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** It’s time to “do our first works over”
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Beloved,

Every January is an opportunity to press the reset button. But this year…in this moment…it was different. We are being called to something deeper.

I heard it everywhere. As the year began, I traveled to local communities, from the South to the Pacific Northwest, listening to our partners in community organizing, faith leadership, philanthropy, and youth engagement. On January 21, the CDF team came together for the first time.

We began with a conversation about, “What’s going on?” The hybrid exchange between the Ella Baker Conference Room in Washington, D.C., and staff logging in from across the country, started with Marvin Gaye’s words and shifted quickly to Grace Lee Boggs’ query. “What time is it on the clock of the world?”

Team members shared powerful stories. From the physical and political violence in Minnesota. From immigration battles and family detention in Texas. From attempts to rollback policy wins in New York. In each instance they illuminated the harm being done to children and their families.

With each story, it became clearer that it’s time for us to do our first works over. As a nation. As a community. As an organization. I needed to do the same as a leader.

When I joined CDF in December 2020, I was wrestling with Eddie Glaude’s book about James Baldwin. The best-selling text published that year was entitled, Begin Again. It was named for the ancestor’s reflections on America “in the aftertimes.” In The Price of the Ticket, Baldwin says “to do your first works over means to re-examine everything. Go back to where you started, or as far back as you can, examine all of it, travel your road again and tell the truth about it.”

Two generations ago, CDF began with public truth-telling and narrative campaigns, grassroots base-building, and direct engagement with policymakers. This year, CDF will do her first works over to pursue child well-being through child advocacy.

CDF’s truth-telling work builds moral suasion in child advocacy by reporting data and the daily experiences of children. In 2026, we will support a special journal issue reflecting on the legacy of our signature 1975 report on school discipline, initiate a multi-year research partnership with Chapin Hall, and launch narrative campaigns to center children in democracy, faith, and public policy.

Our base-building focuses on child advocates, students, parents and caregivers, and faith communities. This year, we are expanding our Child Policy Training Institute, deepening relationship with state-level multi-issue child advocacy organizations, and scaling faith community organizing through place-based capacity-building. We will convene and equip 40,000 child advocates to make change for children this year.

We engage policymakers through professional staff and by mobilizing our base to advance our 2030 Public Policy Agenda ([link removed]) . Our policy advocacy is rooted in national community listening campaigns and coalition work. In 2026, our goal is to put 8,000 advocates in direct contact with policy makers. With partners we will also launch an effort to center Black children in public policy in the South.

Join us as we begin again. Contribute. Volunteer. Give. Follow the work and share it with others.

For our children,

Rev. Dr. Starsky Wilson
President and CEO
Donate ([link removed])


** TAKING ACTION FOR CHILDREN AND YOUTH
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** CDF Board welcomes Global Child Well-being and Early Learning Experts
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In January, the CDF Board of Directors welcomed two new directors, Mariana Souto-Manning, PhD, and Ramesh Raghavan, MD, PhD. Souto-Manning, president of the Erickson Institute, and Raghavan, a social work professor at New York University, bring a continuum of early childhood education, children’s mental health, and public policy expertise to CDF’s governance.
Read More ([link removed])


** CDF Minnesota Supports Children during ICE Surge and Attack on Childhood
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During a January 14 virtual press conference with regional leaders, our Minnesota staff discussed attacks on childhood and called on federal and state lawmakers to fight cuts and the federal law enforcement surge as we work to create a Minnesota where all children thrive. The team also compiled a list of trusted resources and partners offering direct service in response to this tragedy.
Resources ([link removed])

Watch Press Conference ([link removed])


** CDF Texas Urges Austin Residents: Contact City Leaders, Demand Action
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On January 16, our Texas team began urging Austin residents to contact city leaders to demand immediate action to protect families and uphold community safety for immigrant neighbors.
Learn More ([link removed])


** Tell Congress: No More Aggressive Immigration Enforcement Funding
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As Congress is considering the last appropriations bill, we urge constituents to call their representatives and oppose aggressive increases in immigration enforcement funding. The Trump administration’s harmful deployment of federal immigration officers has threatened the safety and well-being of children in cities across the nation. Call 202-224-3121 to be connected with your representatives’ offices and make your voice heard.


** CDF IN THE NEWS
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** Wilson discussed 2026 challenges for children with Tavis Smiley on iHeartRadio
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On January 7, Dr. Wilson highlighted urgent issues affecting America’s children, including hunger, health care, and housing, reinforcing CDF’s commitment to advocacy and systemic solutions.
Listen Here ([link removed])


** CDF and RWJF Oppose Childhood Vaccination Rollbacks in U.S. News
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Because early immunization is critical in protecting children from preventable diseases, Dr. Wilson and Robert Wood Johnson Foundation President, Richard E. Besser, MD, published January 9 commentary opposing changes to the vaccine schedule in U.S. News and World Report.
Read More ([link removed])


** The 74 lauds CDF and Partners for mobilizing against Child Poverty
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A January 14 article in The 74 noted a projected rise in the child poverty rate even as new efforts emerge to respond.
Read More ([link removed])


** Southern Regional Director warns of Healthcare losses in Mississippi Free Press
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In a January 16 report, CDF’s Oleta Garrett Fitgerald asserts that thousands of Mississippians are at risk of losing their Medicaid and Children’s Health Insurance Program (CHIP) coverage under Trump’s One Big Beautiful Bill Act.
Read More ([link removed])


** During January 19 MLK event, Wilson rallies Pacific Northwest to “begin again”
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In a keynote for the 16th annual Martin Luther King, Jr. Breakfast sponsored by iUrban Teen, gathering in Ridgefield, Washington, CDF’s President urged collective action and community organizing to build for children and youth.
Read More ([link removed])


** Packnett Cunningham joins PBS’ Breaking the Deadlock on January 20
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CDF’s Chief Strategy Officer, Brittany Packnett Cunningham, reflected morally, vulnerably, and powerfully in the creative, scenario-based exploration of the concept of freedom and community justice concerns, including reproductive justice.
Watch Here ([link removed])


** Chronicle of Philanthropy highlights Wilson’s RWJF Board Leadership
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In a January 28 report on the board diversity and philanthropic activism of the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation against the Trump Administration, our CEO’s historic role as board chair and reflections on governance were lifted.
Read More ([link removed])


** WHAT WE’RE READING: RESOURCES, RESEARCH, AND REPORTS
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Timeline - The First Year of Trump’s Second Term: Harms to Children, Families, and Workers ([link removed]) (Center on Law and Social Policy, January 2026)

Report - Babies In The Budget 2025: Federal Share of Spending on Infants and Toddlers 2021 - 2025 ([link removed]) (First Focus on Children, January 2026)

Commentary - Immigrant communities have helped Minneapolis prosper. The federal crackdown threatens to undermine that. ([link removed]) (Andre Perry, Ph.D., Brookings Institution, January 30, 2026)

Book – The Anxious Generation: How the Grat Rewiring of Childhood is Causing an Epidemic of Mental Illness ([link removed]) (Jonathan Haidt, Ph.D., 2024)


** UPCOMING CDF EVENTS: JOIN US!
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A Celebration of Joy: CDF California
February 26, 2026 | Los Angeles, CA
Join us for storytelling, creativity, and celebration, all centered in the people who inspire our work.
Register ([link removed])

CDF Hall-Proctor Institute for Child Advocacy Ministry
July 13-16, 2026 | Clinton, TN
Child advocates and faith leaders gather for inspiration, rest, information, and training at Alex Haley Farm. This year’s theme is “BEGIN AGAIN! Roots, Sacred Rhetoric & Revolutionary Mothering”. Early bird registration is now open!
Register ([link removed])


** SAVE-THE-DATES
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CDF Freedom Schools® National Day of Social Action
July 15, 2026 | Nationwide

National Observance of Children’s Sabbaths®

October 16-18, 2026 | Nationwide

American Youth Policy Forum, powered by CDF

November 4-5, 2026 | Washington, DC

A National Celebration of Joy®
November 5, 2026 | Washington, DC


** STAY CONNECTED
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Stay connected ([link removed]) for more updates on our advocacy and organizing efforts.

Thank you for your continued support. Together we build community, so young people grow up with dignity, hope, and joy.
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