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Children's Defense Fund

Children's Defense Fund

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

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

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Improve the Lives of Children

With your support today, together we can improve the lives of children which improves the lives of all of us.

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About Early Childhood Education & Child Care


CDF fully understands the need for consistent, quality education throughout a child's life, including the need for a child to grow and learn during the summer months and after the traditional school day ends. CDF continues its work today to support programs and policies that will ensure every child a Head Start in life.

Read more...

Related Campaigns

  • Cradle to Prison Pipeline® Campaign

    The Cradle to Prison Pipeline campaign is a national and community crusade to engage families, youth, community leaders and institutions and those in power in every sector in the development of healthy, educated children. The Campaign advances policies that put children on track to productive adulthood and opposes those that criminalize children at younger and younger ages.

Action Alert

Secure the Future - Invest in Every Child

In the richest nation on earth, 9 million children are without health coverage and more than 13 million live in poverty. We must demand that our leaders commit to helping children as a condition of our vote.

Take Action Now!

Stories

Mitchell Family

After Hurricane Katrina, Rene, Akil, and Aliyah found stability in the CDF Freedom Schools program. Read more

Stories

Calvinika Johnson

Calvinika was often teased and used to strike out in anger by fighting at school, but she is doing better at controlling her behavior and she attributes much of the improvement to her involvement with the CDF Freedom Schools program. Read more

Related Staff

Cathy Grace
Dr. Cathy Grace
Director of Early Childhood Development Policy

Related Programs

  • CDF Emerging Leaders® Program
  • CDF Freedom Schools® Program

Early Childhood Education & Child Care

Today, only 3 percent of eligible infants and young children (0-3) are enrolled in the federal Early Head Start program. Only about half to two-thirds of children eligible for Head Start are enrolled. Only 14 percent of Black, 17 percent of Latino, and 42 percent of White 4th graders are reading at grade level. Only 11 percent of Black, 15 percent of Latino and 41 percent of White 8th graders perform at grade level in math.

CDF fully understands the need for consistent, quality education throughout a child's life, including the need for a child to grow and learn during the summer months and after the traditional school day ends. CDF continues its work today to support programs and policies that will ensure every child a Head Start in life.

Making Connections: Health Coverage, Early Childhood Dental Care and Education

Each year, children miss over 51 million hours of school due to preventable dental-related illness.  Learn about the importance of health coverage and early childhood dental care for the development of our nation's children with this story about one-year-olds Michele and Jacob.

Early Childhood Development Legislative Update

capitol

On November 6, Senator Kirsten Gillibrand (D-NY) introduced the Access to Nutritious Meals for Young Children Act (S. 2749), which would expand the Child and Adult Care Food Program (CACFP) to improve access to nutritious meals for young children in child care. To learn more about this bill and other important pieces of early childhood legislation, visit our Early Childhood Development Legislative Update. 

Early Childhood Development and the Federal Budget

The Obama Administration's budget request for the fiscal year 2010 signals a new national commitment to children, families and America's future. The policies and funding changes proposed make clear that the President understands that investing in children now will ensure a more stable economy and a healthier, more competitive workforce for the future.

The budget makes a substantiated effort to make early childhood development a priority for every child in America, by funding new early care and education initiatives and continuing some of the investments included in the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act, such as increasing Head Start funding to provide low-income families with access to a comprehensive early childhood education experience so they can be ready to learn when they arrive at school. The President’s budget seeks to provide all children and families with access to quality child care, promote healthy child development and help families access and succeed at work.

To better understand what the budget proposals mean for children, CDF has provided an overview of the budget, broken down by issue area, and provides information on some areas where more attention is needed.

New Data on Early Childhood Care and Development

State of America's Children 2008 Report

In December 2008, CDF released its State of America's Children 2008® report that includes a compilation of the most recent and reliable national and state-by-state data on various issues including "Early Childhood Care and Development." This section includes data on children enrolled in Head Start, prekindergarten enrollment, working parents, cost of child care vs. cost of college, child care assistance, teacher and child care worker earnings and child care center regulations.

"Dr. Julius Richmond—Creator of Head Start"

Marian Wright Edelman

"In July 2008, Dr. Julius B. Richmond passed away at age 91 at his home outside Boston. Dr. Richmond served as U.S. Surgeon General under President Jimmy Carter.  He was a pediatrician, professor of medicine, a child development specialist, and a co-creator and the first director of Head Start. He understood early on how crucial a quality, comprehensive child development program could be for the physical, emotional and educational health of all children—especially poor and at-risk children.  The millions of children and families who have been served by Head Start since its beginnings owe him a tremendous debt of gratitude." Read more from CDF President Marian Wright Edelman's Child Watch® Column, "Dr. Julius Richmond—Creator of Head Start."

SPARK Program

Supporting Partnerships to Assure Ready Kids (SPARK), is a national initiative of the W. K. Kellogg Foundation to help communities unite resources to better prepare children for school. Seeking "ready children and families," "ready communities" and "ready schools," CDF, through its Southern Regional Office, leads the SPARK Mississippi initiative that has improved school readiness for nearly 1,000 Mississippi children ages 3 to 8 who were vulnerable to poor academic achievement. Learn more about the SPARK program.

The American Recovery and Reinvestment Act: Early Childhood Education and Child Care Resources Available in Your State and Community

The American Recovery and Reinvestment Act passed by Congress and signed into law by President Obama helps alleviate the stress on families and communities by investing in improvements for a range of needed services and supports, including services for early childhood education and child care.  Learn what is available in your state and community and how to use these funds to invest in early childhood education and child care by visiting the Child Care, Head Start and Early Head Start section of our guide, The New Economic Recovery Law: Resources to Help Children and the Economy.


News

  • 09/30/09
    To Be Equal - High-Quality Early Childhood Education A Step Closer For All
    The Seattle Medium
  • 09/18/09
    Shoestring ‘Conversation’ Focused on Solutions
    Jacson Free Press
  • 09/03/09
    Healthy Families Bill
    KPFA 94
  • 08/23/09
    Activist Cathy Grace Still Educating the Public
    The Clarion Ledger
  • 07/29/09
    Study: Kids Fare Well in North Dakota, Minnesota
    INFORUM
  • 05/14/09
    CDF Taps Dr. Cathy Grace to Serve as Early Childhood Development Policy Director
  • 05/14/09
    Home-Based Day Care Workers Get Raises, But City To Cut 1,100 Kids from Program To Pay for It
    NY Daily News
  • Read More News

Research & Publications

  • Children in the States Factsheets
  • Cradle to Prison Pipeline® State Factsheets
  • The New Economic Recovery Law: Resources to Help Children and the Economy
  • Marian Wright Edelman's La Columna Child Watch®: "El creciente problema de la excesiva vigilancia policial en nuestras escuelas"
  • State of America's Children 2008® Report - Early Childhood Care and Development
  • Marian Wright Edelman's Child Watch® Column: "Dr. Julius Richmond—Creator of Head Start"
  • A Critique of the President’s FY2009 Budget Request - A Legacy of Failure: Millions of Children and Families Still Struggling
  • More Publications

Resources

  • American Public Human Services Association (APHSA)
  • Center for American Progress
  • Center for Law and Social Policy (CLASP)
  • Center for Public Policy Priorities (CPPP)
  • Child Welfare League of America
  • Education Sector
  • Future of Children
  • Girls Incorporated
  • Harlem Children's Zone
  • Joint Center for Political and Economic Studies
  • More Resources

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...

© 2009, Children's Defense Fund. All Rights Reserved.
25 E Street, N.W., Washington, DC 20001 | 800-CDF-1200 | cdfinfo@childrensdefense.org

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