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. In this role, she leads the U.S. Child Poverty Action Group, of which First Focus is a founding member.
Her work centers on building the political will for a national commitment to reduce child poverty in the United States. 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 on a cross-sector set of policies to address child poverty and homelessness, including cash assistance, income supports, hunger and nutrition programs, homelessness 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.
Fact Sheet: Aid to Children and Families in the HEROES Act (H.R. 6800)
Aubrey Edwards-Luce, Averi Pakulis, Bruce Lesley, Cara Baldari, Carrie Fitzgerald, Christopher Towner, Drew Aherne, Michelle Dallafior | May 22, 2020 |
As part of ongoing efforts to address the COVID-19 outbreak and resulting economic crisis, the U.S. House of Representatives passed the Health and Economic …
Comment: Proposed change to National School Lunch & Breakfast Program would weaken school nutrition standards
Bruce Lesley, Cara Baldari | April 22, 2020 |
First Focus on Children submitted the following comments in strong opposition to the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s (USDA) “Simplifying Meal Service and Monitoring Requirements …
Comment: Considerations for Additional Measures of Poverty
Bruce Lesley, Cara Baldari | April 14, 2020 |
First Focus on Children submitted the following comments urging the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) to extend or reopen the comment period on …
Fact Sheet: Aid to Children During Coronavirus Outbreak
Averi Pakulis, Bruce Lesley, Cara Baldari, Carrie Fitzgerald, Drew Aherne, Michelle Dallafior | April 2, 2020 |
As the spread of the coronavirus has grown, the vulnerabilities within our system have become clear. Children and families living in poverty already lack …
Make Sure Every Child Is Counted Today
Cara Baldari | April 1, 2020 |
On April 1, tell people to count all children at their address who have no permanent residence. As the spread of the Coronavirus has …
Fact Sheet: Impact of the President’s 2021 Budget on Nutrition
Cara Baldari, Drew Aherne | March 13, 2020 |
The President’s Fiscal Year 2021 (FY21) budget includes several harmful budget cuts and policy proposals that would drastically undermine food assistance programs that serve …
Coronavirus confirms why we need a national commitment to address child poverty and homelessness in the United States
Cara Baldari, Michelle Dallafior | March 13, 2020 |
There is real momentum towards addressing the high rate of child poverty in the United States and the Coronavirus outbreak has only served to …
Fact Sheet: Impact of the President’s 2021 Budget on Housing
Cara Baldari | March 2, 2020 |
On February 10th, President Trump presented his budget request for fiscal year 2021 (FY21) to Congress, outlining his spending priorities for the coming year. …
Fact Sheet: Impact of the President’s 2021 Budget on Income Support
Cara Baldari | March 2, 2020 |
On February 10th, President Trump presented his budget request for fiscal year 2021 (FY21) to Congress, outlining his spending priorities for the coming year. …
Fact Sheet: The Public Charge Rule Harms Children (Updated)
Cara Baldari, Carrie Fitzgerald, Jonny Yao (Former Staff), Kristen Torres (Former Staff), Rachel Merker (Former Staff) | February 6, 2020 |
The strength of our country’s economic future is dependent on the wellbeing of our children, who make up our future workforce and tax base. …