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April/May 2021
Dear Friends,
Last week, President Biden delivered an address to a joint session of Congress. Much of his speech was framed around “rebuilding the nation, revitalizing our democracy, and winning the future of America”—leading with policies aimed at improving the lives of children and young people. His proposed American Families Plan recognizes the need for quality, affordable childcare; investing in early childhood education; and continuing the expanded child tax credit for at least four additional years. The President also spoke directly to “having the back” of trans-children, DREAMers, and children of color. It is a call to action: the health and well-being of children are not partisan issues.
 
I am encouraged to see that children are increasingly included in national-level policy discussions. There also appears to be a growing awareness to the ways in which government can play a constructive role in recognizing the needs of young people and supporting their health and well-being. We now have an opportunity to build upon the American Rescue Act—representing the single greatest investment in improving the lives of children in fifty years—and address not only the child poverty rate, but homelessness, food insecurity, childcare and early learning, and healthcare.
 
Even though children are less likely to become seriously ill from coronavirus itself, all young people have been affected by the pandemic in other ways. We cannot ignore its deep impacts on our kids. As we move forward, let’s continue to center the needs of children in our policy discussions, and ensure that young people are included—and have a voice—in our recovery plans. My latest blog post explores this further.
 
Thank you for your continuing support of Leading for Kids and for your ongoing partnership as we seek to raise the priority of children and young people. If you’d like to connect, feel free to email me at David.Alexander@leadingforkids.org and follow us on Twitter @LeadingforKids. I am always grateful for our conversations!

Be well,
David
David Alexander, M.D.
President, Leading for Kids
(650) 714-6609
what we've been up to
We are finalizing the first of several reports on our research with FrameWorks Institute as we move forward with our project, Framing a New Narrative for Our Kids. In addition, last week we had the first meeting of our Youth Mobilization task force, a group of young people and advocates with whom we are discussing implementation strategies to most effectively share the new narrative messages and outcomes from our research.

We continue to seek collaborations with individuals and groups, especially those who are working with young people and where young people are reflected in local policies, programs, laws, and budgets. If you are interested in working with us, either as an implementation or funding partner; please contact David.Alexander@leadingforkids.org.
in case you missed it
In the News:

  • President Joe Biden introduced his American Families Plan before a joint session of Congress on April 28. The proposed plan includes investments in universal childcare, early childhood education, and the expanded child tax credit.
 
  •  On April 20, the USDA announced that it is extending universal free lunch through the 2021-2022 school year. Universal lunch is an established program in many countries where kids appear to be faring better according to the UNICEF rankings of child well-being.
 
  • PBS released A Year to Change the World, a documentary that follows 18-year-old environmental activist Greta Thunberg in her exploration and advocacy of climate change and action on Earth Day (April 22).
 
  • Global Youth Service Day—the largest youth service and civil action event in the world—took place April 23-25 and highlighted the ways young people are finding their voice, taking action, and making an impact in their communities.

  • The Institute of Politics at Harvard Kennedy School released findings from its annual Harvard Youth Poll, a national poll of 18-to-29-year-olds focused on views regarding the Biden administration’s first 100 days, the future of the Republican Party, mental health, and the impacts of social media (report findings). While they cannot yet vote in national elections, individuals younger than 18 are also politically active; we recommend conducting a similar poll with younger people that can shed light on their interests.

Recent Blog Posts:




Articles of Note:




resources from the field
parting thoughts
Asking about young people’s experiences and perspectives—and listening to what they say—is key as we move forward with pandemic recovery plans. Several governments/organizations recently issued youth-specific surveys to gain these insights, including the UK Children’s Commissioner’s The Big Ask and the America’s Promise Alliance Youth Survey, and Hindsight 20/21 invites young people to share their pandemic stories through art, text, or multimedia. Youth surveys were conducted previously from the Scottish Children’s Parliament, CovidUnder19, the New Zealand Ministry of Youth Development, and the Harvard Kennedy School Institute of Politics. Let’s remember to include young people of all ages in our discussions and keep their best interests in mind as we make policy and programming decisions.
thank you! let’s stay connected!
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.