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Greetings,
For those of us who have devoted our careers to supporting children, this moment demands both vigilance and courage. Across sectors, we are seeing powerful responses: public health researchers sounding the alarm on how 2025 policy shifts threaten the social drivers of health—from education and housing to employment; advocates, litigators, and child development researchers fighting to protect migrant children’s access to Head Start; and philanthropic colleagues doubling down on their values and missions to strengthen civil society.
As the Foundation’s leadership shared in our March statement, this is not just a season of challenges but also a season of possibility. The courage we see today calls us to act collectively, to strengthen one another, and to remember that defending children’s rights and well-being requires us to hold fast to our values of compassion, opportunity, and fairness.
This summer, I read On Tyranny by Timothy Snyder, and a key takeaway for me was the need to step back from the ways researchers, advocates, lawyers, and philanthropists have often worked within siloes, sometimes within our professional roles and other times within policy areas. When faced with a descent into authoritarianism, this is a moment to bridge across boundaries and work together to protect children in all communities.
In this newsletter, you will find:
Let's keep building a better future, together,
Vivian Tseng, Ph.D.
President & CEO
Foundation for Child Development
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Reimagining Child Policy Through a Social Justice Lens
Two years ago, the Foundation for Child Development’s Board and staff embarked on a journey to explore what it means to advance social justice for young children. Through deep dialogue with grantees, researchers, organizers, and peer foundations, we have shaped a new strategic framework—one rooted in community and committed to justice.
As our name suggests, our focus is child development. But it’s worth asking: who are today’s children?
- One in two are children of color.
- One in four live in immigrant families.
- One in eight live in poverty—a number that may rise under recent federal policy decisions.
This is the future of our nation: diverse, resilient, and full of potential. To ensure that all children can grow into thriving, compassionate, joyful, and productive adults, we must confront the barriers of racism, xenophobia, and economic inequality that restrict opportunity.
We recognize that we do not have all the answers. That is why our framework reflects an emergent approach—one that emphasizes continuous learning, accountability, and adaptation alongside communities, grantees, and partners. As conditions evolve, we will refine our strategies. What will not change is our steadfast commitment to ensuring every child has the opportunity to thrive.
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Now is When Nonprofits Need Philanthropy the Most: Five Ways Funders Can Step Up
Nonprofit organizations are under intense legal, financial, and safety pressures that jeopardize their ability to serve communities. Philanthropy must match the urgency of the moment and the bravery of nonprofit partners who are on the streets, inside detention centers, and struggling to serve communities. Vivian Tseng of the Foundation for Child Development, with co-authors Philip Li of the Robert Sterling Clark Foundation, Monica Munn of World Education Services, Rickke Mananzala of New York Foundation, Mike Pratt of Scherman Foundation, and Julia Bator of J.M. Kaplan Fund, bring together their expertise to offer practical options for funders who want to shift from intent to impact.
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The Plight of Marginalized Populations in 2025: The Assault on Health Equity Through a Systems Lens
History shows progress comes through organized, collective action. A recent editorial by FCD board chair, Velma M. Murry, PhD, and fellow public health researchers Steven H. Woolf, MD, MPH, Marshall H. Chin, MD, MPH, and Gilbert C. Gee, PhD, highlights how systemic, structural, and institutional racism drive inequities in health outcomes. The authors lay out sweeping policy changes across sectors that have systematically sidelined the needs of marginalized Americans.
In 2025, too many institutions will have faced threats alone, missing the power of united movements. Without that coordination, inequities will deepen, and lives will be lost.
Read more.
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To Support Civil Society, 4 Traps for Foundation Leaders to Escape
In collaboration with Mike Pratt, President & CEO of The Scherman Foundation, FCD President Vivian Tseng calls on philanthropy to examine four common constraints that can deter them from stepping forward when their partners are facing threats and need them the most. These changes could be the crucial step needed to break out of the traps and take action.
Read more.
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Back-to-School Resources
As the school year begins, schools and childcare centers are working hard to ensure safe and supportive environments for children and families. If you are looking for resources for yourself, to share with your community, or to inform your work, education and immigration-focused partners have collaborated to create a 2025 Back-To-School Virtual Resource Fair.
We stand with the teachers, caregivers, and administrators who strive to keep children safe. Access the Resource Fair here.
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Interesting Articles
Migrant and Seasonal Head Start is a 'bridge' for many US families. An order threatens its survival
A new federal order could bar thousands of immigrant children from accessing Head Start, the early education program that has helped low-income families for nearly 60 years. The change would hit migrant farmworker families especially hard, many of whom depend on the Migrant and Seasonal Head Start program for childcare, stability, and year-round support tailored to their work. Advocates warn that excluding children based on their parents’ immigration status undermines the program’s mission and could leave already vulnerable kids without safe and reliable care. With lawsuits challenging the order and enforcement temporarily on hold, the outcome will determine whether Head Start remains true to its promise of serving all children in need. Read the article.
Since publication, a federal judge has granted a preliminary injunction effectively blocking the directive of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS). Read more here.
California's hidden homeless children: living in garages, doubled-up and unseen
Student homelessness in Monterey County has reached staggering levels. Sixteen percent of their public school students have experienced homelessness, the highest rate in California, up from 4.2% a decade ago.
Among students experiencing homelessness in Monterey County, about 13% are migrants. Their parents' work in agriculture is vital to our country's food system. Their labor puts food on the tables of families across the country, and yet their own families lack safe and stable housing.
Housing instability is not abstract; it shapes whether a child can learn, grow, and thrive. Read the article.
The "Unequal Beginnings' series continues to shine a light on how disparities undermine child well-being in America.
Recent articles in the series:
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