Children's Defense Fund

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For other uses of "CDF", see CDF (disambiguation).

The Children's Defense Fund is a child advocacy and research group, founded in 1973 by Marian Wright Edelman. Their motto Leave No Child Behind indicates their mission to lobby on behalf of children in the federal government and the states, with the support of private/corporate donates and no government funding.

1 About
2 Susie Flynn Campaign
3 References
4 External links

[edit] About

The principal public policy initiative is summarized by their advocacy of the "Dodd-Miller Act to Leave No Child Behind (S. 448/H.R. 936)," introduced in Congress in 2001. This differs from the No Child Left Behind Act, whose name was taken from CDF without permission by the Bush Administration. (Note: George W. Bush used this phrase, copyrighted by the Children's Defense Fund, in his Presidential campaign despite objections from CDF).

The CDF bill's provisions would, according to the organization [1]:

prepare every child for school through full funding of quality childcare, Head Start and Early Head Start, and new investments in universal preschool education programs
lift every child from poverty by 2010
ensure that every child and parent has health insurance as a first step toward universal coverage
end child hunger through the expansion of food programs, living wages, tax credits, and family supports
make sure every child can read by fourth grade and can graduate from high school able to succeed at work and in life
provide every child safe, quality after-school and summer programs to learn, serve, work, and stay out of trouble
ensure every child decent affordable housing
protect all children from neglect, abuse, and other violence and ensure them the care they need
ensure families leaving welfare the supports required to be successful in the workplace, including healthcare, childcare, education, and training

[edit] Susie Flynn Campaign

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This article has been tagged since April 2007.

The CDF is currently sponsoring a nine-year-old girl for the 2008 Presidential Election, on the platform that nine-million American children lack Health Insurance.^[1] Her message, featured in various blogs and articles, is that people need to focus on this issue. The CDF sponsors Susie's message to pass a current bill in the United States House of Representatives that would provide such Health Insurance coverage to the kids who lack it, and will even cover pregnant woman for a while after giving birth.^[2]