The Children’s Network is a movement led by the First Focus Campaign for Children, individuals, non-profit organizations, and businesses committed to the health, education, and well-being of children in the United States. We simply share the vision of making America a better place to be a child and raise a family. The diverse and dynamic group of Members support the following The Children’s Network Agenda:
Child Abuse & Neglect:
- Strengthen policies aimed at preventing abuse and neglect whenever possible
- Intervene swiftly and effectively to keep families together when children are at risk
- Ensure that children who need the temporary safe haven of foster care can thrive while in care and beyond
Children of Immigrants:
- Ensure all children, regardless of immigration status, have the opportunity to live the American Dream
- Protect families from separation during immigration enforcement
Early Childhood:
- Provide all children, regardless of race or socioeconomic status, with high-quality, affordable early learning opportunities
- Invest in early prevention programs, such as home visiting, to help improve the health, educational and economic stability of parents and their young children
- Ensure working families have access to high quality, safe and affordable child care
Education:
- Improve K-12 education experiences for every child, especially students of color, English language learners, students with disabilities, and students from low-income families, by increasing access to funding, qualified teachers, rigorous academic standards, and necessary supports
- Help schools and communities address challenges found outside the classroom that affect classroom outcomes, such as hunger, violence, and poverty
Health:
- Provide quality, affordable health care to all children living in the United States
Nutrition:
- Ensure that no child living in America goes to school or bed hungry
- Protect proven initiatives that provide meals to mothers and infants, children, and students that fight childhood hunger and obesity
Poverty and Family Economics:
- Strengthen the federal commitment to end child and family homelessness so that all children can grow and thrive knowing they have a safe and stable place to rest their heads at night
- Implement a coordinated strategy to end child poverty that builds off of investments like the child tax credits that lift millions of children and families out of poverty every year.