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First Focus Campaign for Children

@campaign4kids.bsky.social
1.3K followers 1.1K following 272 posts

First Focus Campaign for Children is a bipartisan child advocacy group dedicated to improving U.S. public policy for kids. Sister org of @firstfocus.bsky.social. #Commit2Kids

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First Focus Campaign for Children @campaign4kids.bsky.social · 23/09/2026
#CoverKids
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First Focus Campaign for Children @campaign4kids.bsky.social · 21/09/2026
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Bruce Lesley (@brucelesley.bsky.social)
For the Children, Why Washington State Voters Should Vote NO on Initiative 001…
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First Focus Campaign for Children @campaign4kids.bsky.social · 06/09/2026
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Mary Kelly Persyn (@marykellypersyn.bsky.social)
Read First Focus on Children's press release at the link below. It links to our brief at the end. #KidsFirst #ProtectChildren #AllMeansAll @brucelesley.bsky.social…
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First Focus Campaign for Children @campaign4kids.bsky.social · 28/08/2026
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Bruce Lesley (@brucelesley.bsky.social)
When ‘Parental Rights’ Means Letting a Child Die https://brucelesley.substack.com/p/when-parental-rights-means-letting?r=f8l9&utm_campaign=post-expanded-share&utm_medium=web
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First Focus Campaign for Children @campaign4kids.bsky.social · 19/08/2026
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Children Thrive Action Network (@letkidsthrive.bsky.social)
Thank you to @brucelesley.bsky.social at @firstfocus.bsky.social for this great commentary on the Trump admin's latest attack on babies/unborn children. "Apply the One Question — “is it good for the…
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First Focus Campaign for Children @campaign4kids.bsky.social · 19/08/2026
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Bruce Lesley (@brucelesley.bsky.social)
Parental Rights Bills Forgot Children Have Rights, Too https://brucelesley.substack.com/p/parental-rights-bills-forgot-children?r=f8l9&utm_campaign=post-expanded-share&utm_medium=web A useful…
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First Focus Campaign for Children @campaign4kids.bsky.social · 29/07/2026
MediKids: Sen. Kim’s Vision to Cover All Kids firstfocusonchildren.substack.com/cp/208875261 This legislation by @kim.senate.gov puts children back on the path toward ensuring that all children have access to coverage! #CoverAllKids
firstfocusonchildren.substack.com
MediKids: Sen. Kim’s Vision to Cover All Kids
The American people do not believe that children should be sick, in pain, or without preventive care like vaccinations and annual check-ups based on the wealth of a child’s parents, their zip code,…
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First Focus Campaign for Children @campaign4kids.bsky.social · 22/07/2026
Thousands of Private Schools Take Public Money, Operate With Little Scrutiny — ProPublica www.propublica.org/article/priv...
propublica.org
Barns, Go-Karts and Strip Malls: The Wild West of Private Schools That Collect Taxpayer Dollars
As private schools proliferate, states are choosing a hands-off approach to regulating them. The backgrounds of school founders — sometimes with criminal histories — often don’t matter
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First Focus Campaign for Children @campaign4kids.bsky.social · 22/07/2026
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Senator Andy Kim (@kim.senate.gov)
Today, I’m introducing MediKids – guaranteed healthcare for every child no matter where they live or how much their parents make. The concept is simple: Every kid deserves to be happy and healthy.…
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First Focus Campaign for Children @campaign4kids.bsky.social · 08/07/2026
Congressional Republicans’ Big Beautiful Bill Threatens Access to Free School Meals - Center for American Progress www.americanprogress.org/article/cong...
americanprogress.org
Congressional Republicans’ Big Beautiful Bill Threatens Access to Free School Meals
Students across the country could lose access to free school meals, forcing the typical family with two children to spend $1,900 to $2,200 more per year for school meals.
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First Focus Campaign for Children @campaign4kids.bsky.social · 15/06/2026
Happy Children's Day!
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First Focus Campaign for Children @campaign4kids.bsky.social · 03/06/2026
Immigrant moms with American babies anxiously await birthright citizenship ruling - ABC News abcnews.com/Politics/imm...
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First Focus Campaign for Children @campaign4kids.bsky.social · 23/05/2026
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R.L. Stollar (@rlstollar.bsky.social)
"The framing of homeschooling as entirely beyond public accountability is harmful to children." Grateful for @brucelesley.bsky.social's discussion of homeschooling in this piece.…
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First Focus Campaign for Children @campaign4kids.bsky.social · 23/05/2026
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Bruce Lesley (@brucelesley.bsky.social)
Children Are Not Property: The Case for Children’s Fundamental Rights…
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First Focus Campaign for Children @campaign4kids.bsky.social · 21/05/2026
Philadelphia Voters Pass Ballot Measure Making Office of Youth Ombudsperson Permanent | Juvenile Law Center jlc.org/news/philade...
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First Focus Campaign for Children @campaign4kids.bsky.social · 14/05/2026
Letter of Support: Supporting Newborn Parents Act of 2026  - Campaign For Children campaignforchildren.org/resource/let...
campaignforchildren.org
Letter of Support: Supporting Newborn Parents Act of 2026
First Focus Campaign For Children delivered a letter of support today to the sponsors of the Supporting Newborn Parents Act of 2026. "Welcoming a newborn
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First Focus Campaign for Children @campaign4kids.bsky.social · 03/05/2026
Parental bill of rights legislation voted down in the Missouri House • Missouri Independent www.columbiamissourian.com/news/state_n... Good news! Missouri's Parental Rights Bills: Treating Children as Property open.substack.com/pub/bruceles...
columbiamissourian.com
House strikes down parental rights bill
The bill, which had recieved initial approval, failed to gain the required amount of votes to head to the Senate.
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First Focus Campaign for Children @campaign4kids.bsky.social · 29/04/2026
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Adam Gamoran (@agamoran.bsky.social)
One of seven reasons for optimism: “The evidence base for investing in children has never been stronger.” [contains quote post or other embedded content]
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First Focus Campaign for Children @campaign4kids.bsky.social · 04/04/2026
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Mary Kelly Persyn (@marykellypersyn.bsky.social)
BruceLesley.bsky.social and I on Chiles v. Salazar. TLDR: the SCOTUS majority got this very, very wrong. But Colorado can still win at trial. Don't sleep on that. [contains quote post or other…
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First Focus Campaign for Children @campaign4kids.bsky.social · 31/03/2026
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Chad Bolt (@chadderr.bsky.social)
Congressional Republicans appear ready to put SNAP benefits even MORE at risk for kids and their families for the next 10 years, in order to pay for ONE HOUR of war in Iran. I wish I were making this…
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First Focus Campaign for Children @campaign4kids.bsky.social · 22/03/2026
How a High School Librarian in Abilene Fought Back Against Moms for Liberty - Texas Observer www.texasobserver.org/abilene-isd-...
texasobserver.org
How a High School Librarian in Abilene Fought Back Against Moms for Liberty
I entered this profession just as the storm clouds of the current book-banning push were starting to gather; now I’m in the middle of it.
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First Focus Campaign for Children @campaign4kids.bsky.social · 19/03/2026
The Real Scandal is Failing to Protect and Support the Nation's Children | First Focus on Children firstfocus.org/update/the-r...
firstfocus.org
The Real Scandal is Failing to Protect and Support the Nation's Children
The state of our nation’s children is dire: homelessness is rising rapidly among infants and toddlers, child poverty has nearly tripled in recent years,
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First Focus Campaign for Children @campaign4kids.bsky.social · 19/03/2026
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Peter Greene (@palan57.bsky.social)
Punishing Children: Why the Attack on Plyler v. Doe Is an Attack on America’s Core Values…
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First Focus Campaign for Children @campaign4kids.bsky.social · 18/03/2026
A $50 million push hopes to make child care a top issue in the midterm elections apnews.com/article/dayc...
northwestgeorgianews.com
The Rome News-Tribune
Rome News-Tribune a daily newspaper in Rome, Georgia which covers news in Rome and surrounding communities.
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First Focus Campaign for Children @campaign4kids.bsky.social · 13/03/2026
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Wendy Cervantes (@wendydcervantes.bsky.social)
Another critical piece by @brucelesley.bsky.social on why #birthrightcitizenship is so critical for all our babies!…
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First Focus Campaign for Children @campaign4kids.bsky.social · 13/03/2026
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Zahava Stadler (@zahavastadler.bsky.social)
The children are the future, but we are not forward-thinking. [contains quote post or other embedded content]
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First Focus Campaign for Children @campaign4kids.bsky.social · 05/03/2026
Colorado bill wants nondiscrimination in state’s use of Trump’s education tax-credit - Chalkbeat www.chalkbeat.org/colorado/202...
chalkbeat.org
Colorado lawmakers want nondiscrimination in state’s participation of Trump-backed education tax-credit
Some Democratic lawmakers said the state should ensure nondiscrimination and equal student access to opportunities created by the program.
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First Focus Campaign for Children @campaign4kids.bsky.social · 05/03/2026
As ICE Moved In, Minnesotans Set Up a Shadow Medical System. It’s a Lesson for Other Cities. - KFF Health News kffhealthnews.org/news/article...
kffhealthnews.org
As ICE Moved In, Minnesotans Set Up a Shadow Medical System. It’s a Lesson for Other Cities. - KFF Health News
President Donald Trump’s immigration crackdown in Minneapolis forced families into hiding and catalyzed informal medical networks to deliver critical health care services.
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First Focus Campaign for Children @campaign4kids.bsky.social · 01/03/2026
Terrible Toxics: How the EPA Rollbacks Are Betraying Child Health brucelesley.substack.com/p/terrible-t...
brucelesley.substack.com
Terrible Toxics: How the EPA Rollbacks Are Betraying Child Health
A new report by leading scientists who worked at the EPA document how the Administration's recent rollbacks of health safeguards are exposing children to mercury, lead, pesticides, and PFAS.
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First Focus Campaign for Children @campaign4kids.bsky.social · 23/02/2026
Colorado tax credits cut child poverty by more than a third - Denver Post
denverpost.com
Colorado’s family-oriented tax credits gave ‘light and hope’ to one mom — but costs make their future uncertain
A study led by researchers at Washington University and Appalachian State University found that the three tax credits helping families lifted more than 52,000 Colorado children out of poverty last …
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First Focus Campaign for Children @campaign4kids.bsky.social · 16/02/2026
The ‘SAVE America Act’ Threatens Children’s Representation open.substack.com/pub/bruceles...
open.substack.com
The ‘SAVE America Act’ Threatens Children’s Representation
For most of American history, democracy was not designed to include everyone.
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First Focus Campaign for Children @campaign4kids.bsky.social · 15/02/2026
Be Careful What You Ask For: The Parental Rights Trap and the Cost to Children brucelesley.substack.com/p/be-careful...
brucelesley.substack.com
Be Careful What You Ask For: The Parental Rights Trap and the Cost to Children
Professor Nila Bala Explains How Expansive Parental Sovereignty Becomes Liability, Isolation, and Organized Abandonment — and Why Children Pay the Price
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First Focus Campaign for Children @campaign4kids.bsky.social · 06/02/2026
The feds child care cuts will hurt Minnesota kids • Minnesota Reformer minnesotareformer.com/2026/02/06/t...
minnesotareformer.com
The feds child care cuts will hurt Minnesota kids • Minnesota Reformer
In Minnesota, child care costs $23,000 annually for infants and nearly $18,000 for preschoolers, making it the third most expensive state for child care.
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First Focus Campaign for Children @campaign4kids.bsky.social · 04/02/2026
What the Crackdown Has Done to Minneapolis Children - NY Times www.nytimes.com/2026/02/04/u...
nytimes.com
What the Crackdown Has Done to Minneapolis Children
“It’s like living in fear all the time,” a teenager said about the federal raids that have shattered families.
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First Focus Campaign for Children @campaign4kids.bsky.social · 04/02/2026
Congress Should Not Re-Impose Child Poverty on DC’s Babies and Children brucelesley.substack.com/p/congress-s...
brucelesley.substack.com
Congress Should Not Re-Impose Child Poverty on DC’s Babies and Children
Overturning DC’s budget would undo a proven Child Tax Credit, blow a hole in local revenues, and punish the children who need help most.
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First Focus Campaign for Children @campaign4kids.bsky.social · 03/02/2026
‘These kids are invisible’: Child abuse deaths spur clash over homeschool regulation • Stateline stateline.org/2026/01/29/t...
stateline.org
‘These kids are invisible’: Child abuse deaths spur clash over homeschool regulation • Stateline
Recent high-profile child abuse deaths in several states have led to renewed calls from state lawmakers for stronger homeschooling regulations.
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First Focus Campaign for Children @campaign4kids.bsky.social · 19/01/2026
#MLKDay
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First Focus Campaign for Children @campaign4kids.bsky.social · 18/01/2026
Trump Administration Destroys the Systems that Support and Protect America’s Children janresseger.wordpress.com/2026/01/15/t... by Jan Resseger
janresseger.wordpress.com
Trump Administration Destroys the Systems that Support and Protect America’s Children
In an important column, the President of First Focus on Children, Bruce Lesley names what ought to be our nation’s social policy agenda, if justice and equity are the goals we seek: “de…
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First Focus Campaign for Children @campaign4kids.bsky.social · 14/01/2026
Urging our followers to also follow @kidscantwaitusa.bsky.social as the newest member of the @firstfocus.bsky.social network. #PleaseFollow
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First Focus Campaign for Children @campaign4kids.bsky.social · 06/01/2026
The Misguided Push to Abolish the Department of Education firstfocusonchildren.substack.com/p/the-misgui...
firstfocusonchildren.substack.com
The Misguided Push to Abolish the Department of Education
The Trump Administration has taken another significant step toward dismantling the Department of Education by proposing a plan to use six “interagency agreements” that would disperse many of the…
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First Focus Campaign for Children @campaign4kids.bsky.social · 04/01/2026
Rep. Sara Jacobs, Sens. Amy Klobuchar and Bill Cassidy Lead Bicameral Bill to Help Families Claim the Child Tax Credit After a Natural Disaster sarajacobs.house.gov/news/press-r... Current law actually slashes the Child Tax Credit for children and families who are victims of a natural disaster.
sarajacobs.house.gov
Rep. Sara Jacobs, Sens. Amy Klobuchar and Bill Cassidy Lead Bicameral Bill to Help Families Claim the Child Tax Credit After a Natural Disaster | U.S. Congresswoman Sara Jacobs Of California's 51st District
The Official U.S. Congressional website of Congresswoman Sara Jacobs
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First Focus Campaign for Children @campaign4kids.bsky.social · 21/12/2025
Choosing Harm Over Help: How U.S. Policymakers Are Turning Against Children brucelesley.substack.com/p/choosing-h...
brucelesley.substack.com
Choosing Harm Over Help: How U.S. Policymakers Are Turning Against Children
When children need investment, care, and protection, they’re being met instead with abandonment, cruelty, and systemic neglect.
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First Focus Campaign for Children @campaign4kids.bsky.social · 11/12/2025
Letter: Opposing Health Care Freedom for Patients Act and Urging Permanent Protection for Children’s Health Coverage  - Campaign For Children campaignforchildren.org/resource/let... The Cassidy bill literally provides nothing for kids.
campaignforchildren.org
Letter: Opposing Health Care Freedom for Patients Act and Urging Permanent Protection for Children’s Health Coverage
First Focus Campaign for Children sent a letter to all members of the U.S. Senate and House of Representatives today urging lawmakers to oppose the Health
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First Focus Campaign for Children @campaign4kids.bsky.social · 09/12/2025
Why Kennedy’s Message on Parental Rights, HIPAA, and Kids’ Medical Records Misses the Point open.substack.com/pub/bruceles...
open.substack.com
Why Kennedy’s Message on Parental Rights, HIPAA, and Kids’ Medical Records Misses the Point
Parents have rights under the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA), but so do kids.
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First Focus Campaign for Children @campaign4kids.bsky.social · 03/12/2025
Grateful to the members of Congress who reached across the aisle to introduce the Global Child Thrive Reauthorization Act, which will protect children in some of the world's poorest countries. bit.ly/48vHbwN
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First Focus Campaign for Children @campaign4kids.bsky.social · 02/12/2025
Please consider donating! #GivingTuesday
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Bruce Lesley (@brucelesley.bsky.social)
Across our nation, children are being left behind in the decisions that shape their futures. At @firstfocus.bsky.social, we’re working to change that by calling for policy changes that put kids…
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First Focus Campaign for Children @campaign4kids.bsky.social · 28/11/2025
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Bruce Lesley (@brucelesley.bsky.social)
Organized Abandonment: How Attacks on Public Systems Are Harming Parents and Children…
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First Focus Campaign for Children @campaign4kids.bsky.social · 19/11/2025
Children at the Ballot Box: Why Direct Democracy May Be a Game-Changer for Kids brucelesley.substack.com/p/children-a... #VoteKids #InvestInKids
brucelesley.substack.com
Children at the Ballot Box: Why Direct Democracy May Be a Game-Changer for Kids
Child advocates have often ignored or minimized the use of ballot measures and direct democracy as part of our playbook. It's past time to change that.
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First Focus Campaign for Children @campaign4kids.bsky.social · 15/11/2025
Recent Actions by the Trump Administration Target Children with Disabilities firstfocus.org/update/recent-… by Chad Bolt and Lily Klam
firstfocus.org
Recent Actions by the Trump Administration Target Children with Disabilities
Proposed rules, reductions in force, threaten roughly 100,000 children who rely on Supplemental Security Income, plus others in need of support and
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First Focus Campaign for Children @campaign4kids.bsky.social · 09/11/2025
As governor, lawmakers mull special session agenda, child advocacy groups have some ideas • Nevada Current nevadacurrent.com/2025/11/07/a...
nevadacurrent.com
As governor, lawmakers mull special session agenda, child advocacy groups have some ideas • Nevada Current
Nevada’s child care crisis should warrant a special session rather than efforts to give public subsidies to film studies, advocacy groups say.  “We don’t think this is the time where we need to be…
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