CHILD POLICY: AN OPPORTUNITY TO HEAL AMERICA

20/20 Vision for Children started in 2019 to elevate child and family policy issues during the Presidential primaries and general election campaign.

20/20 Vision drew from national, multi-issue and nonpartisan child policy advocacy organizations – Partnership for America’s Children, First Focus, Children’s Defense Fund, and Every Child Matters – in describing child policy issues broadly to include: (1) healthy development, (2) early learning and school readiness, (3) school success, (4) safety in home and community, (5) economic security, and (6) equity, opportunity, and inclusion.

Polls show the public cares deeply about these issues and the future we were leaving for our children. Although not usually expressed as a children’s agenda, Presidential candidates in both parties had positions on most of these issues – although what candidates said on these subjects often did not receive media or debate attention.  

The $3.5 trillion Build Back Better (BBB) Act was not enacted in 2021-2,  but major provisions were incorporated into the American Rescue Plan Act on a time-limited basis. The U.S. House of Representatives passed a $1.6 trillion version, but this was essentially pared back in the Senate as a $.7 billion Inflation Reduction Act that did not include infrastructural investments in children. At the same time, much of the work toward developing BBB should be built upon in the next Congress to establish the infrastructure America’s children need to succeed. As originally developed, BBB extended the child tax credit that helps ensure all families, and particularly working families, meet children’s basic needs (reducing child poverty by 40 percent and benefiting 90 percent of all families with children). It made child care truly affordable to working parents and ensured that workers and teachers who provide that care are better paid, can pursue careers there. and contribute to their local economies.

In addition, over $1 trillion was invested in health in: (1) improving public health and its response to future pandemics and to current health disparities, (2) covering additional services under Medicare, (3)  providing more home-and-community-based services, and (4) building upon the Affordable Care Act to expand affordable health coverage.

With a few tweaks, these investments in health also can advance health equity and children’s healthy development. To do so, they must include specific attention to more preventive and developmental primary child health care and to focus new public health attention on poor and medically underserved communities and health prevention and promotion activities. Such poor and medically underserved communities are rich in children and where the there is the greatest opportunity for impacts on health and reducing disparities.  

For more information, go to the Healthy Children and Community Health page.

Immediately after the election, 20/20 Vision for Children focused upon and tracked where many of the campaign plans related to children presented by the Biden-Harris campaign now are being advanced by the White House and the administration.

This commenced immediately with major provisions related to children included in the American Rescue Plan Act of 2021. A very large share of the $1.9 trillion in investments were directed to children, including over $40 billion for early learning and school readiness, $130 billion for school success, over $90 billion for economic security through the child tax credit and other credits, and many provisions to strengthen health care services and community health in response to COVID-19, with children and their families as a significant focus.

One major aspect of the White House’s agenda is to strengthen the public and community health system, with a major emphasis upon meeting the full health needs (including responding preventively and addressing social determinants of health) in underserved and low-income communities.

The COVID-19 pandemic has shown the need for such a workforce and how those on the frontlines providing help to children and families and well as seniors and those with disabilities are the most essential of this essential workforce. 

While much of the emphasis has been on health care overall, the greatest long-term gains in improving health involve the healthy development of children.

Many of the White House and Congressional plans to strengthen the health care system and the public and community health workforce – if employing a child and family lens – can maximize their impact on the nation’s overall health. 

Particularly for children, place matters. They grow, learn and develop in their homes, neighborhoods, and local and often neighborhood schools. 20/20 Vision for Children recognizes that a key part of infrastructure is ensuring habitable (safe and economically secure, where children can thrive) communities.

Some of the investments through ARPA and many of the proposals on infrastructure include this place-based focus, although they do not necessarily view children as a priority population for response. Defining place and placing a priority on responding to children and families in these places not only maximizes the impacts of the investments made. It also goes a long way to reducing disparities and inequities by race, place, and socio-economic status in a way that recognizes that all children need and should receive a full opportunity for their growth and health.