigan. There is no safe level of lead for children, yet millions continue to be exposed to it in their water, soil, and homes.

“It is unacceptable that Congress continues to delay funding to address this ongoing crisis,” said Lesley. “We must ensure that families and communities affected by lead poisoning receive support as soon as possible. Our kids have waited long enough.”

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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 September 14, 2016, members of the Children's Budget Coalition submitted a letter to the Senate and House of Representatives urging Congress to prioritize investments in children’s programs while working in a bipartisan fashion, pass a short-term CR and address the looming Zika virus health crisis with emergency funding

Included are 23 members of the Children's Budget Coalition.

Read the letter to the U.S. Senate.

Read the letter to the U.S. House of Representatives.

Washington – The First Focus Campaign for Children applauds the introduction of the Family First Prevention Services Act (HR.5456/S.3065), a bipartisan, bicameral commitment to investing in and improving prevention and support services for children at risk of entering the foster care system.

The Family First Prevention Services Act (HR.5456/S.3065), which is expected to be voted on in the House this week, is the result of more than a year of bipartisan discussions and proposals led by the Senate Finance Committee and the House Ways and Means Committee. Among other provisions, the bill allows states to be reimbursed for providing preventive mental health, substance abuse, and in-home counseling services to children who are candidates for foster care, as well as their parents or caregivers. The legislation also addresses the over-reliance of placing children in group care or congregate care homes and extends the Title IV-B program to provide support services for foster youth transitioning to adulthood.

“The Family First Prevention Services Act has the potential to have a far-reaching impact in the lives of foster children and youth and their families,” said Bruce Lesley, president of First Focus Campaign for Children. “We commend Senators Wyden and Hatch and Representatives Buchanan, Brady, and Levin, as well as the bill co-sponsors and committee members, for promoting evidence-based prevention services to keep children in family settings and out of foster care. We strongly encourage the House and Senate to pass this legislation. Research shows that children at risk of entering the foster care system who stay in family settings have a better chance to succeed at home and at school.”

Last week, the First Focus Campaign for Children sent a letter to the House Ways and Means and Senate Finance committees expressing its strong support for the bill. A diverse coalition of more than 50 state and national child welfare and advocacy organizations have also expressed their support for the legislation.

Click here for a summary draft of the bill.

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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.

Raising five children, Rep. Markwayne Mullin (R-OK) undoubtedly knows a thing or two about the health care needs of children. In a Today storyrelated to Father’s Day last year that highlighted the decision of the Congressman and his wife to adopt two children after having three of their own, he shared a picture of himself at the hospital with his son, who had suffered a broken wrist. It is clearly the picture of a caring, loving father who would never intentionally put the health of his children at risk.

In a blog entitled “Leaving a Healthy Legacy” that the Congressman wrote last week highlighting Men’s Health Month, he says:

My kids are smaller versions of myself, so teaching them how to be healthy and giving them access to the tools and resources they need to maintain a healthy lifestyle is vital to their growth and development in adulthood.

This month, I encourage you to make a commitment to your own health. Let’s leave a healthy legacy for the next generations of Oklahomans.

In March 2015, Rep. Mullin helped “leave a healthy legacy” when he voted in favor of a bill, the Medicare Access and CHIP Reauthorization Act of 2015, which fixed a problem with the Medicare physician payment formula to address access to care concerns for senior citizens but also extended funding for the Children’s Health Insurance Program (CHIP) for two years. Child advocates from across the country were supportive of the extension of CHIP, even though the two-year extension was shorter than the four years they were seeking.

Mullin also recently expresses great concern about another health policy issue: potential budget cuts that would be “detrimental” to providers in the Medicaid program due to Oklahoma’s difficult budget situation. As he explains in a Tulsa World Op-Ed on May 27, 2016:

This year, falling oil prices and other factors led to state legislators facing a $1.3 billion budget shortfall going into 2017. To make up for the shortfall, the Oklahoma Health Care Authority prepared Oklahoma Medicaid providers for the possibility of a 25 percent rate cut. It doesn’t take a health care expert to understand that a rate cut of this magnitude would be detrimental to Oklahoma’s health care providers.

Luckily, our state Legislature worked to develop a state budget that only cuts Medicaid rates by 3 percent, and while a 3 percent cut will still impact our nursing homes and hospitals, it is not the disaster it could have been.

We would agree with him that enormous cuts to Medicaid would have been devastating to providers. However, we would add that such cuts would have been harmful to hundreds of thousands of people the program, known as SoonerCare, provides coverage to in Oklahoma. According to Oklahoma Watch, nearly two-thirds of those covered by SoonerCare are children.

However, the Congressman clearly distinguishes Medicaid and CHIP from the Accordable Care Act (ACA) or Obamacare, which he has repeatedly voted to repeal. In a Tulsa World Op-Ed, he explained, “All in all, I have supported more than 50 different efforts to either fully repeal or chip away at ‘Obamacare’ since my time representing your family in Congress.”

Although we agree changes need to be made to the ACA, including major revisions to the “family glitch”, the “Cadillac tax”, or other improvements outlined by Georgetown’s Center for Children and Families, we oppose repeal of the law because it would dramatically increase the number of uninsured children and create a number of other negative consequences for America’s children.

In short, when it comes to public policy issues, Rep. Mullin has clearly voted for or expressed interest in: (1) support for CHIP and children’s health coverage; (2) opposition to Medicaid cuts that would create negative consequences for Oklahoma’s health care providers; (3) opposition to Obamacare; and, (4) concern about the Oklahoma’s state budget deficit.

What is surprising, then, is that a recent vote and a bill introduction by Rep. Mullin would have, paradoxically, either the opposite results or unintended negative consequences to those four policy positions.

First, Rep. Mullin, as a member of the House Energy and Commerce Committee, voted in favor of H.R. 4725, the “Common Sense Savings Act of 2016,” which would rollback the Enhanced Federal Matching Assistance Program (E-FMAP) in CHIP by 23 percentage points effective March 16, 2016. For Oklahoma, their federal matching rate this year is 95.69 percent and that legislation would have decreased the federal share to 72.69 percent. From the State’s perspective, if that legislation had been enacted, it would have increased the state share for CHIP in the middle of the fiscal year by 534 percent.

That change would have increased Oklahoma’s budget shortfall this year, and consequently, it could have resulted in harm to both the providers and children enrolled in SoonerCare.

Although there is some rationale for considering changes to the matching rate in the future, particularly with respect to the match associated with administrative costs as those costs probably should be more evenly shared, making such a change in the middle of this fiscal year would be detrimental to three concerns that Rep. Mullin had previously asserted: concerns about Oklahoma’s budget deficit, impact on health care providers, and the health of children.

Second, and far more concerning and potentially harmful to children is a provision in the bill, the “Preserving Access to Medicaid for Americans (PAMA) Act of 2016” (H.R. 5375) that was introduced by Rep. Mullin on May 27, 2016. While the bill’s title includes the words “Preserving Access,” paradoxically, the legislation does the exact opposite when it comes to protecting the health coverage of over 8 million of our nation’s children enrolled in CHIP by eliminating the law’s “Maintenance of Effort” (MOE) requirement.

The MOE prevents states from eliminating or slashing their CHIP programs and dumping children into Obamacare, weaker private coverage, or worse, into the ranks of the uninsured. If the MOE were to be eliminated, children in working families across the nation would lose a trustworthy, proven source of coverage and be put in harm’s way.

This type of legislative approach had been raised before in Congress by former Rep. Phillip Gingrey (R-GA) and Sen. Orrin Hatch (R-UT) in 2011. That bill, the “State Flexibility Act” was analyzed by the Congressional Budget Office (CBO), which estimated that, if the legislation had been passed five years ago, there would have been a “reduction in CHIP enrollment of about 1.7 million people.”

Similarly, with just that one sentence in Sec. 2 of Rep. Mullin’s bill, the demise of CHIP and the coverage it offers to millions of children would be placed in jeopardy. As First Focus Campaign for Children said in a letter to Congress on June 1, 2011, in opposition to the “State Flexibility Act”:

It is ironic and hopefully unintentional that that a large share of those children would be left uninsured or shifted out of CHIP and into inferior coverage in [Obamacare] insurance exchanges plans that proponents of H.R. 1683 have sought to repeal.

That same concern and objection holds true five years later. And, although some states would save money by shifting children from low-income working families into the ranks of the uninsured or into Obamacare, it be devastating to the health care for millions of children, harm providers, and lead to an expansion of Obamacare — all things that Rep. Mullin professes to oppose.

Therefore, we would urge Rep. Mullin to strike, delete, or discard Sec. 2 in PAMA. In his own words, “giving [children] access to the tools and resources they need to maintain a healthy lifestyle is vital to their growth and development in adulthood.” For 8 million children across this country, that is CHIP.

Instead of putting the health coverage of children at risk, we urge Congress and Rep. Mullin to adopt two key principles:

First, Congress should do no harm. For children enrolled in CHIP, that means protecting past progress and not enacting any policy that would make children worse off in terms of their health coverage. From vaccinations, well-child check-ups, and chronic disease management, to oral health and vision care, Medicaid and CHIP ensure that children get the services they need to grow, develop, and go to school ready to learn. It makes no sense to disrupt this successful coverage for kids.

Second, Congress must ensure that our health system continues to support care for children that meets their unique health and developmental needs, including the availability of pediatric networks of care delivery. There is a reason we have pediatricians and children’s hospitals in this country, as children are not just little adults. Medicaid and CHIP recognize that children have special and distinct needs and these programs are designed to ensure that children can get the high quality care they need and deserve.

Unfortunately, Sec. 2 in H.R. 5375, even though it is just a single sentence long, violates both principles. As highlighted by CBO in its past analysis of a similar provision, eliminating the CHIP MOE undermines coverage for children in both the short- and long-term. It removes children from CHIP coverage, which is, by definition, specifically designed for children, and causes children to either become uninsured or moved into insurance exchanges that will be far weaker than CHIP and that Rep. Mullin has voted repeatedly to eliminate.

On this last point, Republican Congressmen Charles Dent, Todd Russell Platts, Bill Shuster, Jim Gerlach, and Glenn Thompson of Pennsylvania strongly opposed the very idea of moving children out of CHIP into the insurance exchanges back in November 7, 2009, during consideration of the ACA. As the Republican congressmen wrote in a letter to then-Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-CA):

We are writing to express our grave concerns with provisions included in H.R. 3962, the Affordable Health Care for America Act, that would eliminate the Children’s Health Insurance Program (CHIP) and require all children. . .who are not covered under a Medicaid CHIP (M-CHIP) expansion program to be moved into the new health insurance exchange.

The Pennsylvania congressmen go on to explain how CHIP has been an “overwhelming success” since its inception. They explain:

There is no better example of a public-private health partnership that has contributed to the lives of Pennsylvania families. We often hear from our constituents that their children are healthy and active because of CHIP.

They add that CHIP is “an efficient program that provides Pennsylvania children with affordable, quality care” and that moving children from CHIP into the insurance exchanges would result in “a step in the wrong direction for our nation — imposing higher costs and delivering fewer benefits to our most vulnerable population.”

Unless Rep. Mullin has had a change of heart and has decided to expand Obamacare rather than repeal it, we would urge him to take the advice of his Republican colleagues who argued that we should leave CHIP intact rather than dismantle it. As they conclude:

Protecting children, especially those most in need, should be one of Congress’s top priorities in the context of health reform.

We couldn’t agree more.

Join the Giving Tuesday campaign by donating here.
 
Tweet: Do No Harm to the Health Coverage of Millions of Children: http://ow.ly/ysRB306E3gt by @BruceLesley #InvestInKids

Washington – A provision added to a new mental health reform bill provides easier access to comprehensive health services for children who receive care at in-patient psychiatric and mental health centers, creating better continuity of care for those children.

The Helping Families in Mental Health Crisis Act  (H.R. 2646) was first drafted in response to the shooting at Sandy Hook Elementary School in 2012. Long stalled in Congress, today it passed unanimously with modest revisions.

In a notable step forward, Section 206 of the bill allows children receiving Medicaid-covered inpatient psychiatric hospital services to be eligible for the full range of Early and Periodic Screening, Diagnostic, and Treatment – so-called EPSDT – services from the provider of their choice effective January 1, 2019.

“I am pleased to see bipartisan support for the provision in Section 206 of this bill,” said Bruce Lesley, president of First Focus Campaign for Children. “This provision ensures that children who are receiving inpatient psychiatric care, can continue to receive care from their medical home while they are hospitalized. Not only does this provide continuity of care while they are in placement, it also assures that same continuity of care when they return to their home and community. I commend policymakers for joining together to address this long-overdue inequity in comprehensive benefits for children. Our kids deserve better, and I hope Congress continues to do right by them.”

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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.