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First Focus on Children

@firstfocus.bsky.social
1.2K followers 1.6K following 455 posts

Dedicated to making children & families a priority in federal policy & budget decisions. Affiliated w/ @campaign4kids.bsky.social. #InvestInKids #Commit2Kids

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First Focus on Children @firstfocus.bsky.social · 26/09/2026
Changing Head Start Rules Would Rob Kids of Skills They Need for School and Life www.the74million.org/zero2eight/c...
the74million.org
Changing Head Start Rules Would Rob Kids of Skills They Need for School and Life
Posamentier & Adams: The result could be more chaotic kindergarten classes and diminished social readiness that will extend to HS and beyond.
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First Focus on Children @firstfocus.bsky.social · 23/09/2026
#CoverKids
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First Focus on Children @firstfocus.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 on Children @firstfocus.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 on Children @firstfocus.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 on Children @firstfocus.bsky.social · 21/08/2026
What Young People Say About News Media Coverage | Report for Youth Justice reportforyouthjustice.org/brief-what-y...
reportforyouthjustice.org
What Young People Say About News Media Coverage | Report for Youth Justice
An issue brief from Report for Youth Justice synthesizing six recent studies on what teens and young adults say about news coverage of young people — and seven steps newsrooms can take.
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First Focus on Children @firstfocus.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 on Children @firstfocus.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 on Children @firstfocus.bsky.social · 11/08/2026
The Supreme Court’s Judicial Blindness to Children in OT 2025 | ACS www.acslaw.org/expertforum/...
acslaw.org
The Supreme Court’s Judicial Blindness to Children in OT 2025 | ACS
August 11, 2026
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First Focus on Children @firstfocus.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 on Children @firstfocus.bsky.social · 20/07/2026
Trump Administration Routinely Violating Immigrant Children’s Rights - The American Prospect prospect.org/2026/07/20/t...
prospect.org
Trump Administration Routinely Violating Immigrant Children’s Rights - The American Prospect
The 1997 Flores ruling requires immigrant children be released from detention after 20 days. Trump is keeping some for as long as 323 days, new filings in a lawsuit state.
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First Focus on Children @firstfocus.bsky.social · 17/07/2026
The Cruelty and Recklessness Must End: We Need Better Immigration Policies for a Stronger America - Center for American Progress www.americanprogress.org/events/the-c...
americanprogress.org
The Cruelty and Recklessness Must End: We Need Better Immigration Policies for a Stronger America
Please join the Center for American Progress and America’s Voice to hear from Sen. Catherine Cortez Masto (D-NV) and a panel of experts on the Trump administration’s cruel and reckless…
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First Focus on Children @firstfocus.bsky.social · 12/07/2026
A Proposed 400-Page OMB Rule Would Make It Easier to Defund Children's Programs Overnight firstfocusonchildren.substack.com/p/a-proposed...
firstfocusonchildren.substack.com
A Proposed 400-Page OMB Rule Would Make It Easier to Defund Children's Programs Overnight
Comments on OMB's proposed grants rule close July 13. Here's why First Focus on Children is urging the Administration to withdraw it.
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First Focus on Children @firstfocus.bsky.social · 05/07/2026
2026 KIDS COUNT Data Book - The Annie E. Casey Foundation www.aecf.org/resources/20...
aecf.org
2026 KIDS COUNT Data Book
Explore the 2026 KIDS COUNT Data Book, with child well-being state-level data in four areas: economic stability, education, health, and family/community…
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First Focus on Children @firstfocus.bsky.social · 15/06/2026
Happy Children's Day!
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First Focus on Children @firstfocus.bsky.social · 11/06/2026
Child well-being in Texas below national average, report shows couriertexas.com/local/local-...
couriertexas.com
Child well-being in Texas below national average, report shows
Texas lawmakers need to change policies to improve the lives of children, according to a recently released report.
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First Focus on Children @firstfocus.bsky.social · 11/06/2026
Inside Trump’s White House, the Epstein Files Caused a Freakout - The New York Times
nytimes.com
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First Focus on Children @firstfocus.bsky.social · 08/06/2026
As schools close nationwide, Black students bear the greatest burden
thehill.com
As schools close nationwide, Black students bear the greatest burden
Our research shows that school closures disproportionately impact Black students and those from low-income communities.
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First Focus on Children @firstfocus.bsky.social · 07/06/2026
We barely invest in Kansas City kids. That’s no path to a strong future | Paula Neth w/ Futures First - AOL
kansascity.com
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First Focus on Children @firstfocus.bsky.social · 05/06/2026
Runaways, bullying and assault reported inside teen treatment center for adoptees | AP News apnews.com/article/adop...
apnews.com
Inside a taxpayer-funded treatment center for adoptees, tales of abuse, neglect and little oversight
A residential treatment center in Missouri advertises to adoptive parents that it can help heal struggling children.
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First Focus on Children @firstfocus.bsky.social · 04/06/2026
‘Things were going dark left and right’: the race to save US government datasets before they’re deleted | The Guardian www.theguardian.com/us-news/2026...
theguardian.com
‘Things were going dark left and right’: the race to save US government datasets before they’re deleted
Group has banded together to rescue data as Trump administration has removed or altered data on climate change, reproductive health, LGBTQ+ people and more
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First Focus on Children @firstfocus.bsky.social · 04/06/2026
Immigrant moms with American babies anxiously await birthright citizenship ruling - ABC News abcnews.com/Politics/imm...
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First Focus on Children @firstfocus.bsky.social · 28/05/2026
Texas School Police Pepper-Sprayed, Tackled and Tasered Students - The New York Times www.nytimes.com/interactive/...
nytimes.com
Texas School Police Pepper-Sprayed, Tackled and Tasered Students
School officers across the state turned to heavy-handed tactics on children, often in response to minor misbehavior, our investigation shows.
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First Focus on Children @firstfocus.bsky.social · 28/05/2026
Texas’ discipline push sends kids to ‘jail-like’ campuses - The Texas Tribune hechingerreport.org/texas-discip...
hechingerreport.org
Texas’ discipline push sends kids to ‘jail-like’ campuses
Lawmakers increasingly view disciplinary alternative programs as a solution to behavior problems. Critics say they harm students.
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First Focus on Children @firstfocus.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 on Children @firstfocus.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 on Children @firstfocus.bsky.social · 16/05/2026
Tennessee school district bans Alex Haley’s Roots under 2022 state law | The Guardian www.theguardian.com/us-news/2026...
theguardian.com
Tennessee school district bans Alex Haley’s Roots under 2022 state law
With third-highest number of books banned, state removes renowned work about slave trade from library shelves
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First Focus on Children @firstfocus.bsky.social · 16/05/2026
DeSantis and Ladapo tout ‘freedom’ as measles rages • Florida Phoenix floridaphoenix.com/2026/05/16/d... Whose freedom? Children should be FREE of measles.
floridaphoenix.com
DeSantis and Ladapo tout ‘freedom’ as measles rages • Florida Phoenix
“Convenient mythologies require neither evidence nor logic.” — Edward S. Herman, “Manufactured Consent: The Political Economy of Mass Media” In a number of articles on its website, PEN America…
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First Focus on Children @firstfocus.bsky.social · 15/05/2026
Medicaid Threats Endanger Children's Health Care | First Focus on Children firstfocus.org/news/medicai...
firstfocus.org
Medicaid Threats Endanger Children's Health Care
State Letters Threaten to End All Federal Medicaid Funding The Trump Administration’s decision to freeze more than a billion dollars in Medicaid funding
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First Focus on Children @firstfocus.bsky.social · 13/05/2026
Illinois' book ban protections stand out as U.S. bans surge - Axios Chicago www.axios.com/local/chicag...
axios.com
Illinois bucks national book ban surge
New data shows more nonfiction and LGBTQ+ titles targeted in book bans across the U.S.
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First Focus on Children @firstfocus.bsky.social · 13/05/2026
Child Fatality Task Force releases report with recommendatio... www.wakeweekly.com/news/child-f...
wakeweekly.com
Child Fatality Task Force releases report with recommendatio...
NC Child Fatality Task Force 2026 report urges stronger laws, funding on car seats, mental health, guns, safe sleep and child care as preventable child deaths p...
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First Focus on Children @firstfocus.bsky.social · 12/05/2026
Abuse Leaves Measurable Biological Marks in Children's Bodies Within a Year - ScienceBlog scienceblog.com/abuse-leaves...
scienceblog.com
ScienceBlog.com
Original science news reporting in Plain English.
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First Focus on Children @firstfocus.bsky.social · 12/05/2026
I Remember America Before the Measles Vaccine - The Atlantic www.theatlantic.com/magazine/202...
theatlantic.com
I Remember America Before the Measles Vaccine
And I wish Robert F. Kennedy Jr. did too.
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First Focus on Children @firstfocus.bsky.social · 09/05/2026
Rx Kids associated with significant reductions in infant maltreatment investigations | University of Michigan Health www.michiganmedicine.org/health-lab/r...
michiganmedicine.org
Rx Kids associated with significant reductions in infant maltreatment investigations
Rx Kids, a community-wide cash prescription program for pregnant women and new parents that began in Flint, Michigan, was associated with a major drop in investigations of child maltreatment in…
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First Focus on Children @firstfocus.bsky.social · 08/05/2026
"Parental Rights" Conservatives Smear Connecticut's Attempt to Prevent Child Abuse www.liberalcurrents.com/parental-rig...
liberalcurrents.com
"Parental Rights" Conservatives Smear Connecticut's Attempt to Prevent Child Abuse
Today’s “parental rights” absolutism is actually a departure from the country’s constitutional history and tradition.
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First Focus on Children @firstfocus.bsky.social · 30/04/2026
Americans Once Understood Birthright Citizenship - The Atlantic www.theatlantic.com/ideas/2026/0...
theatlantic.com
Americans Once Understood Birthright Citizenship
Newspaper columnists instructed generations of citizens about the Fourteenth Amendment. Today, the country seems to have forgotten how clear the law is.
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First Focus on Children @firstfocus.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 on Children @firstfocus.bsky.social · 27/04/2026
Florida Delays Children’s Health Insurance Expansion as Uninsured Rate Rises - KFF Health News kffhealthnews.org/insurance/ch...
kffhealthnews.org
Florida Delays Children’s Health Insurance Expansion as Uninsured Rate Rises - KFF Health News
Florida’s KidCare expansion has been stuck in legal limbo since February 2024. Since then, the number of uninsured children in Florida has risen to 400,000 — one of the highest state tallies.
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First Focus on Children @firstfocus.bsky.social · 25/04/2026
PEPFAR scientist resigns in protest | Science | AAAS www.science.org/content/arti...
science.org
PEPFAR scientist resigns in protest
HIV clinician decries upending of long-running AIDS program for low-income countries
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First Focus on Children @firstfocus.bsky.social · 08/04/2026
How Federal Spending is Distributed by Age | Penn Wharton Budget Model budgetmodel.wharton.upenn.edu/p/2026-04-01... #InvestInKids #StopShortchangingChildren
budgetmodel.wharton.upenn.edu
How Federal Spending is Distributed by Age | Penn Wharton Budget Model
American retirees receive over twice as much in total federal outlays as working-age adults and six times more than children and young adults. These ratios are even larger on a per-capita basis.…
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First Focus on Children @firstfocus.bsky.social · 06/04/2026
ICE Arrests in Texas Leave Children to Raise Their Siblings After Parents Are Detained - The New York Times
nytimes.com
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First Focus on Children @firstfocus.bsky.social · 04/04/2026
How Medicaid Contractors Stand To Gain From Trump’s Policy - KFF Health News kffhealthnews.org/news/article...
kffhealthnews.org
How Medicaid Contractors Stand To Gain From Trump’s Policy - KFF Health News
Get our weekly newsletter, The Week in Brief, featuring a roundup of our original coverage, Fridays at 2 p.m. ET.
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First Focus on Children @firstfocus.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 on Children @firstfocus.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 on Children @firstfocus.bsky.social · 28/03/2026
How American Kids Have Been Collateral Damage in Trump’s Immigration Crackdown - Davis Vanguard davisvanguard.org/2026/03/trum...
davisvanguard.org
How American Kids Have Been Collateral Damage in Trump’s Immigration Crackdown - Davis Vanguard
House and Senate Democrats are holding a forum to highlight the American children who have been caught up in the government's immigration dragnet, with some being handcuffed, held at gunpoint, or…
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First Focus on Children @firstfocus.bsky.social · 26/03/2026
U.S.-Born Students Tell Congress About Lasting Toll of Harrowing ICE Encounters – The 74 www.the74million.org/article/u-s-...
the74million.org
U.S.-Born Students Tell Congress About Lasting Toll of Harrowing ICE Encounters
Unable to sleep and concentrate on school, teens say they are increasingly anxious — and have trouble planning for the future.
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First Focus on Children @firstfocus.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 on Children @firstfocus.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 on Children @firstfocus.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 on Children @firstfocus.bsky.social · 18/03/2026
When a child has an accident, they need coverage they can count on. That’s not what Dr. Oz has in mind. Read our letter on CMS’s proposal to raise deductibles to $30k+ for families on the Exchanges, leaving families on the hook.
firstfocus.org
COMMENT: Revise proposed rule to ensure that children continue to have access to affordable and appropriate care
First Focus on Children joined the American Academy of Pediatrics, Children's Defense Fund, and five other organizations in urging the Centers for
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