National

  • Education

    CDF Joins the Call for the Department of Education to Withdraw the Rule that Would Divert More Funds to Private Schools

    We joined leading organizations to express our opposition to the Department of Education's interim final rule on "CARES Act Program; Equitable Services to Students and Teachers in Non-Public Schools" and particularly to the scenario provided that would require school districts to divert more funds to private school students in the name of the CARES Act's "equitable services" provision than is required under the law. This interim rule does not prioritize students facing the greatest barriers to education success.

  • 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 Poverty

    CDF Joined Over 80 National Organizations Calling for Congress to Enact New Pandemic Relief Legislation to Reduce the Harms of the Health and Economic Crisis

    We urge Congress to enact new pandemic relief legislation that can effectively reduce the harsh scope of the health and economic crisis engulfing our nation. Congress must approve (1) cash and other assistance to prevent devastating and long-term losses to the jobless and families; (2) protections and resources to create conditions for a safe return to work; (3) state and local aid to ensure adequate health care, education, and many other essential services; and (4) Congress must protect mainstays of our democracy from being undermined by the pandemic: safe voting; the U.S. Postal Service; and the decennial Census.

  • To Honor the Life and Legacy of Congressman John Lewis, Congress Should Enact the Voting Rights Advancement Act and the Election Provisions of the HEROES Act

    To honor the life and legacy of the late Congressman John Lewis, more than 150 organizations urge Congress to enact federal legislation to safeguard the fundamental right to vote. There would be no truer tribute to Representative Lewis than for the Senate to pass the Voting Rights Advancement Act (“VRAA”) – recently reintroduced as the John Lewis Voting Rights Advancement Act – and the election provisions of the Health and Economic Recovery Omnibus Emergency Solutions (“HEROES”) Act. Enacting these critical legislative measures would protect the integrity of the November election and counter the disenfranchisement of communities of color that the nation has sadly witnessed in the aftermath of the Supreme Court’s infamous Shelby County v. Holder opinion in 2013.

  • Immigration

    Nearly 800 Organizations Call On Congress to Include Immigrant Families in COVID-19 Relief Packages

    CDF joined nearly 800 organizations in urging Congress to address the exclusion of immigrant families, workers, taxpayers, and their U.S. children and spouses, from the CARES Act and other COVID-19 recovery packages passed by Congress in the next pandemic relief legislation. Immigrants have been left out of every relief package so far, even though they are disproportionately impacted by COVID-19 and are risking their health and safety as essential workers during the pandemic. We cannot let immigrants be excluded from relief again. If our nation wants to recover from this economic and public health crisis, we must ensure that everyone is included

  • Immigration

    Appeal from Experts in Child Welfare, Child Health, and Child Development: Free the Families and Promote Family Unity

    94 child welfare, health, and safety experts write to ICE after witnessing this administration’s continued systematic implementation of practices to separate immigrant families. Amidst the backdrop of a public health crisis, we must renew our shared concern that your agency will harm children by taking them from their parents in order to deter or punish families who come to this country seeking protection .

  • Health

    CDF Joins 270+ Organizations Calling for HHS to Take Action on Pending Medicaid Section 1115 Demonstrations to Address Racial Disparities and Systemic Racism

    One consequence of the systemic racism highlighted by the pandemic and nationwide protests against racial inequality and injustices is the health disparities faced by Black people in general, and Black women in particular. Medicaid, which provides coverage for over 70 million people with low incomes who -- due to systemic racism and barriers to care – are disproportionately people of color, has an unmatched opportunity to reduce these disparities. We urge you to take two immediate steps with respect to Medicaid section 1115 demonstrations that will work to mitigate racial disparities rather than making them worse.

  • Child Poverty

    CDF Joins the Call for USDA Waivers to Meet the Tremendous Need for Meals in the Upcoming School Year

    School districts are still establishing what “school” will look like next year, but many students will not be “at school” five days a week, with access to school breakfast and lunch each day. Instead, schools across the country are making plans to implement staggered schedules, remote learning, or some combination of the two. This means that communities will need the flexibility to provide meals to children at school, to send meals home with children when they are not at school, and to provide meals at community sites closer to children’s homes

  • 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.