National

  • Child Poverty

    The State of America's Children® 2021

    Since the Children’s Defense Fund last published our annual State of America’s Children report in February 2020, our children have experienced a year of unprecedented upheaval due to the COVID-19 pandemic and a racial reckoning years in the making. Every aspect of children’s lives has been impacted by these shifts more quickly than data can track; even the most recent available data sets do not fully encompass how this past year has shaped our lives. This, of course, includes our 2021 State of America’s Children report. Because, as one element of the report makes clear, “Our Children are Not Immune.”

  • Gun Violence

    “When Will This Madness End?”

    The mass shootings in Atlanta and Boulder were far from the first--but they can and must be the last. Too many children are still worrying and wondering “When will this madness end?” This time, let’s give them the answer they deserve: today.

    | National

  • Stop AAPI Hate. Our Children are Watching.

    Arriving now at the intersection of gender-based violence and racism, we must confront our history—our words and actions as a country—and work towards the eradication of white supremacy through a community-centered approach. Our children are watching and right now they’re seeing the cruel attacks, the fear, and the angry words.

    | National

  • Child Poverty

    What Would Raising the Minimum Wage Mean for Children?

    Families, workers, and children need at least $15 an hour or more not because working is connected to their worth or that people have to work to feel worthy, but because it is the morally and economically humane thing to do for our nation. It’s an investment in our neighbors, our children, and our families--for now and for the future.

    | National

  • Child Health

    What the American Rescue Plan Act Means for Children and Families

    Today, Congress took the final step to pass the American Rescue Plan Act, which President Biden is expected to subsequently sign into law. The $1.9 trillion relief package, for which President Biden’s proposal served as the foundation, marks a bold step forward in the fight for our children’s future. The American Rescue Plan Act will provide immediate relief for children and families, work to address the racial and economic injustices that COVID-19 has exacerbated, and take a long overdue step to address our nation’s shameful child poverty crisis, cutting child poverty in half in 2021.

    | National