Our Voice for Children

October 2022

John, 

Thank you for your continued support for children and youth across the
United States. We are as committed as ever to young people and their
families and communities throughout the country. With your help, we
will continue working to build a nation where marginalized children
flourish, leaders prioritize their well-being, and communities wield
the power to ensure they thrive. 

The CDF Team

Child Tax Credit and Your 2021 Taxes

This month, Children's Defense Fund's (CDF) President and
CEO Rev. Dr. Starsky Wilson co-hosted a Poverty Task Force meeting to
discuss issues related to child well-being and spotlight new data
reflecting a decline in childhood poverty. Dr. Wilson spoke on a broad
range of issues facing young people and their families, including
affordable housing, education equity, gun violence in schools, and
CDF's work to improve the lives of American's most
disenfranchised children.  

Read more

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Your impact in action

We're celebrating another successful summer of the CDF Freedom
Schools® program across the U.S. This summer, CDF Freedom Schools
sites operated in 28 states and the District of Columbia with almost
20 partners and countless volunteers. Because of you, scholars and
Student Leader Interns (SLIs) across the country participated in this
year's CDF Freedom Schools. Thank you! Read the full 2021-2022
local impact report here.

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To learn more about how to sponsor a CDF Freedom Schools site, visit
the link below. 

Learn more

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Defending Trans Children

The Children's Defense Fund (CDF) Freedom Schools® program
and Florida A&M University (FAMU) were awarded the National
Endowment for Humanities (NEH) grant this summer. The grant was
awarded to conduct a two-week hybrid summer institute for educators
entitled Centering Youth Agency in the Civil Rights Movement. 

Project co-directors, Dr. Kristal Moore Clemons, national director of
the CDF Freedom Schools program, and Dr. Darius Young, of Florida
A&M University, will launch the institute in June 2023 at CDF
Haley Farm in Clinton, Tennessee, the former home of Pulitzer
Prize-winning author, Alex Haley, and the current retreat center of
Children's Defense Fund. Read the full announcement to learn
more. 

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Your support makes a difference

CDF-Minnesota has developed several multimedia tools and resources to
support their partners and communicate with various stakeholders. The
CDF-MN Freedom Schools® History Guide provides

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CDF Freedom Schools partners in Minnesota with a complete curriculum
guide, materials, and resources to engage parents and explain the full
history, purpose, and impact of CDF Freedom Schools. 

Thriving Children, Thriving Minnesota is a new blog series launched by
CDF-MN. The blog will share research-based, community-sourced policy
recommendations to help ensure all Minnesota children and youth have
what they need to thrive. Read the first two policy briefs at the
links below: 

* One Step Forward, Two Steps Back: Addressing the Benefits Cliff
Barrier to Family Economic Stability and Mobility 

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* Flexible Cash: The Tax Credit Opportunity 

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Interested in learning about where Minnesota ranks according to this
year's 2022 Kids Count® Data Book? Learn more here. 

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You can also check out this year's CDF-MN's National Day of
Social Action below! 

Watch video
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Advocacy for Children Across the Country

As part of the national Journey to Success Campaign, CDF-New York
Transition Age Youth Project Manager José Á.
Pérez spoke at the White House to commemorate foster care month
in May. CDF-NY Director of Youth Justice and Child Welfare Julia Davis
accompanied José. They joined other leaders with lived
experience in the foster care system from across the country who were
there to uplift reform priorities for transition age youth. The
meeting included Deputy Secretary January Contreras from the
Administration for Children and Families at the U.S. Department of
Health and Human Services, White House American Rescue Plan
Coordinator Gene Sperling, as well as members of President Joe Biden
and Vice President Kamala Harris' staff working on child welfare
issues. José shared powerful insights from his own experience
in the foster care system as a teenager. The group identified several
areas for reform related to kinship care, LBGTQIA+ youth, cultural
responsiveness, mental health, housing, sibling ties, and the foster
care-to-prison pipeline. This meeting integrated CDF-NY's new
Transition Age Youth organizing and direct cash transfer pilot project
into federal advocacy through the Journey to Success Campaign. The
CDF-NY team is excited about the opportunities ahead for their new
youth action organizers to lead more advocacy on these issues in the
year ahead. 

Designed in partnership with youth who have lived expertise in the
system, CDF-NY is also launching its first direct cash transfer (also
known as "universal" or "guaranteed basic
income") pilot program for young people who have aged out of
foster care. The NYC pilot is part of a larger, multi-year, youth-led
policy, research, storytelling, and organizing project led by
José Perez, María Caba, and Julia Davis in New York.
Recently, CDF-NY's Executive Director Kercena Dozier joined
José, María, and two youth researchers on the project in
presenting at CDF's 2022 Samuel DeWitt Proctor Institute. 

Preparing for the 2022 CDF Freedom Schools®

In the first of its kind, CDF-Ohio partnered with Baldwin Wallace
University's Community Research Institute (BW CRI) to conduct a
statewide poll asking Ohio parents what they want for their
child's education. Over the past six months, CDF-OH worked with
BW CRI researchers to design a survey instrument to accurately measure
parents' attitudes towards the Whole Child Framework. The survey
consisted of 71 questions that fell into nine unique categories,
including school nutrition, mental health, life skills, trust in
teachers, and social-emotional learning.  

Learn more about the Whole Child Framework and read the survey results
below. 

Read more
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CDF-OH recently launched its first youth series blog featuring
youth-centered voices. The youth blog platforms Black and Brown young
people who share their insight and experience, centering issues of
impact in Ohio and beyond. Read the first two installations of
CDF-OH's youth blog here.  
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You can also explore CDF-OH's interactive dashboard for Ohio's
2022 Kids Count ® Data Book and read results here. 

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Save the date: 2022 Proctor Institute

Following the 2022 Mississippi Legislative Session, the CDF-Southern
Regional Office has been hard at work monitoring the funding and
implementation of resources from the federal American Rescue Plan Act
(ARPA) and the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act. The state
received nearly $1.8 billion in ARPA funding to be appropriated by the
MS Legislature. Another $500 million in ARPA funding went directly to
the MS Department of Human Services to stabilize MS' childcare
business sector. 

CDF-SRO helped inform members of the MS Legislature to direct ARPA
appropriations toward positively impacting the state's children,
youth, and families. Suggestions included supporting frontline workers
in the health care field, including social workers who struggled with
increased family dysfunction, violence, and mental health issues.
CDF-SRO staff also suggested expanding postpartum coverage and helping
to ensure quality and affordable broadband resources are available to
rural and low-income communities and families, specifically those of
color. 

CDF-SRO provides leadership with a network of early childhood
education stakeholders to encourage technical and financial assistance
by the MS Department of Human Services to over 1,000 childcare
centers. 

Build a Legacy of Hope and Resilience

This spring, CDF-Texas launched its student advocacy guide. CDF-Texas'
youth civic education and engagement team has been traveling the
state, speaking to hundreds of young people to support their
advocacy. 

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CDF-TX also launched a climate justice guide this summer for their
elementary school-aged CDF Freedom Schools scholars. The short guide
followed the climate-focused National Day of Social Action. 

The outreach teams continue to be creative to reach families where
they are. CDF-TX is proud to build new partnerships with pastors,
elementary schools, and more. 
 
In the Rio Grande Valley, CDF-TX enrolled more than 100 families in
healthcare.gov plans-helping set a new record for Texas! In East
Texas, the team hosted two outreach and enrollment health fairs with
the support of Amerigroup and brought a new hygiene closet to Tyler
with Superior HealthPlan. 

In 2022, CDF-TX launched a statewide campaign to help immigrant
families feel safe and informed when applying for public programs. In
the face of anti-immigrant rhetoric in Texas, we're fighting to make
sure every family has the tools they need to make the best decision
for themselves about public benefits. Access the website and help
spread the message! 
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Build a Legacy of Hope and Resilience

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Create a legacy that helps ensure children and youth
thrive-today, tomorrow, and in the future. Consider adding CDF
to your will by using Freewill. You can leave a lasting legacy by
setting up your will at no charge in less than 30 minutes. 

Get started today

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