First Focus on Children is proud to introduce the 13th annual release of its signature Children’s Budget publication, a comprehensive analysis of how kids and families have been faring in the federal budget over the past five years. Our treatment of children today will decide the nation’s future—which is why the alarming data in this report should spur immediate action. Unless policymakers take proactive steps to invest in children, they will continue to lag behind.

View the Report | View the One Page Summary

Top Takeaways

  • Child Poverty Remains High, but Children’s Share of the Budget Continues to Shrink: At a time when the poverty rate is 54.4% higher for children than it is for adults, we should be dedicating more, not fewer, of our federal resources to closing that gap. Yet the share of spending on children has declined to an all-time low of just 7.21 percent—a near 10 percent decline since FY 2015. Under the Trump Administration’s proposed FY 2020 budget, the share of spending on children would drop even further to just 6.45 percent.
  • Spending on Children is Not Keeping Up with Rising Costs and Growing Need: Spending on children is not keeping pace with inflation, which means that  between FY 2018 and FY 2019, total spending on children experienced an inflation-adjusted cut of nearly 1 percent. Without significant increases, funding for critical children’s services and programs will continue to lose ground, and we will struggle to address the pressing challenges facing children and families.
  • If Congress Fails to Act, Children Will Fall Further Behind: Our analysis shows a long-term decline in the share of spending on children, and the Urban Institute projects children will receive only 1 percent of all new federal spending between now and 2028. As of FY 2018, we are also spending a larger share of the federal budget on interest on the national debt than on children’s programs. Kids cannot afford the status quo—Congress must take concerted, proactive steps to ensure that our nation’s children have the resources they need to thrive.

Social Media and Hashtag Use

To promote both the new analysis in Children’s Budget Book and the Children’s Budget Summit to complement the publication, use #ChildrensBudget2019.

As a secondary hashtag and call to action for the federal government to better invest in our children, use #InvestInKids.

Messages for Social Media

In addition to the messages below, you can download and use these images from our social media kit.

  • The poverty rate is 54% higher for children than it is for adults. We should be dedicating more of our resources to closing that gap. But the share of spending on children has declined to an all-time low of just 7.21%. Learn more in Children’s Budget 2019: https://bit.ly/2H9Wks5
  • Children are 25% of our population, but the administration’s budget proposed just 6.45% for children. Learn more about the effects of this decision in #ChildrensBudget2019: https://bit.ly/2H9Wks5
  • Are we doing our part to #InvestInKids? @First_Focus Children’s Budget 2019 shows that the share of total federal spending on children has a downward trend, going from 7.98% to 7.21%. See why it matters to reverse this: https://bit.ly/2H9Wks5 #ChildrensBudget2019 #InvestInKids
  • How is the government spending on children (Spoiler: The trend isn’t looking good)? Check out @First_Focus’ comprehensive analysis of the federal budget and how it directly affects our nation’s children: https://bit.ly/2H9Wks5 #ChildrensBudget2019 #InvestInKids
  • In FY 2019, the federal government spent more paying for interest on the national debt than it did on children. How can we better use our money for future generations? https://bit.ly/2H9Wks5 #ChildrensBudget2019 #InvestInKids
  • The poverty rate is 62% higher for children than it is for adults. We should be dedicating more of our resources to closing that gap. But the share of spending on children has declined to an all-time low of just 7.21%. Learn more in #ChildrensBudget2019: https://bit.ly/2H9Wks5
  • The administration’s proposed 2020 budget would slash spending on children by 8 percent in a single year. Learn more about why kids can’t afford those cuts in #ChildrensBudget2019: https://bit.ly/2H9Wks5
  • Are we doing our part to #InvestInKids? @First_Focus Children’s Budget 2019 shows that the share of total federal spending on children has declined by nearly 10 percent since 2015. See why it matters to reverse this: https://bit.ly/2H9Wks5 #ChildrensBudget2019 #InvestInKids
  • When it comes to federal spending, how are kids doing? (Spoiler: The trend isn’t looking good) Check out @First_Focus’ comprehensive analysis of how the federal budget is leaving kids behind: https://bit.ly/2H9Wks5 #ChildrensBudget2019 #InvestInKids
  • In FY 2019, the federal government spent more paying for interest on the national debt than it did on children. How can we better use our money for future generations? https://bit.ly/2H9Wks5 #ChildrensBudget2019 #InvestInKids
  • Spending on kids is not keeping up with rising costs and growing needs: #ChildrensBudget2019 finds that spending on children received an inflation adjusted cut of nearly 1 percent in FY 2019. https://bit.ly/2H9Wks5
  • #ChildrensBudget2019 shows that when it comes to the federal budget, children can’t afford the status quo. With the new fiscal year approaching, Congress needs to take proactive steps to #InvestInKids https://bit.ly/2H9Wks5