Biden’s Proposed American Families Plan Would Revolutionize Life for Poor Children | janresseger

Biden’s Proposed American Families Plan Would Revolutionize Life for Poor Children | janresseger

Biden’s Proposed American Families Plan Would Revolutionize Life for Poor Children

When public policy has been entirely inadequate and misguided for decades, it is difficult to grasp the full implications of the beginning steps for reform. Such is the case with President Joe Biden’s proposal last week to respond to our society’s outrageous level of child poverty. The development of coherent, efficient policy to ameliorate the overwhelming and complicated problems of America’s poorest families will take a long time, even if Democrats continue to occupy the White House and sustain Congressional majorities.

But on April 28, President Biden introduced a plan to begin the journey to remedy fiscal austerity when it comes to our society’s poorest families and children. We can turn to some experts to put the significance of President Biden’s proposed American Families Plan in perspective.

California’s EdSource quotes Deborah Stipek, a professor in the Stanford University Graduate School of Education: “Biden’s proposals, so far, will go further toward supporting children—especially those living in poverty—than anyone in the White House in my lifetime… Right now, children from low-income families are beginning kindergarten substantially behind their middle-class peers. Most of the achievement gap is well in place when children begin school. One reason is lower participation in preschool and lower quality preschool for low-income children. Anything that broadens access and ensures quality is worth doing, and the child care and extension of the tax credit initiatives are very exciting.”

First Focus on Children’s Bruce Lesley also believes Biden’s American Families Plan is revolutionary: “There are moments in time when historic or transformational changes are made by our nation’s leaders to really make a difference for children and families in this CONTINUE READING: Biden’s Proposed American Families Plan Would Revolutionize Life for Poor Children | janresseger

The American Families Plan: Potentially the Most Important Proposal for Children Ever | by Bruce Lesley | Voices4Kids | Apr, 2021 | Medium

The American Families Plan: Potentially the Most Important Proposal for Children Ever | by Bruce Lesley | Voices4Kids | Apr, 2021 | Medium

The American Families Plan: Potentially the Most Important Proposal for Children Ever

There are moments in time when historic or transformational changes are made by our nation’s leaders to really make a difference for children and families in this country. If President Biden’s just released American Families Plan becomes law, today would be one of those moments.

Unfortunately, the reality we face is that children are often merely an afterthought of election officials, as kids do not vote, do not make campaign contributions or operate a Political Action Committee (PAC), and do not employ a team of lobbyists to demand that lawmakers hear their concerns and address their needs.

To overcome these barriers for children, we at First Focus Campaign for Children established a Legislative Scorecard to identify Champions for Children in the U.S. House and Senate who do positive things for children and families because it is the right thing to do and not because a special interest gave them a campaign contribution. We also created a Children’s Budget to identify and analyze all investments in the federal budget and to hold the White House and Congress accountable for whether they are succeeding or failing our children. In that endeavor, we have often quoted then Sen. Joe Biden and his words:

Don’t tell me what you value, show me your budget, and I’ll tell you what you value.

When candidate Biden was running for president, other candidates had a CONTINUE READING: The American Families Plan: Potentially the Most Important Proposal for Children Ever | by Bruce Lesley | Voices4Kids | Apr, 2021 | Medium

Gov. DeSantis Should Veto Florida’s Tragically Flawed So-Called ‘Parents’ Bill of Rights’ | by Bruce Lesley | Voices4Kids | Apr, 2021 | Medium

Gov. DeSantis Should Veto Florida’s Tragically Flawed So-Called ‘Parents’ Bill of Rights’ | by Bruce Lesley | Voices4Kids | Apr, 2021 | Medium

Gov. DeSantis Should Veto Florida’s Tragically Flawed So-Called ‘Parents’ Bill of Rights’

Thanks to the South Florida Sun Sentinel editorial for highlighting significant concerns with a so-called “Parents’ Bill of Rights” (HB 241) that passed the Florida Senate this week and is now on the way to Gov. Ron DeSantis for either his signature or veto.

The Governor should veto this legislation because of its numerous problems and flaws. Instead, the Governor should form a special advisory committee that actually includes children and youth in the discussion about their health, education, and well-being. Kids, after all, might just have something to say about their own lives and future.

At the outset, let’s be clear that nobody disputes that parents and families are fundamental to the upbringing, education, and well-being of children. The U.S. Supreme Court has stated that parents have fundamental rights and responsibilities. For instance, in Troxel vs. Granville (2000), the Supreme Court concluded “the interest of parents in the care, custody, and control of their children” to be “perhaps the oldest of the fundamental liberty interests recognized by this Court.”

There is no doubt that the role of parents in the protection and well-being CONTINUE READING: Gov. DeSantis Should Veto Florida’s Tragically Flawed So-Called ‘Parents’ Bill of Rights’ | by Bruce Lesley | Voices4Kids | Apr, 2021 | Medium

Biden’s Relief Package Moves Along—Including Child Tax Credit to Ameliorate Child Poverty | janresseger

Biden’s Relief Package Moves Along—Including Child Tax Credit to Ameliorate Child Poverty | janresseger

Biden’s Relief Package Moves Along—Including Child Tax Credit to Ameliorate Child Poverty

Last week, while America was reliving the January 6, 2021, insurrection at the Capitol and listening to an impeachment trial in the U.S. Senate, the U.S. House continued marking up President Joe Biden’s proposed $1.9 trillion COVID relief package. In a society that has, over the past four years, not even managed to name widespread child poverty as a problem, the new President has—by  getting to work and immediately proposing a comprehensive COVID relief package—managed entirely to change the national conversation. I clipped seven different articles last week alone on Biden’s proposed provisions to reduce child poverty.

First Focus on Children’s Bruce Lesley explains: “(T)here were 12 million children in the United States living in poverty in 2019… Even before the pandemic and recession, the kids were not alright. In an international comparison, our nation is well behind other wealthy nations in a report by UNICEF on dozens of child well-being measures, including child poverty and child mortality.  In that report, the United States ranks… 36th out of 38 countries—behind countries like Romania, Estonia, Slovakia, Latvia, Greece, Poland, Lithuania, and Malta.”  Leslie points out that 31 percent of U.S. children live below the poverty line.

Leslie highlights a key provision in the President’s proposed COVID-19 relief plan, “What stands out is the Biden-Harris proposal to make the Child Tax Credit fully refundable to help… one-third of all our kids… whose parents make too little to qualify for the full child benefit, which is $2,000 annually under current law. The legislation also raises the amount of the Child Tax Credit to $3,600 to families with children 5 and under ($300 per month) and $3,000 to families with children 6-17 years-of-age ($250 per month).”

The Child Tax Credit is exactly that: a tax credit. It works by reducing a parent’s federal CONTINUE READING: Biden’s Relief Package Moves Along—Including Child Tax Credit to Ameliorate Child Poverty | janresseger

SURVEY: BRUCE LESLEY WANTS TO KNOW What's your priority for children for 2021? - First Focus Campaign for Children

Children's Action Network - First Focus Campaign for Children

SURVEY: BRUCE LESLEY WANTS TO KNOW

What's your priority for children for 2021?

Ensuring all children have health coverage

Increasing access to quality child care and early childhood programs

Designating a White House Office of Children to oversee children’s issues

Ending the school-to-prison pipeline and placing more counselors in schools

Providing greater budget transparency on children’s issues

Cutting child poverty rates in half within the decade

Ensuring racial equity for children’s outcomes

Prioritizing well-being and legal protections for immigrant youth

TAKE THE SURVEY HERE: Children's Action Network - First Focus Campaign for Children

Voters Have Spoken and They Support Children | First Focus on Children

Voters Have Spoken and They Support Children | First Focus on Children

Voters Have Spoken and They Support Children

A 2020 election-eve survey of voters by Lake Research Partners reflects a divided nation on politics but finds American voters bridge that divide in their common support of a better life for children.

This vision includes ensuring that the “best interests” of children (81–13 percent support) govern decision-making involving them, an independent Children’s Commissioner is established (65–26 percent) “to protect and improve the care and well-being of children,” and that Congress and the President will work together to address issues such as cutting child poverty in half (70–20 percent) and covering all children (85–12 percent) with health insurance coverage.

While there is no doubt that our nation is deeply divided on most issues and the 2020 election results and aftermath confirm those divisions, there is uniform and tremendous “tripartisan” support for making significant progress on children’s issues with little to no demographic divide by gender, race, age, income, geography, education, marital status, or religion.

While there is no doubt that our nation is deeply divided on most issues and the 2020 election results and aftermath confirm those divisions, there is uniform and tremendous “tripartisan” support for making significant progress on children’s issues with little to no demographic divide by gender, race, age, income, geography, education, marital status, or religion.

As our nation seeks to heal and come together again on improving our “now” and our “future,” children are clearly a pathway toward finding common ground.

Unfortunately, since children do not vote, do not give campaign contributions, and do not have lobbyists or political action committees (PACs), they have often been treated as an afterthought by policymakers in the past.

At the close of 2019, Fatherly highlighted how dozens of bipartisan bills that would improve the lives of children across a variety of issue areas were left unacted upon by the U.S. Senate. It cited the Legislative Scorecard by First Focus Campaign for Children (FFCC) that could not identify a single vote throughout the entire year that was specific to the needs and well-being of children.

As Michael Freeman, author of The Moral Status of Children, writes:

All too rarely is consideration given to what policies…do to children. This is all the more the case where the immediate focus of the policy is not children. But even in children’s legislation the unintended or indirect effects of changes are not given the critical attention they demand…

But where the policy is not ‘headlined’ children…, the impact on the lives of children is all too readily glossed over.

In the past, the President and Congress have largely ignored or neglected the needs of children and the consequences are that outcomes for children are CONTINUE READING: Voters Have Spoken and They Support Children | First Focus on Children