Cara Baldari Vice President, Family Economics, Housing and Homelessness
Cara Baldari is the Vice President of Family Economics, Housing, and Homelessness at First Focus on Children. She has been with First Focus since 2011 and in this role, she leads the U.S. Child Poverty Action Group, of which First Focus is a founding member.
In 2016 she helped to secure federal appropriations funding for a landmark consensus study from the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering and Medicine, A Roadmap to Reducing Child Poverty, released in February 2019.
Through her work, she advocates for a cross-sector set of investments to end child poverty and homelessness, including cash assistance, income supports, homeless assistance, and more.
Cara received a Juris Doctor from the University of Pittsburgh School of Law and a Bachelor of Arts in History and Political Science from the University of Pittsburgh. She lives in Washington, DC with her husband and daughter.
30 years after FMLA, children & families need more
Averi Pakulis, Cara Baldari, First Focus Campaign for Children | February 3, 2023 |
Thirty years ago, Congress passed, and the president signed into law, the Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA), which enabled some workers, for the …
Let’s ensure no child in the U.S. goes hungry and that every child has a safe and stable place to live
Cara Baldari, Olivia Gomez, First Focus Campaign for Children | November 15, 2022 |
This week marks Hunger and Homelessness Awareness Week, a time for action toward the goal of ensuring that no child in the U.S. goes …
Keeping up with progress: How the U.S. can follow the world’s lead on child poverty
Cara Baldari, First Focus Campaign for Children | November 7, 2022 |
The United States has historically had a higher level of child poverty than many other wealthy countries because we have failed to invest in …
Policy Brief: The Biden Administration Public Charge Regulation —What does it mean for children in immigrant families?
Cara Baldari, Miriam Abaya, Olivia Gomez | October 26, 2022 |
Approximately 1-in-4 children in the United States has an immigrant parent, and children of immigrants are the fastest-growing group of children in the United …
How Congress can reduce economic hardship & stabilize families now
Aubrey Edwards-Luce, Cara Baldari, First Focus Campaign for Children | October 19, 2022 |
We learned recently that improvements to the Child Tax Credit enacted in 2021 through the American Rescue Plan Act nearly cut our child poverty …
U.S. Child Poverty in 2021
Cara Baldari | September 21, 2022 |
On September 13, 2022, the U.S. Census Bureau reported that the United States saw the lowest child poverty rate on record, with 5.2% of …
It’s way too early to declare victory over child poverty
Cara Baldari, Michele Kayal | September 20, 2022 |
Child poverty in this country last year dropped to the lowest rate ever recorded and, according to new research, has declined by nearly 60% …
The Family Security Act 2.0 Creates Winners and Losers
Cara Baldari, Michelle Dallafior, Campaign for Children | July 8, 2022 |
Our children are facing some of the most challenging times seen in our nation’s history. America’s historically high rate of child poverty and significant …
Watch: Child poverty experts outline successful strategies
Cara Baldari, First Focus Campaign for Children | April 12, 2022 |
Earlier today, the U.S. Child Poverty Action Group, GRACE & End Child Poverty California campaign, and the First Focus Campaign for Children hosted a …
Watch: A Conversation on Child & Youth Homelessness
Cara Baldari | March 24, 2022 |
Child and youth homelessness has been on the rise even before the pandemic. Pre-COVID, an estimated 1-in-41 school-age children were homeless, while young children — those under …