Dear Speaker Pelosi, Minority Leader McCarthy and Senators Feinstein and Harris:
We write with deep gratitude for your commitment and leadership as our nation struggles with the impact of COVID-19. We are especially grateful for your work to pass the CARES Act, which will have a profoundly positive impact on children and families in need and the national economy. As you and your colleagues develop further emergency relief and recovery legislation, we urge you to include the Priorities to Strengthen Families contained in the attached document. We write on behalf of the 66 organizations listed on this letter.
Our coalition was originally formed to address child and family poverty in California and today comprises 118 diverse organizations, more than 60 organizational partners and 60,000 individual Californians.
The attached Priorities to Strengthen Families were developed from our years of work, the experiences of our partners, and the expertise of some of the nation’s preeminent researchers on poverty. Taken together, these Priorities provide a foundation to help low income children and families recover from the pandemic and contribute to the nation’s overall economic recovery.
Each recommendation is based on a program or service that has been proven to be successful and cost effective — rigorous data and other analysis has been applied. The recommendations address the need to provide housing and food stability for vulnerable children; necessary healthcare to protect all Americans; child-care for our essential workers; essential support for our nation’s foster youth; and basic education, workforce and housing support.
We look forward to answering any questions or providing any additional information that may be helpful. Please contact Conway Collis or Jackie Wong.
Sincerely,
Dolores Huerta President Dolores Huerta Foundation
Conway Collis President and CEO GRACE/End Child Poverty CA
Organizations signing the letter:
To add your organization (click here). Although the original letter has been sent, we look forward to adding additional names and organizations online.New names are in italics.
Alameda County Community Food Bank Alliance for Boys and Men of Color Anthony and Jeanne Pritzker Family Foundation Asian Americans Advancing Justice – Los Angeles Bay Area Regional Health Inequities Initiative Burrito Bunch CA Association for the Education of Young Children (CAAEYC) Public Policy Committee California Alliance of Child and Family Services California Alternative Payment Program Association (CAPPA) California Asset Building Coalition California Association for the Education of Young Children (CAAEYC) California Association of Food Banks California Coalition for Youth California Latinas for Reproductive Justice California Partnership CAPPA Children’s Foundation CAP OC/OC Food Bank Catholic Charities of Santa Clara County Child Care Alliance of Los Angeles Child Care Law Center Child Care Resource and Referral Center CA Child Care Resource Center Children Now Children’s Council of San Francisco Children’s Defense Fund – CA Children’s Institute Children’s Resource & Referral Clergy and Laity United for Economic Justice Community Action Partnership of San Bernardino County Compass Family Services County Welfare Directors Association of CA Daughters of Charity of St. Vincent De Paul USA Dolores Huerta Foundation Economic Security Project Action Equal Rights Advocates Fathers & Families of San Joaquin First 5 Alameda County First 5 California First 5 LA Foster Care Counts Fresno Barrios Unidos Fresno EOC Fresno EOC Street Saints Friends Committee on Legislation of California Futures Without Violence Gardner Health Services GRACE Institute/End Child Poverty California Hayward Promise Neighborhoods Head Start California Healing Dialogue and Action Hunger Action LA Independent in Orange County Jewish Center for Justice Jewish Family and Children’s Services of San Francisco, the Peninsula, Marin and Sonoma Counties John Burton Advocates for Youth LA Conservation Corps Latino Business Foundation Silicon Valley Legal Aid at Work Los Angeles Community Action Network (LA CAN) Los Angeles Regional Food Bank LULAC California Lutheran Office of Public Policy California Martin Luther King Jr. Freedom Center Maryvale Mid City CAN (Community Advocacy Network) Mission Economic Development Agency National Association of Social Workers, California Chapter National Foster Youth Institute North Bay Jobs with Justice Para Los Niños Parent Voices CA Restaurant Opportunities Center The Bay Rise Together San Diego for Every Child San Francisco Latino Democratic Club Save the Children SHIELDS for Families South Bay Community Services Southern California Grantmakers St. John’s Well Child & Family Center Stable, Secure and Strong The Central Valley Urban Institute The Chicano Federation The Children’s Movement of Fresno The Children’s Partnership The Salvador E. Alvarez Institute for Non-Violence Time for Change Foundation Unite LA United Ways of California Urban Strategies Council Western Center on Law and Poverty YMCA of San Diego County Youth Justice Coalition L.A. Youth United for Community Action Youth Will
