Speaking of Kids...

In this episode, hosts Bruce Lesley and Messellech Looby chat with Miriam Calderón, Chief Policy Officer of Zero to Three. Miriam has dedicated her life to ensuring that all children have access to essential resources such as child care, nutrition programs, and maternal health services. In today’s episode, Miriam addresses the importance of the first 1000 days of a child’s life and highlights the need for holistic approaches to early childhood policies, including policies that support mental health services, reproductive rights, and economic security. She also discusses the flaws of our current child care, health, and education systems, where opportunity and outcomes are often determined by zip codes. 

Learn more about Zero to Three’s work:

Resource: Building Strong Foundations:Advancing Comprehensive Policies for Infants, Toddlers, and Families, By Zero to Three and Center for Law and Social Policy’s (CLASP)

Article: Why is child care so expensive? By Zero to Three 

Follow Miriam Calderón on X and LinkedIn. 

To join the conversation, follow First Focus on Children onInstagram,LinkedIn, andTwitter. 

Send us comments on thoughts via email: SpeakingOfKids@firstfocus.org

Find us on Twitter/X: @SpeakingOfKids,@BruceLesley and@First_Focus

Want to be a voice for kids? Become an Ambassador for Children here. 

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In this episode, our hosts Bruce Lesley and Messellech “Selley” Looby chat with pollster and political strategist Celinda Lake. Lake is President and Founder of Lake Research Partners, a national public opinion and political strategy research firm.

Lake walks our hosts through public polling that shows voters strongly favor investing in children and centering them in public policy. The data contradicts lawmakers’ inclination to treat children’s issues as an afterthought. Lake outlines the unique challenges facing child advocates and ways to increase public attention to the needs of children and families.

To see the full results of the Lake Research Partners poll for First Focus on Children, go tohttps://firstfocus.org/blog/fact-sheet-voters-support-investments-in-kids.

As a pollster, Lake hears every variety of opinion on contentious political issues. Yet, she’s found that Americans are more united than they seem and she’s passionate about using that information to fight the rising problem of political polarization.

Be sure to check outLake Research Partners and follow on Twitter at @celindalake and @lake_research. Lake's recent book with Ed Goaes, A Question of Respect, can be found athttps://www.amazon.com/Question-RESPECT-Bringing-Together-Divided/dp/1636980406/.

To join the conversation, follow First Focus on Children onInstagram,LinkedIn, andTwitter. Connect with our hosts and tell us what you would like to hear on the podcast at:

Email: SpeakingOfKids@firstfocus.org

Twitter: @SpeakingOfKids@BruceLesley and@First_Focus

And please rate and review this podcast and share it with friends and family.

Want to be a voice for kids? Become an Ambassador for Childrenhere. Connect with First Focus Campaign for Children for easytraining on how to be a powerful advocate for children. Please consider donating to First Focus on Childrenhere.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

We are past Labor Day and just 62 days from the 2024 election and children are on the ballot. We wanted to bring back this very relevant podcast for a SECOND LOOK.

In this episode, our hosts Bruce Lesley and Messellech “Selley” Looby chat with pediatrician and former congressional candidate Dr. Annie Andrews and political strategist Renee Harvey about their new political action committee (PAC) for children, Their Future. Our Vote. Dr. Andrews, a children’s hospital doctor, highlighted the invisibility of children in policymaking during her recent run for Congress. When the race didn’t end the way they’d hoped, Harvey and Dr. Andrews created the PAC to offer financial support to urgently needed kid-first policies, such as improving the Child Tax Credit, Medicaid, the Children’s Health Insurance Program, and child care while also opposing efforts to ban books in our public schools and libraries.

Learn more about the political and policy challenges faced by children: 

Blog: The Invisibility of Children: The Other Form of Neglect, by Bruce Lesley

Article: ​​Pediatrician launches new PAC focused on children, by Daniela Altimari

Stay up to date Dr. Annie Andrews and Renee Harvey on social media. Be sure to check out their PAC website and follow them on Twitter, @HReneeHarvey, @annieandrewsmd, and @Their__Future. 

To join the conversation, follow First Focus on Children onInstagram,LinkedIn, andTwitter. Connect with our hosts and tell us what you would like to hear on the podcast at:

Email: SpeakingOfKids@firstfocus.org

Twitter: @SpeakingOfKids,@BruceLesley and@First_Focus

And please rate and review this podcast and share it with friends and family.

Want to be a voice for kids? Become an Ambassador for Childrenhere. Connect with First Focus Campaign for Children for easytraining on how to be a powerful advocate for children. Please consider donating to First Focus on Children to support our work and this podcasthere.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

In this episode, hosts Bruce Lesley and Messellech Looby chat with Dr. Glenn Flores,  Professor and Chair of Pediatrics at the University of Miami Miller School of Medicine. Dr. Glenn Flores explains that the most important lesson in child health research and policy is that children are not little adults - they have vastly different anatomy and physiology depending on their age, which requires taking a developmental perspective. Dr. Flores also discusses several pressing health inequities that children face, caused by racial, financial, and geographic disparities. There is also a discussion of the current most pressing concerns facing child health, such as medicaid unwinding and the rise in mood disorders. 

Learn more about current challenges in children’s healthcare:

Blog: Children Are Not Little Adults: Ensuring Adequate Pediatric Emergency Care in U.S. Hospitals, By Bruce Lesley  

Webinar: 988 Suicide and Crisis Lifeline - One Size Does Not Fit All, By Averi Pakulis and Elaine Dalpiaz 

Blog: Nearly 5 Million Children Have Lost Health Care Due To “Unwinding,”By Abuko Estrada and Tim Smith 

To join the conversation, follow First Focus on Children onInstagram,LinkedIn, andTwitter. 

Send us comments on thoughts via email: SpeakingOfKids@firstfocus.org

Find us on Twitter/X: @SpeakingOfKids,@BruceLesley and@First_Focus

Want to be a voice for kids? Become an Ambassador for Children here. 

To support our work and this podcast, please consider donating to First Focus on Children here. 

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

In this episode, hosts Bruce Lesley and Messellech Looby chat with Dr. Cynthia Osborne, founder and executive director of the Prenatal-to-3 Policy Impact Center, about the importance in investing in our youngest: infants and toddlers. Bruce and Selley also highlight the recent vote on the child tax credit and their disappointment with the bill failing, despite the credit previously cutting child poverty in half. 

Cynthia shares that the earlier we invest in children, the better the impact is for both our children and society as a whole. This includes efforts like child care, home visiting programs, and paid family leave. In fact, she found that every dollar invested in a paid family medical leave program has an $18 benefit back to the community. Throughout the episode, Cynthia emphasizes that economic stability is the crux for the well-being of families. 

Learn more about the importance of investing in our youngest: 

Resource: Babies in The Budget 2024, by First Focus on Children 

Report: Early Investment, a Lifetime of Returns: Articulating the Value of Early Childhood Investments in Virginia, By Prenatal-to-3 Policy Impact Center 

Resource:Community-Based Home Visiting: Fidelity to Families, Commitment to Outcomes by Averi Pakulis and Nadia Gronkowski 

Blog: Babies in the Budget: The Case for Investing Toward a Brighter Future by Bruce Lesley

To join the conversation, follow First Focus on Children onInstagram,LinkedIn, andTwitter. 

Send us comments on thoughts via email: SpeakingOfKids@firstfocus.org

Find us on Twitter/X: @SpeakingOfKids,@BruceLesley and@First_Focus

Want to be a voice for kids? Become an Ambassador for Children here. 

To support our work and this podcast, please consider donating to First Focus on Children here. 

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

 In this episode, hosts Bruce Lesley and Messellech Looby chat with Dr. Terry Brooks, executive director of Kentucky Youth Advocates, a nonprofit watchdog for Kentucky's kids. Dr. Brooks has successfully worked with Democrats, Republicans, and Independents to make necessary improvements for the lives of children across the state, such as supporting kinship caregivers and kids in foster care. Dr. Brooks tells our hosts that Kentucky’s children, like those around the country, are at a crossroads. Society has accepted issues such as child poverty as normal, he says, and he shares his efforts to press 

policymakers to focus on issues such as child care and child poverty, rather than on distractions like the culture wars. Dr. Brooks also discusses the complexities of a Kentucky ballot initiative that would allow the general assembly to use public money for private schools. 

Learn more about Kentucky Youth Advocates:

Resource:Kentucky KIDS Count, By Kentucky Youth Advocates 

Podcast: The American Rescue Plan & Efforts to End Child Poverty, By Kentucky Youth Advocates, Featuring Bruce Lesley

To join the conversation, follow First Focus on Children onInstagram,LinkedIn, andTwitter. 

Send us comments on thoughts via email: SpeakingOfKids@firstfocus.org

Find us on Twitter/X: @SpeakingOfKids,@BruceLesley and@First_Focus

Want to be a voice for kids? Become an Ambassador for Children here. 

To support our work and this podcast, please consider donating to First Focus on Children here. 

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Check out one of our favorite episodes! Our hosts Bruce Lesley and Messellech “Selley” Looby welcome Dr. C. Kirabo Jackson, a researcher, professor, journal editor, and member of President Biden’s Council of Economic Advisors. Dr. Jackson discusses his findings that research with respect to investing in both early childhood and K-12 education consistently demonstrates a high return on investment, particularly for low-income children, and sets future generations on a path to greater success. Dr. Jackson also discusses the role that investments in education can play in reducing disparities in educational outcomes and the well-being of children in both the short- and long-term.

Learn more about the crucial need to invest in our future generations:

Academic Journal:“Do School Spending Cuts Matter? Evidence from The Great Recession”, By C. Kirabo Jackson, Cora Wigger & Heyu Xiong

Blog: “Money Does Matter After All”, By C. Kirabo Jackson, Cora Wigger & Heyu Xiong

Blog:“Congress is Shortchanging Children,” By Bruce Lesley

To join the conversation, follow First Focus on Children onInstagram,LinkedIn, andTwitter. Connect with our hosts and tell us what you would like to hear on the podcast at:

Email: SpeakingOfKids@firstfocus.org

Twitter: @SpeakingOfKids,@BruceLesley and@First_Focus

And please rate and review this podcast and share it with friends and family.

Want to be a voice for kids? Become an Ambassador for Childrenhere. Connect with First Focus Campaign for Children for easytraining on how to be a powerful advocate for children. Please consider donating to First Focus on Childrenhere.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

In this episode, hosts Bruce Lesley and Messellech Looby chat with Phyllis Rabinowitz, Co-Founder and Co-President of the R Baby Foundation. Phyllis co-founded the R Baby Foundation with her husband, Andrew, after the loss of their nine-day-old daughter, Rebecca Ava, due to a misdiagnosis in the emergency room. The R Baby Foundation is the first and only foundation dedicated to making sure every emergency room is prepared to give babies and children lifesaving care. 

Phyllis emphasizes the importance for emergency care to be tailored to the needs of babies and children. Each year, a study estimates that 1400 children pass away, and many other children receive inadequate care,in emergency rooms because of the lack of pediatric preparedness. Phyllis recommends that parents research their local emergency room(s) to see if they have pediatric care coordinators and meet a checklist of pediatric preparedness standards. Phyllis, Bruce, and Messellech also discuss policy changes that would ensure better training, staffing, equipment, research, and education to improve the delivery of emergency care and treatment to children.

Learn more about pediatric emergency room care: 

Checklist and Toolkit for Pediatric Readiness Project, EMSC Innovation and Improvement Center

Blog: Children Are Not Little Adults: Ensuring Adequate Pediatric Emergency Care in U.S. Hospitals, By Bruce Lesley 

Resource: Sponsor Your ER,by The R Baby Foundation 

App:find ER now 

Article: Children Are Dying in Ill-Prepared Emergency Rooms Across America, By Liz Essley Whyte and Melanie Evans, Wall Street Journal 

Follow the R Baby Foundation on LinkedIn, Facebook, X, Instagram, and YouTube. 

To join the conversation, follow First Focus on Children on Instagram, LinkedIn, and Twitter. 

Send us comments on thoughts via email: SpeakingOfKids@firstfocus.org

Find us on Twitter/X: @SpeakingOfKids, @BruceLesley and@First_Focus

Want to be a voice for kids? Become an Ambassador for Children here. 

To support our work and this podcast, please consider donating to First Focus on Children here. 

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

In this episode, co-host Bruce Lesley chats with Rep. Jimmy Gomez (D-CA), chair of the Dads Caucus. Rep. Gomez launched the Dads Caucus after a photo of him holding and caring for his son Hodge on the House floor went viral. Rep. Gomez talks about moms have been the “default parent” and the importance of fathers stepping up for kids both at home and in Congress. 

Learn more about the Dads Caucus: https://gomez.house.gov/dadscaucus/

Article: Dads in Congress reflect on working in Washington while making sure 'kids come first',

ByJay O'Brien and Arthur Jones II

Article: They’re Not Just Dads, They’re Congressional Dads, By Marc Tracy 

Video: Invest in Kids Briefing with the Dads, Mamas, and Baby Caucuses and First Focus on Children, Zero to Three, and the Children’s Defense Fund

To join the conversation, follow First Focus on Children onInstagram,LinkedIn, andTwitter. 

Send us comments on thoughts via email: SpeakingOfKids@firstfocus.org

Find us on Twitter/X: @SpeakingOfKids,@BruceLesley and@First_Focus

Want to be a voice for kids? Become an Ambassador for Children here. 

To support our work and this podcast, please consider donating to First Focus on Children here. 

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

In this episode, co-host Bruce Lesley chats with Mike Hixenbaugh, a senior investigative reporter for NBC News about the ongoing attacks on public schools across the country. They discuss Hixenbaugh’s new book, “They Came for the Schools: One Town's Fight Over Race and Identity, and the New War for America's Classrooms,” which documents the culture wars in Southlake and Grapevine, Texas. Hixenbaugh argues that challenges to diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI) and critical race theory (CRT) stem from resistance to  dealing with racism and repeat previous patterns in our society. Hixenbaugh compares the current attacks on public education by groups such as “Moms for Liberty” with prior movements, such as efforts to stop the teaching of evolution, opposition to desegregation of public schools, and groups like Phyllis Schlafly’s “Eagle Forum,” which waged a campaign to purge classrooms of books and curriculums that they deemed anti-God, anti-American, and anti-family. In the podcast, Hixenbaugh also discusses why he centered the students as the protagonists in his book.

Learn more about attacks on public education:  

Book:They Came for the Schools: One Town's Fight Over Race and Identity, and the New War for America's Classrooms, By Mike Hixenbaugh

Book Review: Texas Schools at a Crossroads: Identity, Politics, and Public Education in Hixenbaugh's 'They Came for the Schools', By Bruce Lesley 

Newsletter: The Alliance for Student Liberty, By Lily Klam 

Article: When Conservative Parents Revolt, By Mike Hixenbaugh

Blog: Texans Standing Up for Their Students and Public Schools, By Bruce Lesley

Podcasts: Southlake and Grapevine, By Mike Hixenbaugh and Antonia Hylton

To join the conversation, follow First Focus on Children onInstagram,LinkedIn, andTwitter. 

Send us comments on thoughts via email: SpeakingOfKids@firstfocus.org

Find us on Twitter/X: @SpeakingOfKids,@BruceLesley and@First_Focus

Want to be a voice for kids? Become an Ambassador for Children here. 

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

In this episode, co-host Messellech Looby chats with Academy Award-nominated actor Taraji P. Henson about the complexities and opportunities around supporting Black youth in the midst of the country’s current mental health crisis. Henson created The Boris Lawrence Henson Foundation in memory of her late father, who struggled with mental health challenges after returning from the Vietnam War. The foundation promotes mental health awareness and destigmatizing mental illness within the Black community by uplifting culturally relevant mental health support. The foundation’s Executive Director, Tracie Jade, joins the conversation to discuss its efforts to promote mental health awareness and support within marginalized communities.

Learn more about the youth mental health crisis: 

To join the conversation, follow First Focus on Children onInstagram,LinkedIn, andTwitter. 

Send us comments on thoughts via email: SpeakingOfKids@firstfocus.org

Find us on Twitter/X: @SpeakingOfKids,@BruceLesley and@First_Focus

Want to be a voice for kids? Become an Ambassador for Children here. 

To support our work and this podcast, please consider donating to First Focus on Children here. 

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To celebrate Mother’s Day, we’re showcasing the voices and stories of some of our moms at First Focus on Children. Host Messellech Looby shares the mic with First Focus on Children’s Vice President for Early Childhood and Public Health Policy Averi Pakulis, Vice President of Operations Trenessa Freeman, and Vice President of Advocacy and Mobilization Leila Nimatallah to chat about their experiences as moms and the policy challenges they face in their homes and on The Hill. As mothers, they grapple with the idea that their children are growing up in a society that is rolling back hard-won victories for moms and children. As policy wonks, they reflect on the important work they do to secure federal policies that support children and families and the many challenges that lie ahead. 

Related reading:

To join the conversation, follow First Focus on Children onInstagram,LinkedIn, andTwitter. Connect with our hosts and tell us what you would like to hear on the podcast at:

Send us comments on thoughts via email: SpeakingOfKids@firstfocus.org

Find us on Twitter/X: @SpeakingOfKids,@BruceLesley and@First_Focus

Want to be a voice for kids? Become an Ambassador for Children here. 

To support our work and this podcast, please consider donating to First Focus on Children here. 

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

In this episode, our hosts Bruce Lesley and Messellech “Selley” Looby chat with Abby McCloskey, who directed the Convergence Collaborative on Supports for Working Families, a project bringing together 31 family policy leaders of diverse ideologies and included our co-host Bruce Lesley. The Convergence process issued a final report entitled In This Together: A Cross-Partisan Action Plan to Support Families with Young Children in America.

McCloskey discusses some of the collaborative’s cross-partisan policy recommendations, such as creating government structures focused explicitly on children and offering 12 weeks of paid parental leave. McCloskey emphasizes that bringing these recommendations to fruition will require bipartisan effort.

Today’s children are in crisis. They face rising maternal and infant mortality rates, a mental health epidemic, a public education system under attack, increasing homelessness, and other challenges. McCloskey outlines the importance of working through political polarization to create bipartisan solutions that address these and other issues affecting our nation’s children. 

Learn more about the need to prioritize children in policy: 

Be sure to check out Abby McCloskey’s website and follow her policy work on X. 

Want to be a voice for kids? Become an Ambassador for Children here. 

To support our work and this podcast, please consider donating to First Focus on Children here. 

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

In this episode, our hosts Bruce Lesley and Messellech “Selley” Looby chat with Representative Rosa DeLauro, a top champion for children in Congress and the chair of the babies caucus. Rep. DeLauro, who is the ranking member on the House Appropriations Committee, has spent decades in Congress and consistently advocated for kids to be a priority in the federal budget. She has been a Champion for Children every year since we began publishing our legislative scorecard. Rep. DeLauro discusses the impact of the Child Tax Credit on child poverty, and says it is on the top of her agenda, along with early childhood education and the Head Start program. Rep. DeLauro tells our hosts that her main concern isn’t the opposition to policies that help children, but the indifference that many policymakers feel. 

Learn more about policies that help children thrive: 

Be sure to follow Representative DeLauro on X. 

To join the conversation, follow First Focus on Children onInstagram,LinkedIn, andTwitter. Connect with our hosts and tell us what you would like to hear on the podcast at:

Email: SpeakingOfKids@firstfocus.org

Twitter: @SpeakingOfKids,@BruceLesley and@First_Focus

Want to be a voice for kids? Become an Ambassador for Children here. 

To support our work and this podcast, please consider donating to First Focus on Children here. 

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

In this episode, our hosts Bruce Lesley and Messellech “Selley” Looby chat with Kristin Rowe-Finkbeiner, co-founder and executive director of MomsRising, an organization that champions workforce issues facing women, mothers and families. Rowe-Finkbeiner co-founded MomsRising in 2006 after a family health crisis pushed her out of the labor force and helped her realize the challenges that American women and families face. In this episode of Speaking of Kids, Rowe-Finkbeiner discusses the policies that she advocates for in her role as the organization’s executive director, such as paid family and medical leave, affordable child care, fair pay for child care workers, and the Child Tax Credit.

Learn more about policies and advocacy work that can help families thrive: 

To join the conversation, follow First Focus on Children onInstagram,LinkedIn, andTwitter. Connect with our hosts and tell us what you would like to hear on the podcast at:

Email: SpeakingOfKids@firstfocus.org

Twitter: @SpeakingOfKids,@BruceLesley and@First_Focus

Want to be a voice for kids? Become an Ambassador for Children here. 

To support our work and this podcast, please consider donating to First Focus on Children here. 

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Check out one of our favorite episodes! Hosts Bruce Lesley and Messellech “Selley” Looby chat with Dr. Mona Hanna-Attisha and Professor Luke Shaefer about “Rx Kids,” their innovative program to support pregnant women and infants in Flint, Michigan. Dr. Hanna-Attisha is a pediatrician and activist best known for leading studies that exposed the deadly levels of lead in Flint’s water supply. Dr. Shaefer leads Poverty Solutions, an interdisciplinary initiative at the University of Michigan that partners with communities and policymakers to find new ways to prevent and alleviate poverty. Their conversation with our hosts centers on the importance of “Rx Kids,” which gives pregnant moms a prenatal allowance and support during the first 12 months of a child's life. By supporting families during their most vulnerable window, the program aims to address a root cause of health equity and opportunity. 

Read more from Dr. Mona Hanna-Attisha, Dr. Luke Shaefer, and about Rx Kids:

Article:I Helped Expose the Lead Crisis in Flint. Here’s What Other Cities Should Do. By Mona Hanna-Attisha

Article: The Future for Flint’s Children, By Mona Hanna-Attisha

Article:I’m Sick of Asking Children to Be Resilient, By Mona Hanna-Attisha

Article: 20 Years Since Welfare 'Reform', By Kathryn J. Edin and H. Luke Shaefer

Article: A Simple Approach to Ending Extreme Poverty, By H. Luke Shaefer and Kathryn J. Edin 

Book: What the Eyes Don't See: A Story of Crisis, Resistance, and Hope in an American City,By Mona Hanna-Attisha

Book:$2.00 a Day: Living on Almost Nothing in America, By Kathryn Edin and H. Luke Shaefer 

Article:Rx Kids launch takes place in Flint, is almost unbelievable to new Flint moms, by Tanya 

Article:Rx Kids program aims to tackle poverty to improve health of Flint moms and babies,

MSU Today with Russ White

Stay up to date with Dr. Mona Hanna-Attisha and Dr. Luke Shaefer on social media. Follow them on Twitter, @MonaHannaA and @profshaefer. Donate to RxKids on Give Directly. 

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

In this episode, our hosts Bruce Lesley and Messellech “Selley” Looby chat with poverty experts Megan Curran and Sophie Collyer about the Child Tax Credit. As top researchers at Columbia University’s Center on Poverty and Social Policy, Collyer and Curran produce groundbreaking work on poverty and the child tax credit. In this episode, they explain why the U.S. needs the Child Tax Credit and help unpack the economic contradictions that place a burden on families. They also discuss the fact that child poverty is a policy decision and explain why lawmakers continually interpret “child-focused” policies around the perceived deservedness of adults. 

Learn more about child poverty and the child tax credit:

Be sure to check outthe Center on Poverty and Social Policy at Columbia University and follow them on twitter. 

To join the conversation, follow First Focus on Children onInstagram,LinkedIn, andTwitter. Connect with our hosts and tell us what you would like to hear on the podcast at:

Email: SpeakingOfKids@firstfocus.org

Twitter: @SpeakingOfKids,@BruceLesley and@First_Focus

Want to be a voice for kids? Become an Ambassador for Children here. 

To support our work and this podcast, please consider donating to First Focus on Children here. 

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

In this episode, our hosts Bruce Lesley and Messellech “Selley” Looby chat with Representative Suzanne Bonamici. Rep. Bonamici, who has represented Oregon’s 1st district in Congress since 2012, has been an avid Champion for children throughout her career and achieved the #1 slot on First Focus Campaign for Children’s 2023 Legislative Scorecard. The Congresswoman discusses her legislative priorities, including passing the Child Tax Credit, advocating for a strong public education system, ending child hunger, supporting youth experiencing homelessness, and protecting food programs such as SNAP and WIC. She talks about her belief that funding the health, well-being, and safety of children is the best investment our society can make, and offers advice for listeners on how to affect change themselves. 

Learn more about Rep. Bonamici’s work supporting kids:

Blog: Unveiling the 2023 Champions and Defenders of Children: Who Commits to Kids?, By Bruce Lesley 

Blog: Recognizing Children in the Debate Over Education and Schools, By Bruce Lesley 

Article: The First Five Things to Know About: Representative Suzanne Bonamici, By The First Five Years Fund

Be sure to check out Representative Bonamici’s website and follow her on Instagram and Twitter. 

To join the conversation, follow First Focus on Children onInstagram,LinkedIn, andTwitter. Connect with our hosts and tell us what you would like to hear on the podcast at:

Email: SpeakingOfKids@firstfocus.org

Twitter: @SpeakingOfKids,@BruceLesley and@First_Focus

Want to be a voice for kids? Become an Ambassador for Children here. 

To support our work and this podcast, please consider donating to First Focus on Children here. 

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

In this episode, our hosts Bruce Lesley and Messellech “Selley” Looby chat with Dr. Mona Hanna-Attisha and Professor Luke Shaefer about “Rx Kids,” their innovative program to support pregnant women and infants in Flint, Michigan. Dr. Hanna-Attisha is a pediatrician and activist  best known for leading studies that exposed  the deadly levels of lead in Flint’s water supply.  Dr. Shaefer leads Poverty Solutions, an interdisciplinary initiative at the University of Michigan that partners with communities and policymakers to find new ways to prevent and alleviate poverty.  Their conversation with our hosts centers on the importance of  “Rx Kids,” which gives pregnant moms a prenatal allowance and support during the first 12 months of a child's life. By supporting families during their most vulnerable window, the program aims to address a root cause of health equity and opportunity. 

Read more from Dr. Mona Hanna-Attisha, Dr. Luke Shaefer, and about Rx Kids:

Article:I Helped Expose the Lead Crisis in Flint. Here’s What Other Cities Should Do. By Mona Hanna-Attisha

Article: The Future for Flint’s Children, By Mona Hanna-Attisha

Article:I’m Sick of Asking Children to Be Resilient, By Mona Hanna-Attisha

Article: 20 Years Since Welfare 'Reform', By Kathryn J. Edin and H. Luke Shaefer

Article: A Simple Approach to Ending Extreme Poverty, By H. Luke Shaefer and Kathryn J. Edin 

Book: What the Eyes Don't See: A Story of Crisis, Resistance, and Hope in an American City,By Mona Hanna-Attisha

Book:$2.00 a Day: Living on Almost Nothing in America, By Kathryn Edin and H. Luke Shaefer 

Article:Rx Kids launch takes place in Flint, is almost unbelievable to new Flint moms, by Tanya 

Article:Rx Kids program aims to tackle poverty to improve health of Flint moms and babies,

MSU Today with Russ White

Stay up to date with Dr. Mona Hanna-Attisha and Dr. Luke Shaefer on social media. Follow them on Twitter, @MonaHannaA and @profshaefer. Donate to RxKids on Give Directly. 

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

In this episode, our hosts Bruce Lesley and Messellech “Selley” Looby chat with pediatrician and former congressional candidate Dr. Annie Andrews and political strategist Renee Harvey about their new political action committee (PAC) for children, Their Future. Our Vote. Dr. Andrews, a children’s hospital doctor, highlighted the invisibility of children in policymaking during her recent run for Congress. When the race didn’t end the way they’d hoped, Harvey and Dr. Andrews created the PAC to offer financial support to urgently needed kid-first policies, such as improving the Child Tax Credit, Medicaid, the Children’s Health Insurance Program, and child care while also opposing efforts to ban books in our public schools and libraries.

Learn more about the political and policy challenges faced by children: 

Blog: The Invisibility of Children: The Other Form of Neglect, by Bruce Lesley

Article: ​​Pediatrician launches new PAC focused on children, by Daniela Altimari

Stay up to date Dr. Annie Andrews and Renee Harvey on social media. Be sure to check out their PAC website and follow them on Twitter, @HReneeHarvey, @annieandrewsmd, and @Their__Future. 

To join the conversation, follow First Focus on Children onInstagram,LinkedIn, andTwitter. Connect with our hosts and tell us what you would like to hear on the podcast at:

Email: SpeakingOfKids@firstfocus.org

Twitter: @SpeakingOfKids,@BruceLesley and@First_Focus

And please rate and review this podcast and share it with friends and family.

Want to be a voice for kids? Become an Ambassador for Childrenhere. Connect with First Focus Campaign for Children for easytraining on how to be a powerful advocate for children. Please consider donating to First Focus on Children to support our work and this podcasthere.

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In this episode, our hosts Bruce Lesley and Messellech “Selley” Looby speak with Nell Menefee-Libey, public policy manager for the National WIC Association. The Special Supplemental Nutrition Program for Women, Infants, and Children, better known as WIC, supports healthy pregnancy, healthy postpartum recovery and optimal child development. The National WIC Association represents state and local WIC agency staff across more than 12,000 direct service sites and the nearly 7 million participants served by WIC. The program has led to significant measurable improvements in cognitive development scores, obesity rates, overall quality of diet and other outcomes. WIC has traditionally enjoyed strong bipartisan support, but for the first time in this millennium, Congress is threatening to turn its back on the families who rely on the program. The House and Senate are currently considering appropriations bills that underfund the program and that inflict major cuts on fruit and vegetable allowances. 

Learn more about the importance of funding WIC: 

Blog: New data shows WIC reached only 50% of eligible moms & children, By Abbie Malloy

Article: Millions of American families struggle to get food on the table, report finds, By Maria Godoy 

To join the conversation, follow First Focus on Children onInstagram,LinkedIn, andTwitter. Connect with our hosts and tell us what you would like to hear on the podcast at:

Email: SpeakingOfKids@firstfocus.org

Twitter: @SpeakingOfKids,@BruceLesley and@First_Focus

And please rate and review this podcast and share it with friends and family.

Want to be a voice for kids? Become an Ambassador for Childrenhere. Connect with First Focus Campaign for Children for easytraining on how to be a powerful advocate for children. Please consider donating to First Focus on Childrenhere.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

In this episode, our hosts Bruce Lesley and Messellech “Selley” Looby speak with leading children’s rights expert Jonathan Todres. Todres, a professor at Georgia University College of Law, says rejecting children's rights is an attack on human rights. He explains the divisiveness around children's rights as the result of pitting them against parental rights and notes that they are, instead, a critical tool for parents. Diving deep into important policy debates, Todres considers why the United States is the only country that has not ratified the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child and emphasizes the urgent need for society to address issues like child housing insecurity, the youth mental health crisis, and lack of child participation in the government. 

Learn more about child rights: 

To join the conversation, follow First Focus on Children onInstagram,LinkedIn, andTwitter. Connect with our hosts and tell us what you would like to hear on the podcast at:

Email: SpeakingOfKids@firstfocus.org

Twitter: @SpeakingOfKids,@BruceLesley and@First_Focus

And please rate and review this podcast and share it with friends and family.

Want to be a voice for kids? Become an Ambassador for Childrenhere. Connect with First Focus Campaign for Children for easytraining on how to be a powerful advocate for children. Please consider donating to First Focus on Childrenhere.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

In this episode, our hosts Bruce Lesley and Messellech “Selley” Looby welcome Dr. C. Kirabo Jackson, a researcher, professor, journal editor, and member of President Biden’s Council of Economic Advisors. Dr. Jackson discusses his findings that research with respect to investing in both early childhood and K-12 education consistently demonstrates a high return on investment, particularly for low-income children, and sets future generations on a path to greater success. Dr. Jackson also discusses the role that investments in education can play in reducing disparities in educational outcomes and the well-being of children in both the short- and long-term.

Learn more about the crucial need to invest in our future generations:

Academic Journal:“Do School Spending Cuts Matter? Evidence from The Great Recession”, By C. Kirabo Jackson, Cora Wigger & Heyu Xiong

Blog: “Money Does Matter After All”, By C. Kirabo Jackson, Cora Wigger & Heyu Xiong

Blog:“Congress is Shortchanging Children,” By Bruce Lesley

To join the conversation, follow First Focus on Children onInstagram,LinkedIn, andTwitter. Connect with our hosts and tell us what you would like to hear on the podcast at:

Email: SpeakingOfKids@firstfocus.org

Twitter: @SpeakingOfKids,@BruceLesley and@First_Focus

And please rate and review this podcast and share it with friends and family.

Want to be a voice for kids? Become an Ambassador for Childrenhere. Connect with First Focus Campaign for Children for easytraining on how to be a powerful advocate for children. Please consider donating to First Focus on Childrenhere.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

In this episode, our hosts Bruce Lesley and Messellech “Selley” Looby chat with children’s activist Arnold “Arnie” Fege about the importance of defending public education against attacks both past and present. As a longtime teacher, principal, superintendent and now president of Public Advocacy for Kids (PAK), a national organization devoted to education and child advocacy, Arne brings a thorough perspective to education policy and practice. Arne champions parental engagement, but challenges the motives of so-called “parental rights” groups who want to privatize public education, ban books, and minimize the voices of LGBTQ+ students and students of color. Arnie, who worked with Robert F. Kennedy and served as school desegregation director in Michigan, traces the roots of this movement all the way back to Brown v. Board of Educationandefforts to maintain racial segregation in schools.

Learn more about the far-right’s attempts to dismantle public education:

Newsletter: The Alliance for Student Liberty, By Lily Klam 

Blog:Why Education Is a Children’s Issue and a Matter of Child Rights, By Bruce Lesley 

Publication: Children’s Budget 2023by First Focus on Children

Be sure to check out Arnold Fege’s publications and follow him on Twitter. 

To join the conversation, follow First Focus on Children onInstagram,LinkedIn, andTwitter. Connect with our hosts and tell us what you would like to hear on the podcast at:

Email: SpeakingOfKids@firstfocus.org

Twitter: @SpeakingOfKids,@BruceLesley and@First_Focus

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

In this episode, our hosts Bruce Lesley and Messellech “Selley” Looby chat with law professor Adam Benforado about the lack of attention paid to children in the policymaking process. Benforado, who focuses on criminal justice and children’s rights, argues that many of the societal problems we see all around us - incarceration, homelessness — are prevented most effectively by investing in our children. For the U.S. to remain competitive and produce healthy, happy, and thriving adults, Benforado believes we must prioritize the well-being of our youth. 

Benforado explains that American society has gone backwards on children’s rights. We haven’t made the same progress as our peer nations on leading causes of childhood death, like gun and automobile safety, which jeopardizes the well-being and security of our youth as well as our nation. 

Learn more about children's rights: 

Book: A Minor Revolution: How Prioritizing Kids Benefits Us All, By Adam Benforado 

Book Review: A Minor Revolution Proposes Improving the Rights of Children By Bruce Lesley

Article: 'Two Little Texans' in Thick of Textbook Battle for Young Minds, By Dan Balz 

Be sure to check out Adam Benferado’s website and follow on Instagram, LinkedIn, and Twitter. 

To join the conversation, follow First Focus on Children onInstagram,LinkedIn, andTwitter. Connect with our hosts and tell us what you would like to hear on the podcast at:

Email: SpeakingOfKids@firstfocus.org

Twitter: @SpeakingOfKids@BruceLesley and@First_Focus

And please rate and review this podcast and share it with friends and family.

Want to be a voice for kids? Become an Ambassador for Childrenhere. Connect with First Focus Campaign for Children for easytraining on how to be a powerful advocate for children. Please consider donating to First Focus on Childrenhere.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

In this episode, our hosts Bruce Lesley and Messellech “Selley” Looby chat with pollster and political strategist Celinda Lake. Lake is President and Founder of Lake Research Partners, a national public opinion and political strategy research firm.

Lake walks our hosts through public polling that shows voters strongly favor investing in children and centering them in public policy. The data contradicts lawmakers’ inclination to treat children’s issues as an afterthought.  Lake outlines the unique challenges facing child advocates and ways to increase public attention to the needs of children and families.

To see the full results of the Lake Research Partners poll for First Focus on Children, go tohttps://firstfocus.org/blog/fact-sheet-voters-support-investments-in-kids.

As a pollster, Lake hears every variety of opinion on contentious political issues. Yet, she’s found that Americans are more united than they seem and she’s passionate about using that information to fight the rising problem of political polarization.

Be sure to check outLake Research Partners and follow on Twitter at @celindalake and @lake_research. Lake's recent book with Ed Goaes, A Question of Respect, can be found athttps://www.amazon.com/Question-RESPECT-Bringing-Together-Divided/dp/1636980406/.

To join the conversation, follow First Focus on Children onInstagram,LinkedIn, andTwitter. Connect with our hosts and tell us what you would like to hear on the podcast at:

Email: SpeakingOfKids@firstfocus.org

Twitter: @SpeakingOfKids@BruceLesley and@First_Focus

And please rate and review this podcast and share it with friends and family.

Want to be a voice for kids? Become an Ambassador for Childrenhere. Connect with First Focus Campaign for Children for easytraining on how to be a powerful advocate for children. Please consider donating to First Focus on Childrenhere.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

In this introductory episode of Speaking of Kids, co-hosts Bruce Lesley and Messellech “Selley” Looby discuss the fact that children are often an afterthought in public policy. While most people care deeply about the children in their lives, there is a clear disconnect between personal opinions and policy goals. Children can’t vote, they don’t have political action committees, and they don’t have paid lobbyists. They are in dire need of strong advocates, which is why Speaking of Kids will highlight the most urgent issues facing children at home and abroad, and will prepare the public to advocate for them. 

In this episode, Bruce, Selley and First Focus on Children Vice President of Advocacy and Mobilization Leila Nimatallah share what drew them to child advocacy and offer takeaways from their career experiences.

Join the conversation. Follow First Focus on Children on Instagram, LinkedIn, and Twitter. Connect with our hosts and tell us what you would like to hear on the podcast at:

Email: SpeakingOfKids@firstfocus.org

Twitter: @BruceLesley and @First_Focus

And please rate and review this podcast and share it with friends and family.

Want to be a voice for kids? Become an Ambassador for Childrenhere. Connect with First Focus Campaign for Children for easy training on how to be a powerful advocate for children. Please consider donating to First Focus on Childrenhere.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.