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HEALS Act Must Do More To Provide Economic Relief Through Government Payments

August 12, 2020 | New York
Child Poverty

This Weekend's Executive Actions Do Very Little to Provide Meaningful Relief for Children, Families, and Communities

President Trump signed four executive actions on Saturday that not only side-step Congress and potentially violate the Constitution, but do very little to provide meaningful relief for the children, families, and communities suffering from the health and economic impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic. The House passed the HEROES Act in May but the Senate and the Trump Administration’s delays and unwillingness to negotiate have only worsened the impact of the pandemic and left families without critical support. Rather than an overreach of executive power and executive actions that do very little, we need immediate congressional action on a relief package with meaningful benefits and adequate funding.

August 11, 2020 | National
Child Health

House Fiscal Year 2021 Appropriations Bills Include Critical Priorities for Children & Families, But Much More is Needed

Rather than investing in a militarized border, wasteful Pentagon spending, or tax breaks for the wealthiest corporations, we must invest in our children, families, and Black and Brown communities amid ongoing health and economic uncertainties. The measure of our moral and economic priorities should be how we uplift our children and increase prosperity for the millions of children who want to learn, grow, and succeed.

August 10, 2020 | National
Early Childhood

Youth Voices: Congressional Hearings and Talk Show Hosts, the Genesis of My Interest in Child Care Policy

Joan Lunden helped teach my parents English. They’d left the former Soviet Union in 1993, religious refugees reuniting with family in the United States, and spent the next seven months watching Americans talking on television. Evening talk shows were like language arts classes -- my dad would watch David Letterman and Jay Leno because their voices were clear and crisp, and then Rush Limbaugh an hour later because “you had to know English to understand him.” In the mornings they’d tune into Good Morning America (GMA), hanging onto Lunden’s every word.

August 10, 2020 | National
Education

Youth Voices: Left Behind by the “New Normal” of Remote Learning

This spring, thousands of bedrooms, kitchens, and front porches—including my own home in central Virginia—turned into classrooms. As the COVID-19 pandemic surged across the United States, schools and universities closed, and classes shifted to digital formats. Though I griped about my early morning video calls, I made it through a surprise online half-semester of college largely without problem

August 7, 2020 | National
Child Health

An Uninsured Student and Essential Worker Has a Message for Texas Leaders

August 6, 2020 | Texas
Immigration

The Children's Defense Fund- Texas Strongly Opposes the New Restrictions on Asylum-Seekers

August 5, 2020 | Texas
Education

More Funding, Greater Focus on Equity Needed to Ensure the Educational Needs of All Ohio Children are met as Schools Reopen

August 5, 2020 | Ohio
Proposed HEALS Act Fails to Aid Unprecedented Food Insecurity

August 5, 2020 | New York
HEALS Act Falls Short of Providing Necessary Unemployment Insurance

August 5, 2020 | New York

Starsky Wilson stands at a podium in front of a crowd.

Featured Blog Series

For Our Children

From the desk of President and CEO Rev. Dr. Starsky Wilson, discover a new take on child well-being and advocacy. Read to learn more about shaping conversations, policies, and actions for improving the lives of our nation's children and youth.

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