First Focus

Press Releases

1. Affordable Care Act Foster Care Regulation a Win for Kids, Concerns With Rule’s Scope Could Limit Health Gains for Youth [January 16, 2013]
2. Child abuse increase linked to foreclosure crisis, study finds [July 31, 2012]
3. Both Senate and House Labor-HHS Appropriations Bill are a Decline in Real Spending on Kids [October 13, 2011]
4. First Focus Urges Immediate Action on “Kid-Fix” Legislation [July 1, 2010]
5. New Report Highlights Impact of Immigration Enforcement on the Child Welfare System [April 28, 2010]
6. House Subcommittee Holds Hearings on Protecting Children from Lead-Tainted Imports [September 17, 2009]
7. Federal Health Advisers Recommend Cold and Cough Medicines Banned in Children Younger Than Six [September 15, 2009]
8. Halloween Horror: An Ineffective Product Safety Commission Is Frightening For Our Children [September 15, 2009]
9. Congress Making Progress With Child Safety Measures [September 14, 2009]
10. Senate Passes Legislation to Overhaul the Consumer Product Safety Commission [September 14, 2009]
11. New Legislation Will Expand Background Checks for Volunteers Working With Children [September 14, 2009]
12. Over 80 Organizations Join in Opposition to Legislation Detaining Immigrant Children [September 14, 2009]
13. House Approves Legislation to Support Foster Children [September 11, 2009]
14. Senate Committee Approves Legislation to Give Thousands More Foster Children Permanent Homes [September 11, 2009]

In the News

1. What about the kids? What can happen when parents are deported [February 3, 2012]
2. Immigrant Children Face Uncertain Futures, Foster Care [January 25, 2012]
3. Collateral Damage: Children and Prison Reform in California [January 24, 2012]
4. Dodd announces partnership of major child advocates to develop report card on the state of the American child [January 28, 2011]
5. Painful Recession for Kids [January 28, 2011]
6. Clinic filling foster child health void [June 6, 2010]
7. Effort to pass legislation to protect farmworker children gathers steam [May 6, 2010]

Top of Our List

1. ICE's Parental Interests Directive - Helping Families Caught Between the Immigration and Child Welfare Systems [August 28, 2013]
2. A Great Campaign Launch for Success Beyond 18 [May 6, 2013]
3. Child Abuse Prevention Month [March 29, 2013]
4. The Affordable Care Act’s Impact for Former Foster Youth [January 17, 2013]
5. An Upcoming Roundtable Discussion: Child Well-being in Foster Care [April 9, 2012]
6. Protecting Children from Abuse, It Takes a Village [December 19, 2011]
7. Shattered Families: New Report Takes Closer Look at Devastating Effects of Immigration Enforcement [November 2, 2011]
8. A Crying Shame: Recession Linked to Spike in Severe Infant Head Trauma [September 23, 2011]
9. For Michigan, Kicking Thousands of Children to the Curb is Simply the Cost of Doing Business [September 7, 2011]
10. Playing Politics with the Lives of Florida’s Children [August 1, 2011]
11. Two Teens Lose Their Lives, Yet Law Remains the Same [July 29, 2011]
12. U.S. Child Farmworkers: Dreading their Summer Vacation [May 25, 2011]
13. Uniting Our Voices for Immigrant Children of Incarcerated Parents [May 10, 2011]
14. Ensuring Opportunity for Every Child [March 28, 2011]
15. Shelby County: Making Child Well-Being a Policy Priority [February 7, 2011]
16. A Mother and Son Await Justice [February 3, 2011]
17. NGA Center Takes on Aging Out of Foster Care [January 24, 2011]
18. Birthright Citizenship at Risk [January 5, 2011]
19. New Legislation Would Create a National Council on Children [November 18, 2010]
20. New Report Studies the Impact of the Recession on Kids [November 17, 2010]
21. Born Equal [November 8, 2010]
22. November is… [November 4, 2010]
23. Pre-Polluted [October 29, 2010]
24. State Focus: New Stability for Foster Children in New Jersey [October 22, 2010]
25. Because Every Child Deserves a Family [October 14, 2010]
26. Recall Nation [October 12, 2010]
27. Bullying Prevention: More Than Just Speaking Up [October 5, 2010]
28. What's a "Kid Product" Anyway? [October 4, 2010]
29. California's New Extension in Foster Care Services [October 1, 2010]
30. Beetles, BPA and Babies, Oh My! [September 27, 2010]
31. New Report Examines Immigrant Children in the Texas Child Welfare System [September 27, 2010]
32. Make Me BPA Free [September 21, 2010]
33. New Report Reveals Fewer US Kids in Foster Care [September 1, 2010]
34. Texas Chemical Spill Proves We're Not Doing Enough to Protect our Children [August 31, 2010]
35. Impact of Immigration on Latino Children in Georgia [June 25, 2010]
36. Casey Family Programs Announces New White Paper Series to Improve Child Welfare [June 22, 2010]
37. Government Cracks Down on Farmers Who Hire Children [June 21, 2010]
38. Human Rights Watch Releases New Report on U.S. Child Labor [May 5, 2010]
39. U.S. Should Ratify the U.N.'s Convention on the Rights of the Child [November 20, 2009]

Events

1. Substance Use Disorders in Child Welfare: What Works for Children and Families [May 23, 2013]
2. SPARC Webinar – Finding What Works: Helping Young Adults Transition into Adulthood [March 6, 2013]
3. SPARC Webinar: Child Welfare and the Affordable Care Act [February 8, 2013]
4. Webinar - Electronic Information Exchange: Elements that Matter for Children [January 23, 2013]
5. Congressional Briefing: Talking Foster Care with Country Music Star Jimmy Wayne [May 1, 2012]
6. Child Welfare Financing Webinar [April 9, 2012]
7. Children in Immigrant Families: Ensuring Opportunity for Every Child in America [February 18, 2011]
8. Press Conference: Senator Dodd to Announce Report Card on The State of the American Child [December 1, 2010]
9. Child Labor: Around the World and At Home [June 17, 2010]
10. Webinar: Immigrant Victims Facing Termination of Parental Rights as a Consequence of Detention or Deportation [June 17, 2010]

Library Items: Reports

1. Smart Strategies for Health Care Reform and Human Services Integration [August 15, 2013]
2. Children in Harm's Way: Criminal Justice, Immigration Enforcement, and Child Welfare [February 1, 2013]
3. SPARC Brief: Adoption Tax Credit: A Guide for State Advocates [December 4, 2012]
4. Protecting the Future of Tribal Communities [September 27, 2012]
5. Families on the Front Lines [September 27, 2012]
6. Court-Based Child Welfare Reforms [August 8, 2012]
7. Improving the Economic Security of Children in Foster Care and Young People Who are Transitioning from Foster Care [July 6, 2012]
8. Child Welfare Funding Opportunities: Title IV-E and Medicaid [April 9, 2012]
9. 2020 Vision for America's Children [February 24, 2012]
10. Addressing the Health Care Needs of Children in the Child Welfare System [November 1, 2011]
11. Title IV-E Waivers: Expanding and Modifying Child Welfare Demonstration Waivers to Promote Flexibility and Foster Innovation [March 9, 2011]
12. Children in Immigrant Families: Ensuring Opportunity for Every Child in America [March 3, 2011]
13. The Recession and Child Maltreatment [November 17, 2010]
14. Putting Children at the Center of Policy Development [September 9, 2010]
15. Caught Between Systems: The Intersection of Immigration and Child Welfare Policies [May 20, 2010]
16. Public Benefits and Child Welfare Financing [May 20, 2010]
17. Language, Culture, and Immigration Relief Options [May 20, 2010]
18. The Impact of Immigration Enforcement on Child Welfare [April 29, 2010]
19. Big Ideas: Investing in our Nation's Future [March 15, 2010]
20. Psychotropic Medication Use in Children on Medicaid [March 15, 2010]
21. Addressing the Health Care Needs of Foster Care Children [March 15, 2010]
22. Addressing the Needs of Vulnerable Families During an Economic Crisis [March 15, 2010]

Library Items: Fact Sheets

1. Impact of the President’s FY 2014 Budget Request on Child Welfare Programs [April 17, 2013]
2. Principles for Children in Immigration Reform [February 5, 2013]
3. Affordable Care Act (ACA) Coverage for Youth Aging Out of Foster Care [January 17, 2013]
4. Falling Through the Cracks: The Impact of Immigration Enforcement on Children Caught Up in the Child Welfare System [January 14, 2013]
5. Child Welfare in the President’s FY 2013 Budget [February 27, 2012]
6. 2012 Appropriations for Kids [January 26, 2012]
7. Fiscal Year 2012 Labor, HHS, & Education Appropriations: A Side-by-Side Comparison [October 13, 2011]
8. Children of Incarcerated Parents [May 2, 2011]
9. Title IV-E Waivers: Fostering Innovation and Paving the Way to Reform [March 22, 2011]
10. Improving the Wellbeing of Children of Immigrants: Priorities for the 112th Congress [March 11, 2011]
11. Impact of the President's FY 2012 Budget Request on Child Welfare Programs [February 23, 2011]
12. Policy Recommendations: Child Maltreatment [November 17, 2010]
13. All Children Born Equal: Preserving Birthright Citizenship for America’s Children [November 8, 2010]
14. Children of Immigrants in the U.S. Child Welfare System [June 8, 2010]
15. Stimulus Increases Federal Funding to States for Foster Care and Adoption Assistance [March 17, 2010]

Library Items: Legislative Comparisons

1. Immigration Reform and the Implications for Children [April 25, 2013]

Library Items: Presentations

1. Benefits of Extended Foster Care: Findings from the Midwest Study [June 11, 2012]

Library Items: Congressional Testimony

1. First Focus Statement for the Record, Hearing on Supplemental Security Income Benefits for Children [November 8, 2011]
2. Statement for the Record: Innovations in Child Welfare Waivers: Starting on the Pathway to Reform [March 22, 2011]

Library Items: Letters and Correspondence

1. Fiscal Cliff "Plan B" Letter to House Members [December 20, 2012]
2. First Focus Recommendations on Deferred Action Policy [July 26, 2012]
3. First Focus comments on proposed child labor regulations for agriculture [December 22, 2011]
4. April 17, 2008: Letter to U.S. House of Representatives [March 23, 2010]