The Children's Defense Fund Leave No Child Behind® mission is to ensure every child a Healthy Start, a Head Start, a Fair Start, a Safe Start and a Moral Start in life and successful passage to adulthood with the help of caring families and communities.
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Building California's Future
California’s next governor and elected leaders will face critical policy decisions that have the power to uplift children and families and ensure they have the resources and opportunities they need to be healthy, educated, and financially secure. Leaders across the political spectrum have a responsibility to protect children’s health, rights and well-being. As we look to the future, it is critical for us to unite in our continued efforts to prioritize our children.
The goal of this election guide is simple: to champion policies that improve the lives of California’s children, particularly those who have been historically marginalized. We hope the information will make it easier to identify worthy candidates who understand the challenges facing children and families, and who commit to taking action to level the playing field for California’s children, particularly poor children and children of color.
Leveling The Playing Field for California Children: 2018 Policy Agenda
California's future prosperity depends on all our children having a fair chance to thrive and succeed. Yet, each year, we lose gifted young people to the vicious cycle of poverty, violence, under-funded schools, and inadequate health care options that too often forces them off the ladder of success and into custody of the juvenile justice system - or worse.
Our 2018 policy agenda, Leveling The Playing Field for California Children, identifies the steps that California lawmakers can take today to ensure that all our children have what they need to realize their potential tomorrow. Grounded in the experiences, voices, and leadership of children, youth, and families most affected by inequities, this policy agenda focuses on policies that lift children out of poverty, provide quality health care to every child, ensure educational equity, and transform the juvenile justice system to focus on prevention and rehabilitation
CDF Freedom Schools: Communities, families, parents, and young adults coming together to give children an unforgettable educational experience. Get involved.
"While I continue to face challenges at home head on, at school I remain focused and committed to achieving success. The CDF Beat the Odds scholarship represents this success." - Vincent Zamarripa, 2015 Beat the Odds Honoree.
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