WASHINGTON, D.C. — As the nation navigates a complex and increasingly fraught political climate, the Children’s Defense Fund (CDF) is preparing to host a major gathering of national advocates, policy experts, and community leaders. Scheduled for November 4-5, 2026, at Howard University’s Blackburn University Center, the American Youth Policy Forum will bring together stakeholders from across the country to confront how current political decisions and systemic shifts are impacting the growth, security, and overall well-being of the nation’s 73 million children.
Titled "Doing Our First Works Over: The New State of America’s Children," the high-profile forum comes at a critical juncture for the United States. Organizers note that the event is designed to give advocates a space to reflect on recent developments, strategize around pressing policy threats, and chart a resilient path forward for America’s young people. The discussions will center heavily on the intersection of child well-being, public infrastructure, and political accountability during a time when many essential programs face unprecedented pressure.
The timing of the forum, occurring immediately following the national elections in early November, underscores the urgency felt by child advocacy organizations nationwide. According to leadership at CDF, the gathering will serve as a vital crucible for translating post-election realities into immediate, actionable strategies for the defense of vulnerable youth.
Key panels and keynote presentations throughout the two-day event will dissect the deteriorating state of public education and public health systems across the United States. Participants will dive deeply into the consequences of the systematic weakening of the Department of Education, as well as the cascading challenges brought on by persistent attacks on essential federal safety net programs. Programs such as Head Start, the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP), the Special Supplemental Nutrition Program for Women, Infants, and Children (WIC), and Medicaid have long served as bulwarks against extreme poverty and health disparities. The forum will examine how recent legislative and administrative shifts have exacerbated issues related to food insecurity, inadequate healthcare access, and a lack of robust early childhood support structures.
A central highlight of the 2026 American Youth Policy Forum will be the official unveiling of the 2026 State of America’s Children® Report. This comprehensive annual publication provides an exhaustive summary of the status of children across the nation, evaluating progress and setbacks across a broad spectrum of child well-being indicators. The report examines child population trends, child poverty rates, income and wealth inequality, the crisis of housing and housing instability, child hunger and nutrition, pediatric health outcomes, early childhood education availability, the youth justice system, and the devastating impact of gun violence on young lives.
The forum will feature a distinguished roster of speakers and panelists representing diverse sectors of public policy, academic research, and social justice advocacy. Among the featured experts scheduled to address attendees are Rev. Leonard Burton, President and CEO of the Center for the Study of Social Policy; Annie Donovan, President and CEO of the Raza Development Fund; Dr. Daniel Eisenburg, Professor of Health Policy and Management at the University of California, Los Angeles, and co-author of Investing in Children’s Mental Health; Bruce Lesley, President of First Focus on Children; Brittany Packnett Cunningham, Vice President and Chief Strategy Officer of the Children’s Defense Fund; Sharon Parrott, President of the Center on Budget and Policy Priorities; Dr. Ramesh Raghavan, Professor of Social Work at New York University; Dr. Heidi Shierholz, President of the Economic Policy Institute; and Rev. Dr. Starsky Wilson, President and CEO of the Children’s Defense Fund.
Brittany Packnett Cunningham, Vice President and Chief Strategy Officer at CDF, emphasized that the dialogues taking place at Howard University will lay the groundwork for future advocacy campaigns and legislative strategies aimed at safeguarding children nationwide.
"Election Day may be November 3, but the work for children and youth continues beyond that day," Packnett Cunningham said, highlighting the forward-looking mission of the upcoming convening. "Together, we’ll examine what the 2026 election results mean for children and youth, explore the policy issues shaping their health, education, economic mobility, and well-being, and identify strategies for moving from uncertainty to action."
Nick Vucic, National Director of Public Affairs for CDF, echoed these sentiments, pointing to the immediate imperative that the nation’s leaders be held accountable for the safety and development of the rising generation. He noted that the political landscape demands vigilance to ensure that decades of hard-fought progress in child welfare are not quietly dismantled.
"At CDF, we work to ensure every child is safe and supported," Vucic said. "This means holding our nation’s leaders accountable so their policies and programs truly serve young people. We cannot allow decades of progress to be undone. Therefore, we must come together to shape policies that protect children’s futures and improve their daily lives. We plan to do just that at the 2026 American Youth Policy Forum, Powered by CDF."
Founded in 1973, the Children’s Defense Fund has spent more than five decades championing policies that lift children out of poverty, protect them from abuse and neglect, and ensure equitable access to quality education and healthcare. Operating as the nation’s only multi-issue advocacy organization working directly at the intersection of child well-being and racial justice, CDF focuses its efforts on supporting America’s increasingly diverse generation of children and youth under 18, as well as young adults under 25. Through grassroots mobilization in marginalized communities and programs like its renowned CDF Freedom Schools®—which operate in nearly 100 cities across 30 states and territories—the organization continues to build enduring power for child-centered public policy informed by the lived experiences of the youth it serves.
