This week: "Meeting the Moment" in These Challenging Times
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RECENTLY FROM CLASP
October 2, 2025
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Federal Shutdown Reflects Trump’s Chaotic Government; Children and Families Pay the Price
CLASP’s statement on the government shutdown focuses on how policymakers’ inability to pass the budget could harm communities on the margins in a functioning government, this budget would be free from interference by a presidential administration. Instead, the administration is manufacturing chaos and dysfunction to continue to weaken the institutions families rely on to survive.
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"Meeting the Moment" in These Challenging Times
On Monday evening, CLASP held a conversation with key CLASP alumni, staff, and allies to reflect on how the current administration is fundamentally unraveling basic rules and decency—and how we must move in the coming days to protect our multiracial democracy. Our presenters included:
* Alice Aluoch [[link removed]] ; Global Health Council, Lived Experience Consultant, and alum of CLASP's Community Partnership Group (CPG)
* Emily Andrews [[link removed]] ; Director of Program Management at the Freedom Together Foundation, and CLASP alum
* Annie Burns [[link removed]] ; CLASP Trustee and Partner, GMMB
* Wendy Cervantes [[link removed]] ; Director of Immigration and Immigrant Families team at CLASP
* Wendy Chun-Hoon; [[link removed]] CLASP President and Executive Director
* Pronita Gupta; [[link removed]] Senior Fellow at Workshop, and CLASP alum
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The Trump Administration is Using Student Debt to Build a Military State
Christian Collins’s fact sheet examines how the Trump Administration’s offer of student loan forgiveness for new Immigration and Customs Enforcement employees and attempt to remove other options for student loan forgiveness reinforce the administration’s plan to make higher education less attainable for many potential students.
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A Guide to Creating “Safe Space” Policies for Early Childhood Programs Available in Spanish
CLASP’s “A Guide to Creating ‘Safe Space’ Policies for Early Childhood Programs” is now available in Spanish. The guide gives practitioners, advocates, and policymakers information and resources to design and implement “safe space” policies that safeguard early childhood programs against immigration enforcement, as well as protect families’ safety and privacy. It also includes sample policy text that early childhood providers can adapt for their programs.
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In “ Families Affected by Substance Use Need Holistic Healing and Recovery Support [[link removed]] ,” Teon Hayes examines how treatment options for individuals dealing with substance use can best support their families as well.
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CLASP in the News
SEPTEMBER 30, 2025 | THE WASHINGTON POST
Letter to the Editor: “DHS should respect parental rights” [[link removed]]
SEPTEMBER 25, 2025 | MOTHER JONES
The Charter School Pressuring Teachers to Get Involved In Politics [[link removed]]
SEPTEMBER 18, 2025 | HOUSTON CHRONCLE
Texas family pleads for return of child in need of brain-tumor care after she was sent to Mexico [[link removed]]
Recent Events
[[link removed]]September 24 | Juan Carlos Gomez spoke at the webinar “Community & Family Resilience in the Age of ICE,” hosted by Child Care for Every Family Network and Protecting Immigrant Families.
[[link removed]]September 24 | Priya Pandey participated in a presentation hosted by Community Change and other partners on what providers can do to support immigrant families and exercise their rights.
[[link removed]]September 29 | Teon Hayes presented to the Association of Maternal and Child Health Programs’ Council of Experts on the changes to SNAP in the reconciliation package and highlighted areas of opportunity despite the federal changes.
[[link removed]]September 30 | Wendy Cervantes spoke about “educational justice and mental health for immigrant youth” at the eighth annual Bloomberg American Health Summit.
[[link removed]]October 1 | Wendy Cervantes and Suma Setty spoke at the webinar “Maternal Mental Health and Immigrant and Refugee Women, Parents and Communities,” presented in partnership by Funders for Maternal Mental Health, Grantmakers in Health, Grantmakers Concerned with Immigrants and Refugees, and Early Childhood Funders Collaborative.
Upcoming Events
[[link removed]]On October 6, Teon Hayes will lead “Cultivating Resilience: Creative Expression for Advocates,” a wellness workshop on the importance of self-care in advocacy, at the Prosperity Now Summit.
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CLASP
1310 L St. NW, Suite 900
Washington, DC xxxxxx
United States