First Focus Campaign for Children sent the following letter to Congressional leaders in both houses with a set of recommendations to address the needs of our nation’s children and youth as our country faces two crises — the spread of COVID-19 and the resulting economic impact. These recommendations are a follow-up to a letter sent on April 20, 2020.
Excerpt from the letter:
Given recent spikes in COVID-19 caseloads, an economic crisis that continues to deepen, and an upcoming school year faced with daunting challenges, it is critical that Congress quickly pass additional emergency relief to support struggling children and families that both mitigates the impact of our current crisis as well as addresses inequities that existed before the COVID-19 pandemic.
This pandemic is doing more than exposing the disparities existing in our society; it is compounding these disparities, and so we must employ a robust, near- and long-term approach to manage this unprecedented dual public health and economic crisis. The COVID-19 pandemic and the resulting economic crisis are falling hardest on the most vulnerable among us, including our nation’s children. They are disrupting every facet of children’s lives, and we cannot yet know all of the negative and long-lasting implications they will have on children’s healthy development and future success.