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  • Gun Violence

    Always Expecting Something to Happen

    It is past time for Congress to hear and heed our children's calls. Gun violence is not an inevitable or intractable problem. Congress can—and must—strengthen background checks, ban assault weapons, and pass other gun safety measures to ensure all children a chance to grow up free from violence and fear.

    | National

  • Child Poverty

    Upcoming Webinar: Ensuring Families Receive the Child Tax Credit

    Please join the Automatic Benefit for Children (ABC) Coalition, co-chaired by the Children’s Defense Fund and Center for the Study of Social Policy, on July 27th, from 2:00 to 3:15 p.m. ET for a webinar titled “Ensuring Families Receive the Child Tax Credit: Innovative Outreach Strategies and Removing Barriers for Families to Sign Up.”

    | National

  • Child Poverty

    Inequity Starts the Day a Child is Born

    This crisis must be treated with urgency and as a matter of racial and economic justice. President Biden and Congress can and must respond by making the Child Tax Credit permanent with critical improvements so that Black, Latinx, Asian American and Pacific Islander, Indigenous, and immigrant children — who are too often excluded from support services — can receive the benefit. If we are truly committed to racial justice and systemic equality, the choice is clear.

    | National

  • Child Welfare

    The Biden Administration Must Advance Policies to Support LGBTQ+ Children and Adults in the Child Welfare System

    As many as one in three children in foster care identify as LGBTQ+, and same-sex couples are seven times more likely to foster or adopt than their opposite-sex counterparts. Still, LGBTQ+ children and families, particularly LGBTQ+ children and families of color, disproportionately experience negative treatment in the child welfare system. CDF was proud submit comments detailing actions the administration could take to improve services for LGBTQ+ children and families in the child welfare system.

    | National

  • Child Poverty

    Child Tax Credit Payments Begin Today, But It’s Not Too Late to Sign Up

    Today, the first round of Child Tax Credit (CTC) payments—up to $300 per child—are hitting the bank accounts of millions of families across the country. Thanks to the expansion of the CTC included in the American Rescue Plan passed in March by the House and Senate Democrats and signed by President Biden, all but the highest-income families will receive monthly payments for the rest of 2021.

    | National

  • Making STEM Dreams Possible for Every Child

    Representation matters. Black professionals are underrepresented in STEM (science, technology, engineering, and math) fields, while exciting opportunities in STEM careers continue to grow at a frantic pace. Thanks to a generous grant from the Boeing Company, the CDF Freedom Schools® program is doing its part to help produce the next generation of leaders in STEM by introducing Black children to the wide world of possibilities in STEM careers through a new initiative called CDF Freedom to STEM.

    | National
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.

Learn More