Housing & Homelessness
More than one million K-12 students in America are homeless today. Whether that means sleeping in a shelter or crashing on a family friend’s couch, homelessness has disastrous consequences for every aspect of a child’s life – health, nutrition, education. In fact, every time a child is forced to move, it has the same impact on educational progress as missing a month of school. But federal agencies don’t even have a uniform definition of “homeless” for children. First Focus advocates an honest assessment of the family homelessness problem in America and a renewed federal commitment to ensure that no American spends his or her childhood homeless.
Resources
Explainer: What to Know About the Final “Public Charge” Rule
Cara Baldari, Carrie Fitzgerald, Drew Aherne, Kristen Torres, Rachel Merker | August 16, 2019 |
The Trump administration has finalized a rule that will expand the definition of a public charge when determining eligibility for individuals applying for admission …
Comments in Response to Proposed Rulemaking — Housing and Community Development Act of 1980: Verification of Eligible Status
| July 8, 2019 |
First Focus on Children submitted the following comments to a proposed rule expressing our strong opposition to the changes regarding “verification of eligible status,” …
Fact Sheet: Impact of the President’s 2020 Budget on Housing
Cara Baldari | April 16, 2019 |
On March 11, President Trump presented his budget request for fiscal year 2020 (FY20) to Congress, outlining his spending priorities for the coming year. …
Our Comments on the Proposed Public Charge Rule
| December 7, 2018 |
On December 7, 2018, First Focus submitted comments on the proposed public charge rule. In short, the administration’s public charge rule would lead to …
Department of Homeland Security Public Charge Rule Would Increase Child Poverty in the United States
Cara Baldari | October 23, 2018 |
The strength of our economic future is dependent on the well-being of our nation’s children. Yet child poverty remains high in the United States, …
Department of Homeland Security Public Charge Rule is a Disingenuous Attack on Children
Drew Aherne | October 18, 2018 |
The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) recently published a proposed rule on the Federal Register that would drastically change the guidelines for applying to enter …
Department of Homeland Security Public Charge Rule Would Make Children Less Healthy
Carrie Fitzgerald | October 16, 2018 |
The Department of Homeland Security released their proposed rule to the public charge section of immigration law in early October. This rule would affect …
Fact Sheet: The Public Charge Rule Harms Children
Cara Baldari, Carrie Fitzgerald, Jonny Yao, Kristen Torres, Rachel Merker | October 10, 2018 |
The strength of our country’s economic future is dependent on the wellbeing of our nation’s children, who make up our future tax base. Children …
Press Release: Share of Federal Spending on Children Has Decreased 1.7 Percent Since FY 2014
Simona Combi (Former Staff) | September 20, 2018 |
Washington, D.C., September 20, 2018—Children received 1.7 percent less of the federal budget in Fiscal Year (FY) 2018 than they did in FY 2014, …
Children’s Budget Book 2018 – Messaging and Social Media Kit
| September 19, 2018 |
First Focus is proud to announce the release of Children’s Budget 2018, which captures and analyzes historical funding data and spending trends across a wide …