Jun
12
9:30 AM09:30

Spotlight on child poverty in America

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Child poverty in the United States is an urgent and pervasive issue. 13% of children in America -- approximately 9.6 million children -- live below the poverty line. Children experience poverty at a rate 62 percent higher than adults. We can all agree is that no child should be without the basics and that every child deserves the best shot at life. Our children can’t wait.

In honor of National Children’s Week, this event will feature remarks from Members of Congress, thought leaders, advocates and service providers working to address child poverty on the national, state and local level.

In collaboration with Congresswoman Gwen Moore (D-WI)

SPECIAL GUEST: Humanitarian and Chef, José Andrés

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BACKGROUND

For millions of children, living in poverty means that access to nutritious meals, quality education, medical care and a safe place may be lacking, intermittent or missing all together. The U.S. continues to have a much higher rate of child poverty than its peer countries.

Red Nose Day, Comic Relief USA’s campaign to end child poverty, is proof that millions of Americans are aware of the reality of child poverty in the United States. The public not only cares deeply about this issue, but are also doing their part to reduce poverty by helping to raise over $190 million, and counting, in five years.

A new landmark study from the National Academy of Sciences proves that child poverty is solvable if there is the political will to act and support from a range of sectors, including the public.

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Apr
30
2:00 PM14:00

Implementing A Roadmap to Reducing Child Poverty

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Hosted by U.S. Child Poverty Action Group, First Focus, and the American Academy of Pediatrics in collaboration with Senator Bob Casey

In response to a mandate from Congress, the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine recently published a landmark study, A Roadmap to Reducing Child Poverty, which confirms that child poverty is solvable problem when there is the political will to address it. Written by a committee of the nation’s leading experts, the study puts forward an evidenced-based policy agenda that, if prioritized and implemented by our nation’s lawmakers, would cut our child poverty rate in half within a decade.

We have a roadmap—now is the time to act. Concurrent with the release of A Roadmap to Reducing Child Poverty, the U.S. Child Poverty Action Group launched End Child Poverty U.S., a national campaign to set a target to cut our child poverty rate in half within a decade and eliminate child poverty within 20 years.

To continue the discussion, please join the U.S. Child Poverty Action Group, First Focus, and the American Academy of Pediatrics to learn about the impact of child poverty on healthy child development and how Members of Congress and other stakeholders can utilize these findings in their work to reduce child poverty in the United States.

Remarks

  • Senator Bob Casey (D-PA)

Panelists

  • Bruce Lesley, President, First Focus

  • Robert Moffitt, Ph.D, Krieger-Eisenhower Professor of Economics, John Hopkins University and NASEM Study Committee Member, A Roadmap to Reducing Child Poverty

  • Dr. Diana Montoya-Williams, Neonatologist, Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia and Instructor of Pediatrics, University of Pennsylvania’s Perelman School of Medicine

Supplementary Materials

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Mar
14
2:00 PM14:00

Cutting Child Poverty in Half Within a Decade

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Hosted by the U.S. Child Poverty Action Group, First Focus, the American Academy of Pediatrics, and the National Prevention Science Coalition to Improve Lives, in collaboration with Congresswoman Barbara Lee, Congresswoman Lucille Roybal-Allard, and Congressman Danny Davis  

Children continue to disproportionately experience poverty in the United States, and are 62 percent more likely to experience poverty than adults. Yet while the U.S. child poverty rate remains stubbornly high, there is no long-term national strategy, or even a national dialogue, to address child poverty in the U.S. and the negative outcomes associated with it. We know it does not have to be this way. When countries prioritize their children, it results in lower child poverty rates and improved economic outcomes for all of society.

In response to a mandate from Congress, the National Academies of Science, Engineering, and Medicine released a landmark consensus study on child poverty in the United States. This study included analysis of the economic, health, and social costs of child poverty to our society, as well as the effectiveness of current anti-poverty programs--including international, federal, state, and local efforts--to reduce child poverty. Based on this analysis, the study committee issued a set of evidence-based policy recommendations about how to cut the national child poverty rate in half within a decade.

Concurrent with the release of this study, the U.S. Child Poverty Action Group, a partnership of over 20 national organizations, launched a national campaign, End Child Poverty U.S., to garner collective action in calling upon the federal government to make child poverty a priority through setting a national target to cut our child poverty rate in half within 10 years.

Please join the U.S. Child Poverty Action Group, First Focus, the American Academy of Pediatrics, and the National Prevention Science Coalition To Improve Lives for a Congressional briefing, Cutting Child Poverty in Half Within a Decade, to hear from leading experts on this new landmark study and learn how Members of Congress and other stakeholders can utilize its findings to reduce child poverty and its negative consequences in the United States.

Opening Remarks

Moderator

  • John K. Roman, Ph.D., Senior Fellow, Economics, Justice and Society Group, NORC, University of Chicago and Co-Director of the National Prevention Science Coalition to Improve Lives

Panelists

  • Christine-James Brown, President and CEO, Child Welfare League of America and NAS Study Committee Member, Building an Agenda to Reduce the Number of Children in Poverty by Half in 10 Years

  • Dr. Benard Dreyer, Professor of Pediatrics and Director of Developmental-Behavioral Pediatrics, NYU School of Medicine, Director of Pediatrics, Bellevue Hospital Center, Past President of the American Academy of Pediatrics, NAS Study Committee Member, Building an Agenda to Reduce the Number of Children in Poverty by Half in 10 Years

  • Dr. Angela Diaz MD, PhD, Director, Mount Sinai Adolescent Health Center and Professor, Department of Pediatrics, Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai

Supplementary Materials/Links


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Apr
12
2:30 PM14:30

Our Kids, Our Future: Solutions to Child Poverty in the U.S.

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Child poverty remains high in the U.S., with nearly 1 in 5 children living in households below the poverty line. Children experience poverty at a rate that is 62 percent higher than adults. Poverty is a particularly serious problem for children, who suffer negative effects for the rest of their lives after living in poverty for even a short time.

The U.S. Child Poverty Action Group is a partnership of child-focused organizations dedicated to cutting child poverty in half within a decade.  Recognizing the need for a national strategy to address child poverty, members of the U.S. Child Poverty Action Group drafted Our Kids, Our Future, a compendium of cross-sector solutions to significantly reduce child poverty in the U.S.

Please join for a Congressional briefing highlighting the release of this compendium and featuring a panel of experts that will present on child-focused interventions to address child poverty and support healthy child development. Experts will detail how solutions to child poverty are tied to economic gains that result in a strong and educated workforce, which benefit businesses, communities, and not least of all, children and families.

Remarks

Congressman Ben Ray Luján (D-NM-3)

Moderator

Michelle Dallafior, Vice President, Budget, First Focus

Presenters

  • Andy Stettner, Senior Fellow, The Century Foundation

  • Cara Baldari, Senior Policy Director of Family Economics, First Focus

  • Suma Setty, Research Associate, National Center for Children in Poverty, Columbia University Mailman School of Public Health

  • Eryn Hurley, Associate Legislative Director, Human Services and Education, National Association of Counties

The U.S. Child Poverty Action Group is a broad-based coalition of child-focused organizations dedicated to cutting the U.S. child poverty rate in half within a decade.

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