National

  • Immigration

    I ❤️ My Immigrant Family

    America is a nation of values, founded on the ideal that we are all created equal. These values—freedom, equality, and opportunity—are strengthened by our immigrant family, friends, neighbors, and co-workers. We love them, we’re glad they’re here, and we recognize that in order for children and this nation to flourish and prosper, we must commit to policies that reflect that 1 in 4 children in the U.S. live with at least one immigrant parent or are immigrants themselves.

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  • Child Poverty

    What You Need to Know About TANF: A Brief Background on the Basics

    Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF) is a federal block grant program for states, tribes, and territories designed to help families with a variety of services. States receive the block grant funding and use it to administer programs that provide cash assistance, child care, work supports and activities, child welfare, and more. States also use the funding to help families with children experiencing poverty pay for groceries, rent, diapers, clothing, and other basic necessities. In Fiscal Year 2020, which spans from October 2019 – September 2020, more than 1 million families—including more than 2 million children—received TANF assistance.

  • Youth Justice

    We Must Put an End to the Racist and Counteractive Practice of Juvenile Fees and Fines

    Juvenile fees and fines are not rehabilitative – instead, they increase recidivism and destabilize families, criminalize poverty, and heighten existing racial disparities within the juvenile and adult criminal justice systems. It's time we move beyond reforming broken policies and put an end to these harmful practices altogether.

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  • Child Poverty

    The Child Tax Credit Will Not Reach Every Child Until Congress Simplifies Complicated Tax Rules

    The current expanded CTC still leaves out hundreds of thousands of children due to arcane rules built into the tax code, collectively known as the “child-claiming” rules. It is time for Congress to rewrite the child-claiming rules to ensure the CTC follows each child, no matter their household composition, family structure, or where they live.

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  • Child Poverty

    To Reach Every Child, the Child Tax Credit Eligibility Requirements Must Be Changed

    To ensure that no child is excluded from the CTC because of their family structure, frequency of moving, or their involvement in other systems, Congress must make critical changes to the definition of “qualifying child” for the purpose of the CTC. To expand eligibility, the CTC should be accessible to all children regardless of their relationship to their caregiver and the bene t should continue to support children and their families as their living arrangements change.

  • Child Poverty

    CDF Urges Congress to Pass a Robust Child Nutrition Reauthorization (CNR) Bill and Ensure Equitable Access to Meals

    Children and families need ongoing support and access to healthy, nutritious meals during the pandemic and beyond. We cannot revert back to strict, outdated, and inflexible standards that leave millions of children—disproportionately Black, Latinx, and Indigenous children—behind and vulnerable to hunger. To truly build back better and advance racial equity, we must fully and finally eliminate barriers to healthy food and success for all children. Congress can—and must—begin right now and advance a bold CNR bill.

  • Child Health

    Children’s Defense Fund selects Morgan Lewis as Outside Counsel

    After an extensive and competitive procurement process, the Children’s Defense Fund (CDF) has selected the global law firm Morgan Lewis as its legal counsel. The partnership is an essential part of CDF’s strategic direction focused on institutional growth and movement building for child well-being.

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