Washington – The First Focus Campaign for Children, a bipartisan children’s advocacy organization, today sent a letter to members of the United States Senate urging passage of legislation to reauthorize federal primary and secondary education initiatives. A passage vote is expected today on the Every Child Achieves Act (S. 1177), championed by Senate education committee Chairman Lamar Alexander (R-Tennessee) and Ranking Member Patty Murray (D-Washington).

“It’s been 13 years since Congress updated America’s education law – action is well overdue, and we applaud Chairman Alexander and Senator Murray for finding a path forward,” said Campaign for Children President Bruce Lesley.

As the letter observes, the bill makes important improvements:

• Requires, for the first time, that districts begin integrating early childhood initiatives with K-12 education;
• Addresses the critical issue of “school climate” – a priority not only on safety concerns, but also concerns about disparate treatment of kids of color (who already face an alarming school achievement gap) in suspension, expulsion, and other discipline actions;
• Improves teacher professional development in Title II, giving districts the opportunity to increase their investments in recruiting, training, developing, and retaining good teachers;
• Adopts an amendment by Senator Sherrod Brown (D-Ohio) and Sen. Shelley Moore Capito (R-West Virginia) making federal funds available to hire a coordinator charged with ensuring that students get maximum benefit from nutrition assistance, health care, or other supportive services delivered through community partnerships;
• Adopts an amendment by Sen. Joe Manchin (D-West Virginia) and Sen. Brown to support district and school efforts to establish community schools, by partnering with community organizations to better meet students’ needs, and;
• Adopts an amendment by Sen. Dianne Feinstein (D-California) and Sen. Rob Portman (R-Ohio) aimed at helping more than one million homeless K-12 students, many of whom do not receive critical supportive services from the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD), because of a complex HUD definition and policy.

“The Senate must pass this bill to keep making progress toward reform,” said Lesley.

The letter notes that the legislation is not perfect. If adopted by the Senate, both chambers of Congress would appoint bipartisan “conference committee” negotiators tasked with developing a final package. The Campaign for Children urged lawmakers to consider specific improvements:

• Adding specific funding authorizations, as the Senate bill does not denote funding levels for any specific policy initiatives, tacitly accepting congressional budget caps that resulted in a nearly 20 percent cut to federal education funding over the last five years;
• Adding a federal teacher qualification standard, as the bill does nothing to guarantee that taxpayer funds are invested only in teachers with specific minimum qualifications;
• Strengthening anti-bullying policy, as the Senate rejected an amendment by Sen. Al Franken (D-Minnesota) to require effective prevention and response to the bullying of LGBT children;
• Make data-informed investments, as the Senate rejected an amendment by Sen. Mark Kirk (R-Illinois) and Sen. Jack Reed (D-Rhode Island) requiring schools to identify resource gaps affecting student achievement – from not having counselors to not having science courses – and plan to close those gaps;
• Help kids succeed from the start, as the Senate rejected an amendment by Sen. Bob Casey (D-Pennsylvania) to make high-quality pre-Kindergarten affordable for more children, increasing the likelihood that they will enter Kindergarten ready to learn.

“No Child Left Behind failed because Congress matched high expectations with lowball funding – the question now is whether Congress has learned its lesson,” said Lesley.

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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 the priority in federal policy and budget decisions. For more information, visit campaignforchildren.org.

On July 2nd, 2015, First Focus Campaign for Children sent this letter in support of The Alyce Spotted Bear and Walter Soboleff Commission on Native Children Act (H.R. 2751). The act would establish an 11-person committee to reexamine the federal government's commitment to Native children, and propose policy solutions to better serve them. If adopted, this bill could dramatically improve the lives of Native kids nationwide.

More than eight million children will be born in the United States during the 114th Congress. The decisions Congress makes about issues ranging from education to tax and immigration policy will shape their lives. Whether the next two years accelerate or impede the healthy development of those children is up to them.

First Focus Campaign for Children recommends this policy agenda to address the most pressing problems facing America’s children. The agenda is made up of six broad categories: ensuring a healthy future, ensuring every child a safe and permanent home, reducing child poverty, expanding opportunity through education and early childhood, valuing children and families, and investing in children and reforming government. Within each category is a list of goals and actions Congress can take to improve the lives of our children.

Washington – The White House today released a federal budget proposing increased investments benefiting nearly every aspect of a child’s life. Key elements of the president’s budget for children include:

• Increased funding to make quality child care affordable for more working families, plus expanded reach for the federal child care tax credit and a new “second earner” credit to help dual-income families manage child care costs;
• Stronger investments in early learning, including a more intensive Head Start initiative, increased preschool development grant funding, and continued funding for evidence-based voluntary home visiting;
• Extending funding for the bipartisan Children’s Health Insurance Program through 2019;
• A renewed commitment to public schools, with additional funding for teacher preparation, incentives to eliminate school funding disparities, and funding for school-community partnerships designed to help disadvantaged students succeed;
• Funding to reduce the incidence of youth violence and support states’ work with youth offenders;
• Increased funding for family housing vouchers;
• Supporting the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP, formerly Food Stamps), which allocates nearly half of its funding to children in homes affected by hunger;
• Repealing federal budget sequestration, ending arbitrary budget caps for a wide range of children’s initiatives;
• Increased funding for child abuse and neglect prevention, as well as a new initiative to reduce the incidence of over-prescription of psychotropic medications to children in foster care

Reacting to the president’s budget proposal, the First Focus Campaign for Children released the following statement from its president, Bruce Lesley:

“From child care to high school, quality health care to preventing abuse and neglect, President Obama’s budget represents a real reinvestment in America’s children. Whether or not Congress adopts these specific proposals, the president’s budget is a model for a federal budget that makes kids a priority, not an afterthought.”

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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 the priority in federal policy and budget decisions. For more information, visit campaignforchildren.org.

Over the last year, First Focus Campaign for Children has been hard at work making children and families the priority in federal policy and budget decisions. Below is the list of our most popular resources for child advocates, policy makers, and the media in 2014. See the top 10 resources of our partners at First Focus.

1. Record Number of Homeless Students in U.S. Schools (Statement): Coalition statement on U.S. Department of Education data showing the United States has a record number of homeless K-12 students with over 1.2 million children being counted, an increase of 8 percent from the previous school year. 81 percent of the children are not recognized as homeless by the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development, which prioritizes homeless adults.

2. 750+ Leaders’ Letter to Congress: Extend funding for the Maternal, Infant and Early Childhood Home Visiting Program (Letter): Over 750 leading national, state, tribal, and local organizations and elected officials wrote to Congress to urge a funding extension of the bipartisan Maternal, Infant and Early Childhood Home Visiting Program (MIECHV program).

3. 2014 Champions for Children (Awards): Champions and Defenders of Children awards recognize the top 100 Members of Congress working to make children and families a national priority in federal policy and budget decisions.

4. Dr. Phil and 100+ Organizations to Congress: Protect Kids from Overmedication (Press release): Dr. Phil McGraw, the leading mental health expert, television personality and outspoken children’s rights activist, cosigned a letter joining more than 100 organizations urging lawmakers to support a budget initiative aimed at reducing unwarranted overmedication of children in foster care. We coordinated the letter in partnership with Voice for Adoption, a national organization advocating for children in foster care.

5. CHIP is Critical for the Future of Children’s Health (Fact sheet): This paper discusses how the Children’s Health Insurance Program (CHIP) fits into today’s health care system, focusing on why CHIP continues to be an essential source of coverage for kids. It also underscores the consequences for children’s health of the coming funding crisis and why protecting the future of children’s health means continued funding.

6. Voters Support CHIP Extension (Poll): We commissioned opinion research to assess public support for CHIP. The survey, completed by the Republican opinion research firm American Viewpoint, found nearly three-fourths of likely voters support the extension of CHIP funding.

7. Reject Congressman Issa’s DACA Proposal (Letter): Letter to all members of the House of Representatives regarding the misguided, irresponsible, and mean-spirited Dear Colleague letter circulated by Congressman Darrel Issa in the June The Congressman’s letter proposed to address the issue of an increase of child refugees fleeing terrible and unspeakably violent circumstances and arriving at the Southern Border by eliminating the highly successful and popular Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) initiative.

8. Homeless Children and Youth Act to Close Gaps in HUD Services (Blog post): This blog post covers the over 1 million homeless children in the United States, the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development’s current definition of homelessness that excludes these children, and proposed legislation that would make several changes to the HUD definition and grant awards process in an effort to improve flexibility and efficiency.

9. Bipartisan Bill Re-Examines Overuse of Standardized Tests (Blog post): This blog post discusses how students, teachers, and schools have become unnecessarily overburdened by the growth of standardized testing and how proposed legislation would end mandatory over-testing and return to standardized tests offered once per grade span.

10. Protect her from harm (Advertisement): This advertisement, circulated to Congress, urges lawmakers to vote against a proposal that would have harmed over 1 million children and driven more families into poverty.

This week, the 114^thsession of Congress was gaveled into order. Among it were 45 returning membersrecognized as First Focus Campaign for Children 2014 Defenders of Children. Defenders of Children support efforts to advance policies to improve the well-being of America’s children.

The new Congress is a new opportunity for children’s advocates, mothers, fathers, aunts, uncles, future parents, pediatricians to share how important it is that children are the priority in federal policy and budget decisions. A recent poll of House and Senate offices by the Congressional Management Foundation found that most consider less than 30 social media comments enough to gain attention on an issue. And over half said that just a single constituent is enough to be influential.

Please take a minute to welcome back on Twitter the 2014 Defenders of Children, thank them for making it their priority to invest in kids, and share with them the issues important to you in the New Year. You can use the suggested tweet below, or find your Congressional representatives’ Twitter account by state. You can also see and thank returning Champions or Children, the highest level of recognition, here.

Welcome back to Congress, @Campaign4Kids Defender of Children @MemberTwitter! Please continue to make children the priority, #InvestInKids.
Tweet this now.

Alaska
Rep. Don Young (R-AK)California
Sen. Dianne Feinstein (D-CA)
Rep. Xavier Becerra (D-CA)
Rep. Lois Capps (D-CA)
Rep. Tony Cárdenas (D-CA)
Rep. Susan Davis (D-CA)
Rep. Grace Napolitano (D-CA)
Rep. Nancy Pelosi (D-CA)
Rep. David Valadao (R-CA)

Connecticut
Sen. Chris Murphy (D-CT)

Florida
Rep. Ted Deutch (D-FL)

Georgia
Sen. Johnny Isakson (R-GA)

Illinois
Rep. Jan Schakowsky (D-IL)

Iowa
Sen. Chuck Grassley (R-IA)

Louisiana
Sen. Patrick Leahy (D-LA)

Maryland
Sen. Barbara Mikulski (D-MD)
Rep. Steny Hoyer (D-MD)
Rep. Chris Van Hollen (D-MD)

Massachusetts
Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D-MA)

Michigan
Sen. Debbie Stabenow (D-MI)
Rep. John Conyers (D-MI)
Rep. Sander Levin (D-MI)

Minnesota
Rep. Betty McCollum (D-MN)

Mississippi
Sen. Thad Cochran (R-MS)Nevada
Sen. Harry Reid (D-NV)

New Jersey
Sen. Robert Menendez (D-NJ)
Rep. Frank LoBiondo (D-NJ)
Rep. Frank Pallone (D-NJ)

New Mexico
Rep. Ben Ray Luján (D-NM)

New York
Sen. Charles Schumer (D-NY)
Rep. Yvette Clarke (D-NY)
Rep. Hakeem Jeffries (D-NY)
Rep. Peter King (R-NY)
Rep. José Serrano (D-NY)
Rep. Louise Slaughter (D-NY)
Rep. Paul Tonko (D-NY)

Ohio
Rep. Steve Stivers (R-OH)
Rep. Pat Tiberi (R-OH)

Oregon
Sen. Jeff Merkley (D-OR)
Rep. Earl Blumenauer (D-OR)
Rep. Suzanne Bonamici (D-OR)

Pennsylvania
Rep. Charlie Dent (R-PA)

Rhode Island
Sen. Sheldon Whitehouse (D-RI)

South Carolina
Rep. James Clyburn (D-SC)

Utah
Sen. Orrin Hatch (R-UT)

This week, the 114^th session of Congress was gaveled into order. Among it were 46 returning members recognized as First Focus Campaign for Children 2014 Champions for Children. Champions for Children make extraordinary efforts to protect and improve the future of America’s next generation.

The new Congress is a new opportunity for children’s advocates, mothers, fathers, aunts, uncles, future parents, pediatricians to share how important it is that children are the priority in federal policy and budget decisions. A recent poll of House and Senate offices by the Congressional Management Foundation found that most consider less than 30 social media comments enough to gain attention on an issue. And over half said that just a single constituent is enough to be influential.

Please take a minute to welcome back on Twitter the 2014 Champions for Children, thank them for making it their priority to invest in kids, and share with them the issues important to you in the New Year. You can use the suggested tweet below, or find your Congressional representatives' Twitter account by state. You can also see and thank returning Defenders of Children, the next highest honor, here.

Welcome back to Congress, @Campaign4Kids Champion for Children @MemberTwitter! Please continue to make children the priority, #InvestInKids.
Tweet this now.

Alaska
Sen. Lisa Murkowski (R-AK)

Arizona
Rep. Raúl Grijalva (D-AZ)

California
Rep. Karen Bass (D-CA)
Rep. Judy Chu (D-CA)
Rep. Mike Honda (D-CA)
Rep. Barbara Lee (D-CA)
Rep. Lucille Roybal-Allard (D-CA)

Colorado
Rep. Jared Polis (D-CO)

Connecticut
Sen. Richard Blumenthal (D-CT)
Rep. Rosa DeLauro (D-CT)

Florida
Rep. Kathy Castor (D-FL)
Rep. Ileana Ros-Lehtinen (R-FL)
Rep. Frederica Wilson (D-FL)

Georgia
Rep. John Lewis (D-GA)

Hawaii
Sen. Mazie Hirono (D-HI)

Illinois
Sen. Richard Durbin (D-IL)
Rep. Danny Davis (D-IL)

Maine
Sen. Susan Collins (R-ME)

Massachusetts
Rep. Jim McGovern (D-MA)

Minnesota
Sen. Al Franken (D-MN)
Rep. Keith Ellison (D-MN)

New York
Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand (D-NY)
Rep. Chris Gibson (R-NY)
Rep. Richard Hanna (R-NY)
Rep. Charles Rangel (D-NY)

Ohio
Sen. Sherrod Brown (D-OH)
Sen. Rob Portman (R-OH)
Rep. Marcia Fudge (D-OH)

Oregon
Sen. Ron Wyden (D-OR)

Pennsylvania
Sen. Bob Casey (D-PA)

Rhode Island
Sen. Jack Reed (D-RI)
Rep. David Cicilline (D-RI)
Rep. Jim Langevin (D-RI)

Texas
Rep. Lloyd Doggett (D-TX)
Rep. Gene Green (D-TX)
Rep. Rubén Hinojosa (D-TX)
Rep. Sheila Jackson Lee (D-TX)
Rep. Beto O’Rourke (D-TX)

Vermont
Sen. Bernie Sanders (D-VT)

Virginia
Rep. Bobby Scott (D-VA)

Washington
Sen. Patty Murray (D-WA)
Rep. Jim McDermott (D-WA)
Rep. Dave Reichert (R-WA)

Wisconsin
Sen. Tammy Baldwin (D-WI)
Rep. Gwen Moore (D-WI)
Rep. Mark Pocan (D-WI)

The Denver Post

By Bruce Lesley

Re: “Here’s what the new Congress should do,” Nov. 25 guest commentary.

Writers Hank Brown and Barry Jackson are right: Voters care about children’s futures. But Brown and Jackson’s policy agenda ignores children entirely.

What’s worse is that nearly every debate they mention — taxes, regulation, immigration reform, welfare reform, the federal budget, health care — matters for Colorado children. On health care, their exclusive focus on Obamacare ignores that federal funding will soon expire for Child Health Plan Plus, a bipartisan health plan that covers more than 125,000 Colorado kids...

Read more

The First Focus Campaign for Children places a priority on supporting legislators who stand by our nation's children. This ad recognizing our 2014 Champions for Children and Defenders of Children ran in the September 30, 2014, edition of Roll Call.

Washington — Today, the First Focus Campaign for Children, a national bipartisan children’s advocacy group, recognized Representative Karen Bass for her leadership on issues important to children during 2013.

“Lots of politicians talk about kids’ issues, but few back it up,” said Bruce Lesley, president of the Campaign for Children. “Representative Bass delivered for kids.”

In selecting Champions and Defenders, the First Focus Campaign for Children noted leaders who introduced, co-sponsored, and voted for legislation to meet children’s needs. In addition, the organization considered Members who demonstrated extraordinary initiative by spearheading activities such as sponsoring hearings or garnering the support of their colleagues to improve the health and well-being of children. In recognizing Rep. Bass as a Champion for Children, the advocacy group cited her leadership on child abuse and neglect prevention and response.

The advocacy organization recognized as “Champions for Children” 50 Members of Congress for their extraordinary efforts to protect and improve the future of America’s next generation. An additional 50 Members were recognized as “Defenders of Children” for their support of policies that advance the well-being of children. The 2013 Champions and Defenders are:

2013 Champions for Children

Champions for Children made extraordinary efforts to protect and improve the future of America's next generation.

Senate

Sen. Mark Begich (D-AK)
Sen. Richard Blumenthal (D-CT)
Sen. Sherrod Brown (D-OH)
Sen. Robert Casey (D-PA)
Sen. Thad Cochran (R-MS)
Sen. Richard Durbin (D-IL)
Sen. Al Franken (D-MN)
Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand (D-NY)
Sen. Tom Harkin (D-IA)
Sen. Mazie Hirono (D-HI)
Sen. Lisa Murkowski (R-AK)
Sen. Patty Murray (D-WA)
Sen. Jay Rockefeller (D-WV)
Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-VT)
Sen. Ron Wyden (D-OR)

House

Rep. Karen Bass (D-CA)
Rep. Xavier Becerra (D-CA)
Rep. Lois Capps (D-CA)
Rep. Kathy Castor (D-FL)
Rep. Judy Chu (D-CA)
Rep. David Cicilline (D-RI)
Rep. Danny Davis (D-IL)
Rep. Diana DeGette (D-CO)
Rep. Rosa DeLauro (D-CT)
Rep. Lloyd Doggett (D-TX)
Rep. Keith Ellison (D-MN)
Rep. Gene Green (D-TX)
Rep. Raúl Grijalva (D-AZ)
Rep. Michael Grimm (R-NY)
Rep. Luis Gutiérrez (D-IL)
Rep. Richard Hanna (R-NY)
Rep. Rubén Hinojosa (D-TX)
Rep. Mike Honda (D-CA)
Rep. Sheila Jackson Lee (D-TX)
Rep. Barbara Lee (D-CA)
Rep. John Lewis (D-GA)
Rep. Betty McCollum (D-MN)
Rep. Jim McDermott (D-WA)
Rep. Jim McGovern (D-MA)
Rep. George Miller (D-CA)
Rep. Gwen Moore (D-WI)
Rep. Beto O'Rourke (D-TX)
Rep. Nancy Pelosi (D-CA)
Rep. Charles Rangel (D-NY)
Rep. Ileana Ros-Lehtinen (R-FL)
Rep. Lucille Roybal-Allard (D-CA)
Rep. Jan Schakowsky (D-IL)
Rep. Bobby Scott (D-VA)
Rep. Jackie Speier (D-CA)
Rep. Chris Van Hollen (D-MD)

2013 Defenders of Children

Defenders of Children supported efforts to advance policies to improve the well-being of America's children.

Senate

Sen. Tammy Baldwin (D-WI)
Sen. Max Baucus (D-MT)
Sen. Michael Bennet (D-CO)
Sen. Susan Collins (R-ME)
Sen. Tim Kaine (D-VA)
Sen. Robert Menendez (D-NJ)
Sen. Jeff Merkley (D-OR)
Sen. Barbara Mikulski (D-MD)
Sen. Chris Murphy (D-CT)
Sen. Rob Portman (R-OH)
Sen. Jack Reed (D-RI)
Sen. Harry Reid (D-NV)
Sen. Debbie Stabenow (D-MI)
Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D-MA)
Sen. Sheldon Whitehouse (D-RI)

House

Del. Donna Christensen (D-VI)
Rep. Yvette Clarke (D-NY)
Rep. James Clyburn (D-SC)
Rep. John Conyers (D-MI)
Rep. Charlie Dent (R-PA)
Rep. Chris Gibson (R-NY)
Rep. Alcee Hastings (D-FL)
Rep. Steny Hoyer (D-MD)
Rep. Eddie Bernice Johnson (D-TX)
Rep. David Joyce (R-OH)
Rep. Marcy Kaptur (D-OH)
Rep. Peter King (R-NY)
Rep. Jim Langevin (D-RI)
Rep. Sandy Levin (D-MI)
Rep. Frank LoBiondo (R-NJ)
Rep. Dave Loebsack (D-IA)
Rep. Zoe Lofgren (D-CA)
Rep. Carolyn Maloney (D-NY)
Rep. Jim Moran (D-VA)
Rep. Grace Napolitano (D-CA)
Rep. Frank Pallone (D-NJ)
Rep. Donald Payne, Jr. (D-NJ)
Rep. Mark Pocan (D-WI)
Rep. Jared Polis (D-CO)
Rep. Dave Reichert (R-WA)
Rep. Hal Rogers (R-KY)
Rep. Linda Sánchez (D-CA)
Rep. Allyson Schwartz (D-PA)
Rep. José Serrano (D-NY)
Rep. Carol Shea-Porter (D-NH)
Rep. Louise Slaughter (D-NY)
Rep. Chris Smith (R-NJ)
Rep. David Valadao (R-CA)
Rep. Henry Waxman (D-CA)
Rep. Frederica Wilson (D-FL)

This is the Campaign for Children’s fourth annual class of Champions for Children. For more information about past honorees, visit www.ffcampaignforchildren.org.