Early Childhood

  • Child Health

    Introducing our 2020 Voter Guides

    To help make voting more accessible, CDF has released its 2020 voter guides. Our guides explain why voting matters at every level of government (the presidential election is not the only election on the ballot!), highlight the children’s issues that are at stake in this election, and help you make a plan to vote smartly and safely, especially within the context of COVID-19.

    | National

  • Child Health

    What the Supreme Court Means for Children

    The Supreme Court will continue to be one of the most powerful forces shaping the lives of children and the world we are leaving for them. In a time of growing polarization, we continue to see more cases decided on close margins, giving a single Justice the power to profoundly impact the health, safety, and well-being of millions of children for generations to come. Confirming a new Justice is one of the most consequential actions that a Senator can take and as with any vote they take, CDF believes it is  imperative they do so with the interests of children in mind.

    | National

  • Child Health

    Jacob Blake and the Violence Against Children

    We will continue to demand accountability and systemic change on behalf of Black children and families across this country. We urge elected officials at all levels of government to enact policy that pushes further and to seek radical change to dismantle the systems that create tragedies like these.

    | 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.

    | National

  • Early Childhood

    CDF Urges Congress to Provide Adequate Funding for Child Care in the Next COVID-19 Relief Package

    The HEALS Act’s $15 billion investment would keep the system afloat for less than two months and falls far short of the at least $50 billion that is needed to stabilize the system. We urge you to provide at least $50 billion in funding for child care in the next relief package to meet the needs of child care providers, educators, and parents and to reflect the essential role child care plays in supporting our public health response now and our recovery from this crisis.

  • Child Health

    The Senate’s Proposal, the HEALS Act, Falls Far Short of Meeting the Needs of Children and Families in Crisis

    The Senate returned to work last week promising to unveil additional COVID-19 relief legislation that their Republican leadership said would focus on “making sure we take care of our kids” in the face of the unprecedented national economic and public health crisis. This week, they finally introduced their idea of relief—The HEALS Act—and it falls far short of the meeting the needs of children and families in this country.

    | National

  • Child Health

    The Senate Promised to Focus on Kids in the Next COVID-19 Relief Package. Here’s What They Should Do

    The Senate returned to work in Washington this week promising to act on additional COVID-19 relief legislation that their Republican leadership says will be focused on “bringing back jobs and making sure we take care of our kids.” But for more than two months, as children and families suffered, with Black families and other families of color disproportionately losing their lives and livelihoods to this crisis, Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-KY) “hit pause” on additional relief legislation and refused to take up the HEROES Act passed by the House of Representatives in mid-May, which builds on the groundwork laid by previous coronavirus relief packages to ease the damaging health and economic effects of the COVID-19 pandemic. As the Senate considers additional relief legislation this week, they must prioritize the needs of children and families

    | National

  • Early Childhood

    Leading Child Development Organizations Urge Congress to Provide Head Start with Needed Funding Amid COVID-19

    Amidst the challenges of COVID-19, we urge your support of $1.7 billion in supplemental funding to provide Head Start with the necessary resources to maintain high-quality program delivery in communities across our country. For families struggling to make ends meet, toiling away to finish a degree, or searching for stable work, COVID-19 has been an emotional and economic blow, bringing with it a daunting response and recovery process. Fortunately, in all of our communities and especially during this pandemic, Head Start and Early Head Start programs have stepped up to ensure nearly one million children are receiving basic care, new mothers are buttressed against this storm, early learning is advanced, and families living on the edge are surrounded with support.