Child Poverty

  • Child Poverty

    CDF Supports the Emergency Rental Assistance and Rental Market Stabilization Act amid COVID-19

    If enacted, the “Emergency Rental Assistance and Rental Market Stabilization Act” would provide states, localities, territories, and tribes with flexible resources to provide direct support to households in need with short- and medium-term rental assistance or to cover up to 6 months of back-rent and late fees. The funds may also be used to stabilize households by helping to address the cost of security deposits and utility deposits and payments, among other expenses.

  • Child Poverty

    CDF Calls for Larger and Regular Financial Support for Families amid COVID-19

    As Congress looks to its next round of legislation we must cast a wider net and help everyone with extraordinary expenses. It makes sense to extend relief to keep businesses afloat and help keep wages flowing, and it is essential to fund state and local governments. At the same time, we must also keep families afloat through recurring direct payments, expanded unemployment insurance, and food/housing aid to those in need.

  • Child Poverty

    Congress Must Put Low-Income Families First on COVID-19 Relief

    Our lawmakers must remember that workers are people, and many workers are parents. Some are unemployed or underemployed and struggling to access an overburdened and inadequate unemployment insurance program. Some are frontline workers without access to sick leave. And too many have to choose between caring for a loved one and their economic security. When these workers suffer, their children and families hurt, too. 

    | National

  • Child Poverty

    500+ Organizations Urge Congress to Protect Immigrant Families amid COVID-19

    The federal response to the COVID-19 crisis, including the Families First and the CARES Acts, left many low- and moderate-income immigrants out of the public health and stimulus policies. This exclusion threatens the well being of immigrants, their families - which include millions of U.S. citizen children - and our communities as a whole. This omission will greatly undermine the nation’s ability to overcome this unprecedented crisis.

  • Child Poverty

    Five High School Seniors Recognized for “Beating the Odds”

    Five Minnesota high school seniors, who have overcome tremendous adversity in their young lives and yet have managed to achieve academic excellence and aspire to attend college, will be recognized with Beat the Odds® Scholarships at the 29th Annual Beat the Odds Award Celebration, sponsored by Children’s Defense Fund-Minnesota. This year’s event will be a virtual celebration on Thursday, May 13, starting at 6:30 p.m. The five honorees are Sarah Ali, Minneapolis South High School; Daidyena Frost, Brooklyn Center High School; Cindy Candela Gonzaga, St. Paul Central High School; Tolchi Nwankpa, Tartan Senior High School; and Quentin Wolf, Minneapolis South High School. Each will each receive a $5,000 scholarship, a laptop computer and other support to help them achieve their college dreams.

    | Minnesota

  • Child Poverty

    Children Advocates Call for the Inclusion of Immigrant Families in COVID-19 Response

    While the CARES Act was a strong start, we are deeply concerned that children in mixed-immigration status families (those with both citizen and noncitizen members) have been excluded from critical relief. These children comprise one in four of all children in the United States, and the vast majority are U.S. citizens. It is simply unacceptable to leave them out of the COVID-19 response. Doing so will not only put more children at risk of falling into poverty but also greatly undermine our nation’s ability to overcome this crisis.