Research

Child Poverty More than Doubled in 2022

On September 11, 2023, the United States Census Bureau released Poverty in the United States: 2022, the annual report that measures the economic wellbeing of households, families, and individuals in the United States. This report provides estimates of two measures of poverty: the official poverty measure and the Supplemental Poverty Measure (SPM); the SPM is

Babies in the Budget: New Report

On August 23, 2023, First Focus on Children and ZERO TO THREE released Babies in the Budget, a new report that examines federal investment in the nation’s youngest children across more than 120 programs. Their analysis finds that the federal government invests very little in babies and toddlers – the federal share of spending on

Improving How Poverty Is Measured: Webinar

The Institute for Research on Poverty at the University of Wisconsin-Madison conducted a webinar to enhance poverty measurement in the United States. The panel of experts proposed elevating the Supplemental Poverty Measure (SPM) to become the Principal Poverty Measure (PPM), which would include health insurance and child care as essential needs in addition to traditional

Summer Nutrition Status Report: FRAC

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

Bill for Gun Violence Prevention Funding Introduced

On June 22, 2022, Reps. Danny K. Davis (D-IL), Bill Pascrell, Jr., (D-NJ), Brad Schneider (D-IL), Earl Blumenauer (D-OR), Gwen Moore (D-WI), and Dwight Evans (D-PA) recognized June as Gun Violence Prevention Month by introducing The Gun Violence Prevention and Safe Communities Act - legislation to create guaranteed annual funding for gun violence prevention. The

Homeless Youth at Risk

SchoolHouse Connection hosted a webinar on Wednesday, June 22, 2023, titled "Homeless Youth at Risk: Lessons from the 2021 Youth Risk Behavior Survey." This webinar focused on presenting the findings from the Youth Risk Behavior Survey (YRBS), which is administered by the Centers for Disease Control every two years. Jennifer Smith-Grant, Lieutenant Commander, U.S. Public

Suicide and Homicide Rates Increased: CDC

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) National Center for Health Statistics released a new data brief detailing the trends from 2001 through 2021 in suicide and homicide rates for people aged 10–24 and for age groups 10–14, 15–19, and 20–24. The key findings include suicide rates for people aged 10–24 increased from 2007

Webinar: Keep Up the Fight to Improve the Tax Code for Kids

On June 16, 2023, First Focus on Child held a webinar, “Keep Up the Fight to Improve the Tax Code for Kids,” to discuss the importance of restoring the improvements of the Child Tax Credit and Earned Income Tax Credit. Senator Brown (D-OH) explains the importance of the Child Tax Credit in his career and

Women Pay the Price in Child Care Workforce Crisis

On May 31, 2023, the National Women's Law Center published a new fact sheet, "The Child Care and Early Learning Workforce Is Underpaid and Women are Paying the Price." This fact sheet includes data and tables on who comprises the child care workforce, their educational attainment, parental status, and their pay. Key findings include: Women

Federal Child Nutrition Program Waivers Increased Access

In the early months of the COVID-19 pandemic, federal waivers issued by the Food and Nutrition Service at the U.S. Department of Agriculture provided flexibility that enabled child nutrition program operators to feed children amid challenges brought on by the pandemic, according to a new study. “Our study revealed how measures taken at the height

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