Experts Propose Game-Changing Ideas to Improve the Lives of Children
Each week during the month of October, First Focus will release a selection of papers from its new series entitled, Big Ideas: Game-Changers for Children.
In an effort to generate new and innovative ideas to improve child well-being in the United States, First Focus called upon both seasoned policy thinkers and emerging stars to provide game-changing proposals designed to advance federal children’s policy. Big Ideas is a collection of 17 policy papers which provide creative solutions to help develop a national agenda for children’s public policy.
The papers released this week propose ideas for Creating an Agenda for Children, and include:
- From Target to Legislation: Tackling Child Poverty in the United Kingdom—A Model for the United States?. The essay, by Kate Bell of the UK charity Gingerbread, takes a detailed look at the recent passage and policy implications of the U.K.’s Child Poverty Act, a comprehensive piece of legislation to halve child poverty within the U.K. by 2020.
- A National Council on Children: Renewing Our Vision for America’s Future. The paper, by Bruce Lesley and Shadi Houshyar of First Focus, proposes Congress create a separate entity to protect the wellbeing of our nation’s children through extensive research, policy evaluations, and recommendations to Legislative and Executive branches.
- What’s the Plan? The proposal, by Elizabeth Gaines and Thaddeus Ferber of the Forum for Youth Investment, explores the need for a broad, coordinated strategic plan for our nation’s children and youth on the federal, state, and local levels.
- It’s Time to Reestablish the White House Conference on Children and Youth. The essay, by Linda Spears of and Timothy Briceland-Betts of the Child Welfare League of America, describes the history of conferences on children and youth welfare held by the Executive branch since 1909, and the substantial policy improvements that followed.
- Big Idea: Youth Councils. The paper, by Thaddeus Ferber of the Forum for Youth Investment, describes how a national network of Youth Councils can positively affect policymaking decisions, and additionally advises the best way federal and state governments can create high quality teams of engaged youth.
