Our work has never centered on a single policy or political candidate, but on the lives and health of children — especially kids whose needs have been ignored or neglected.
Through the turbulence and uncertainty of this election cycle, it is them that we have been thinking of. And no matter where you stand politically, it’s clear that we still have so much more work to do.
One question keeps coming back to me: In the future, how will today’s children look back on our actions at this pivotal time? At Children’s Health Fund, we hope they will say that we continued to fight.
It is in the spirit of children today and tomorrow that we will keep advocating for policies and laws that strengthen health equity and combat the impact of racism and systems of oppression on the health of children and families.
We know that change cannot come only from the top down, so we work to strengthen the voices of frontline providers across the country and the families they serve. In fact, just last month we arranged meetings with these providers and over 70 congressional members and staff from their communities to advocate for the needs of children.
Our focus will remain on fighting for these issues and more:
- Increasing access to healthcare, based on our core belief that health coverage should be provided for all children regardless of their immigration status, race, zip code, their family’s income, or any other reason.
- The safety of children at the border, because both the separation of children from their parents and the detention of children as a tool of law enforcement are inhumane, counterproductive, and threatening to the short- and long-term health of children.
- Keeping children’s programs a priority in federal spending, because child poverty is expected to increase dramatically, and while far more children than adults live below the Federal Poverty Line, children’s portion of the federal budget was only 9% in 2019.
We have entered another phase of this country’s history, but our values and our work remain the same.
Thank you for standing with us as we continue to build a society that protects the health and dreams of all children.
Read our full report on the issues we think matter most for kids right now.
