Child Poverty Reduction Act On September 21, 2023, Representative Danny K. Davis (D-IL), Representative Barbara Lee (D-CA), Representative Gerald E. Connolly (D-VA), Representative Sara Jacobs (D-CA), and U.S. Senator Bob Casey (D-PA) introduced the Child Poverty Reduction Act of 2023 to commit the nation to cutting child poverty by half in 5 years and to
On Friday, September 22, 2023, First Focus on Children released its annual Children’s Budget Book in a live event hosted by the Senate Budget Committee. Chairman Sheldon Whitehouse (D-RI) opened the event, stating, “there is no better investment the Federal government can make than in children and families. We save $7 for every $1 we
On September 13, 2023, Representatives Katherine Clark (D-MA), Rosa DeLauro (D-CT), Bobby Scott (D-VA), Suzanne Bonamici (D-OR), Mikie Sherrill (D-NJ), Sara Jacobs (D-CA), Jimmy Gomez (D-CA), and Jamaal Bowman (D-NY) and Senators Patty Murray (D-WA) and Bernie Sanders (I-VT) introduced the Child Care Stabilization Act to extend vital federal child care stabilization funding, which is
On September 12, 2023 the Senate Judiciary Committee held "Book Bans: Examining How Censorship Limits Liberty and Literature," to discuss the constitutional right to knowledge through literature. Charman Dick Durbin (D-IL) introduced the debate with extensive history of book banning in the United States. He asserts that banning books does not come from the effort
On July 13th, 2023, the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services issued a Notice of Proposed Rulemaking (NPRM) designed to improve affordability and access to care options for families and promote financial stability of child care providers participating in the federal child care subsidy program under the Child Care and Development Block Grant (CCDBG). This
On September 12th, 2023 the U.S. Department of Education released a “Dear Colleague Letter” to Chief State School Officers asking States to modify their administrative procedures to expedite spending American Rescue Plan Homeless Children and Youth (ARP-HCY) funds. These funds, that must be obligated by September of 2024, provide supports for students experiencing homelessness who
On July 26, the House Education and Workforce Subcommittee on Early Childhood, Elementary, and Secondary Education conducted a hearing titled "Generational Learning Loss: The Impact of Prolonged School Closures During the Pandemic." Chairman Aaron Bean (R-FL) opened the session expressing deep concern about the academic setback suffered by students due to the extended school closures
On July 25th, 2023, the Food Research & Action Center released a nutrition report, “Hunger Doesn’t Take a Vacation: Summer Nutrition Status Report 2023." The report emphasized the importance of summer nutrition programs to reduce food insecurity, especially during the summer and highlighted that participation in these programs declined from July 2021 to July 2022
On July 19, 2023, the Center for American Progress hosted an event titled “Health Equity in Early Childhood Policy” that facilitated a discussion about how policymakers can address inequality in health policy to create legislation that effectively serves all children. The panelists agreed that the most urgent need is to include community members in conversations
The Children’s Bureau and Learning Coordination Center hosted a webinar on June 21, 2023, titled “Supporting Children and Youth Coping with Unresolved Loss.” The panel focused on ambiguous loss, defined as when a parent is physically or emotionally absent in a child’s life due to foster care, incarceration, substance use disorders, or other physical or
