2022
The Big Thing: A Summit to Change Young Lives
More than 200 child advocates came together over two days to think big about how to change young lives in Pennsylvania. Children First built this Summit with the sage guidance of an amazing Steering Committee of students, parents, and child-serving leaders.
COVID’s Impact on Children
We helped parents throughout southeastern PA understand and address the alarming effects of COVID on children by releasing county-specific reports on COVID’s impact on children:
- COVID’s Impact on Children in Bucks County
- COVID’s Impact on Children in Chester County
- COVID’s Impact on Children in Delaware County
- COVID’s Impact on Children in Montgomery County
- COVID’s Impact on Children in Philadelphia
Parents Empowered for Change
We launched Parents Empowered for Change (PEC) to train parents how to fight for what their children and all children need. PEC unites parents to advocate for children in ways that benefit them and our communities – by supporting parents to be powerful agents of change.
More Homes Safe from Hazardous Lead
Children First coalesced 62 organizations statewide to protect young children from lead hazards. This resulted in $100 million in new funds to get the lead out of children’s homes and protect at least 10,000 children from lead poisoning.
More Seats for the Youngest Learners
Joining with fellow advocates, we made a powerful case to invest in pre-k. State lawmakers responded by appropriating a record-breaking $81 million for annual pre-k funding, opening the doors of pre-k and Head Start programs to 2,600 more children.
Historic School Funding Increase
Years of building bipartisan support for children paid off in 2022 as the legislature passed $970 million for schools, $100 million in grants for schools to fund mental health supports, and $79 million in high-quality early learning.