In her final speech as Children’s Commissioner for England, Anne Longfield noted: “It’s not that we can’t do it. It’s not that we ‘don’t know what works.’ It’s that we don’t set out to do it.”
This sentiment has been expressed among child advocates focused on eradicating child poverty for years—one made even more poignant when we, as a society, claim that children are our highest priority and our future. This month’s blog focuses on the opportunity we now have to align our pocketbooks with our words. President Biden’s American Rescue Plan includes proposals that are projected to cut child poverty in half. The proposed $1.9 trillion pandemic relief package also includes funds for public schools, higher education, and sick and family medical leave.
Longfield continued: Are you serious about children, and their life chances? Will you follow this through not just this month, but this year and next? Do you understand the additional harm that has been done to children during the pandemic? Are you serious about ‘building back better’ and ‘levelling up’? And will you put those children who were already disadvantaged at the centre of it?
In the absence of a child commissioner—a presence in Washington whose role would be to center and prioritize the health and well-being of children and young people—let’s listen to Longfield and adopt her counsel as our own. As we know, the health and well-being of kids are not partisan issues.
Be well,
David
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David Alexander, M.D.
President, Leading for Kids
(650) 714-6609
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We are preparing for our next convening with our mobilization steering committee comprised of advocates and communications experts focused on the strategic implementation of the messages being developed from our FrameWorks research. We are also in the process of expanding this group through the creation of subcommittees focusing on three specific audiences – media, elected officials, and youth. We are also inviting a number of young people to join the process. While we hope to eventually meet in-person one day, we look forward to lively (virtual) discussions.
One of our broader organizational goals is to collaborate with individuals and groups in the field. We are currently working with several organizations whose missions are building child- and youth-friendly cities, where young people are reflected in local policies, programs, laws, and budgets. We are continuing to seek both implementation and funding partners; please contact David.Alexander@leadingforkids.org if interested.
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Leading for Kids is committed to improving the health and well-being of children by creating a movement to change how we talk about kids, how we can invest wisely and productively in their futures, and how our decision makers can better protect their rights and reflect their voices.
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