Children's Defense Fund

Leading the U.S. since 1973 to ensure a level playing field for all children

CDF is the foremost national proponent of policies and programs that provide children with the resources they need to succeed.

We champion policies that will lift children out of poverty; protect them from abuse and neglect; and ensure their access to health care, quality education, and a moral and spiritual foundation.

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Images from the Stroller Brigade

Creating Change

CDF President Marian Wright Edelman's "A Thanksgiving Prayer to End Poverty in Our Time"
Thanksgiving is a time when many Americans pause to be grateful for all we have. In the current economic downturn when the gap between rich and poor is at the highest level since the Great Depression and the unemployment rate is 10.2 percent, millions of our neighbors, including many families with children, are struggling hard to count their blessings. Read more...

CDF News

12/02/09
Health-Care Reform to Dump Poor Kids?
Jackson Free Press

12/01/09
Casey Proposes Full Funding for a Separate CHIP Through 2019
Congressional Quarterly

11/22/09
Health-care Needs of Our Children Not Met
The Tennessean

11/15/09
Gazette Opinion: Keep Kids Covered in Health Reform Plans
Billings Gazette

11/13/09
We Can’t Gamble With Children’s Health
Roll Call

Read More News

Priorities for America's Children. Priorities for Congress to Ensure the Future of Every Child.

About CDF

Learn more about CDF, our history and our Leave No Child Behind^® mission.

The Children's Defense Fund Leave No Child Behind^® mission is to ensure every child a Healthy Start, a Head Start, a Fair Start, a Safe Start and a Moral Start in life and successful passage to adulthood with the help of caring families and communities. CDF provides a strong, effective and independent voice for all the children of America who cannot vote, lobby or speak for themselves. We pay particular attention to the needs of poor and minority children and those with disabilities. CDF educates the nation about the needs of children and encourages preventive investments before they get sick, drop out of school, get into trouble or suffer family breakdown. Read more...