First Focus

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

First Focus is a bipartisan children's advocacy organization, launched by America's Promise. The stated purpose of the organization is "making children and their families a priority in federal policy and budget decisions."[1]

Funding support for First Focus comes from the David and Lucile Packard Foundation, Atlantic Philanthropies, the Annie E. Casey Foundation, and the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation.[2]

Contents

[edit] Core advocacy issues

First Focus has established three core issue areas for advocacy:

Children’s Health. First Focus advocates for critical federal programs like the State Children's Health Insurance Program (SCHIP) and Healthy Start, and advancing federal efforts addressing childhood obesity.

Education. First Focus supports efforts to raise high school graduation rates.

Family Economics. First Focus is working to strengthen two effective, bipartisan tax measures that have already lifted millions of children out of poverty - the Earned Income Tax Credit and the Child Tax Credit.

[edit] Leadership

Former Congressman John Edward Porter is the first Chairman of the First Focus Advisory Board and previously served for 21 years in the U.S. House of Representatives and chaired the House Appropriations Committee's Subcommittee on Labor, Health and Human Services, and Education.

[edit] Research

First Focus also conducts research through what is called the First Focus Fellows Program. The program is a two-year fellowship that houses policy thinkers and researchers on children and family issues at organizations, such as the Brookings Institution, Urban Institute, New America Foundation, the Center on Budget and Policy Priorities, and the Ethics and Public Policy Center.

[edit] Published research

Published research by the Fellows and think tanks funded by First Focus include:

[edit] Notes

  1. ^ About First Focus
  2. ^ About First Focus

[edit] External links