Double Your Impact Today

Make a generous donation to Children’s Defense Fund today and help save lives. Your gift will be matched, dollar for dollar, up to $750,000! Include Children's Defense Fund in your 2017 year-end charitable giving plans. Your support helps further the Children’s Defense Fund Leave No Child Behind^® mission.

Stop Harmful Tax Cuts and Jobs Act

The Republican Tax Cuts and Jobs Act, on the Senate floor this week, is harmful, massively expensive and morally indefensible. It’s a giveaway to the wealthiest households and most powerful corporations at the expense of low- and middle-income children, individuals and families. The bill harms America’s most vulnerable children in at least five ways:

1. High-income households would get the largest tax cuts and those with incomes below $30,000 would on average face a tax increase. By 2027, on average, every income group below $75,000 and 50 percent of current taxpayers would face tax increases.
2. Even the $1,000 increase in the Child Tax Credit (CTC) would give at best token help to low- and middle-income working families, while giving more to higher-income families according to The Center on Budget and Policy Priorities. The Senate bill would also end the CTC benefits for about one million children in low-income working immigrant families.
3. Important deductions that would be repealed will curtail opportunities for children and youth for education and help finding jobs.
4. By repealing the Affordable Care Act’s individual mandate to help pay for corporate tax breaks, the bill will leave 13 million more people uninsured in a decade according to the Congressional Budget Office and raise premiums for millions more.
5. Huge budget cuts in Medicaid, SNAP, child care, Head Start, housing, education and Pell grants, as well as other crucial child investments would be required to reduce the $1.5 trillion added to the deficit by the bill to pay for tax cuts for non-needy millionaires and billionaires and corporations. 

We must speak up and act to stop Congress’ unjust Tax Cuts and Jobs Act. We must move forward, not backwards. Urge your Senators to vote no on the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act.

We Are So Close on CHIP

We are now at 59 days and counting since the September 30th deadline for funding for the Children’s Health Insurance Program (CHIP) passed, and nine million children and their parents still wait for Congress to extend the program’s funding. Created specifically for children from working families not eligible for Medicaid, CHIP’s benefits and provider networks ensure children have access to child-appropriate services, providers, specialists and facilities. The historically strong bipartisan support for CHIP and a commitment to a five-year CHIP extension continues, but the debate is about how to pay for the extension for CHIP and other health programs. We’re so close to the finish line. It is incumbent on our congressional leaders to achieve a solution for our nation's children.

Give Every Child a Head Start

Children’s brains are developing rapidly in their first five years, building a foundation for all future development and learning. High-quality child care can help support young children’s healthy brain development, but the high cost of quality child care makes it inaccessible for many children in low- and middle-income working families.

The Child Care for Working Families Act (S. 1806/H.R. 3773) introduced in September would ease that burden for millions of families with young children – ensuring low- and middle-income families have access to affordable, high-quality child care while also supporting important new investments as well in preschool and Head Start.

The Children’s Defense Fund supports this important legislation. We need you to take action to help move this bill forward. Sign this petition today and join other child advocates telling Congress to do the right thing for children and families by supporting the Child Care for Working Families Act.

Change the Odds for California’s Children

The Children’s Defense Fund - California 27^th annual Beat the Odds^® Ceremony will be held on December 7, at the Beverly Wilshire Hotel in Beverly Hills, California. Join Children’s Defense Fund President Marian Wright Edelman, emcee Conan O’Brien and other special guests to honor five Los Angeles high school youths in recognition of their academic achievement despite overwhelming challenges. Congratulations to Jacqueline Martinez, Ja'Nay Carter, Ana-Mariana Sotomayor Palomino, Jerry Goss and Mey Sok. 

Tickets available by contacting Harvin Rogas at 310-559-9334. Please consider giving as generously as you can to help support these youths and CDF-CA.

Since 1995, the Beat the Odds scholarship and servant leadership program has supported hundreds of youths across the country. CDF holds five high-profile awards events in California, Minnesota, New York, Ohio, Texas and Washington, D.C. not only to celebrate the scholarship recipients, but to inspire community leaders and citizens to help all children who are struggling to overcome adversity.

Important Read: Youth Homelessness in America

In the United States, 3.5 million (one in ten) youths ages 18-25 and 700,000 (one in 30) children ages 13-17 experience some form of homelessness unaccompanied by a parent or guardian over the course of a year, according to a recently released study Missed Opportunities: Youth Homelessness in America published by Chapin Hall at the University of Chicago. It is the first national study of the prevalence of youth homelessness in over 20 years and shines a light on youth homelessness, revealing a nationwide problem that cuts across rural and urban areas. It captures the scope of the issue broadly, harnessing data from young people who have slept on the streets or in shelters; ran away from or were kicked out of their homes; or couch surfed, living with friends and family. Chapin Hall recommends building prevention efforts into systems where youth likely to experience homelessness are in our care, such as child welfare, juvenile justice, and education systems, as well as funding housing interventions, services, and prevention efforts in accordance with the scale of youth homelessness.

CDF State Office Highlights

In Texas, Children’s Defense Fund-Texas (CDF-Texas) is working with others to raise public awareness about the need to reauthorize the Children’s Health Insurance Program (CHIP). Without Congressional action to extend CHIP funding, 400,000 children in Texas stand to lose health coverage early next year. In addition, CDF-Texas continues its efforts to assist in the long-term recovery and support for children affected by Hurricane Harvey, especially in the communities South and East of Houston.

In Ohio, Children’s Defense Fund-Ohio has released a four-part series of infographics, The Census Matters for Ohio Communities, detailing the impact of the census on Ohio’s communities and sharing information for local governments about the Census Bureau’s Local Update of Census Addresses (LUCA) Operation. 

In California, Children’s Defense Fund-California continues to advocate for expanding protections and opportunities for incarcerated youth. In a recent Sacramento Bee op-ed CDF-California’s senior policy associate, Dominique Nong, highlights the importance of having youth and family voices represented in the process for revising regulations that govern California’s 124 county-run juvenile detention facilities.

And in New York, Children’s Defense Fund-New York team has coordinated the three-day New York City visit of an international restorative justice exchange program in November, with two visiting organizations from Northern Ireland: Community Restorative Justice Ireland and Northern Ireland Alternatives. The visit included nearly a dozen site visits with CDF-NY partner organizations, including a neighborhood-based mediation center, a community court, a high school implementing restorative justice and a community space for parent organizers.