Titled “Doing Our First Works Over: The New State of America’s Children,” the 2026 forum is designed to bring together a coalition of child advocates, policy experts, community leaders, and researchers from across the nation. Attendees will gather to reflect on recent policy shifts, strategize around ongoing challenges, and chart a definitive path forward for America’s young people. The event is scheduled to take place on November 4 and 5, 2026, at the Blackburn University Center located on the campus of Howard University in the nation’s capital.
The forum takes its name and mission from an urgent reality: the pressing need to safeguard public systems and essential safety net programs that have historically protected vulnerable children from poverty and instability. Keynote speeches and panel discussions during the two-day event will focus heavily on the current state of public education and public health systems, the weakening administrative power and oversight of the Department of Education, and a series of sustained legislative and administrative attacks on essential 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 faced mounting pressures, which organizers say have directly worsened challenges related to food insecurity, preventative healthcare, and early childhood support systems.
A central highlight of the forum will be the official release of the highly anticipated 2026 State of America’s Children Report. This comprehensive document serves as a yearly snapshot and barometer of child well-being in the United States, synthesizing critical data across a wide spectrum of socio-economic and health indicators. The report examines child population trends, national child poverty rates, income and wealth inequality, housing instability and homelessness, child hunger and nutrition deficits, overall child health outcomes, early childhood education access, youth justice system interactions, and the pervasive crisis of gun violence affecting schools and communities.
The timing of the forum is deeply intentional, following closely after the November 3 election cycle. Leaders within the Children’s Defense Fund emphasize that the responsibilities of child advocacy extend far beyond election day and require persistent, organized engagement regardless of shifting political majorities.
Brittany Packnett Cunningham, Vice President and Chief Strategy Officer at the Children’s Defense Fund, noted that the conversations taking place at Howard University will serve as a foundational guide for future advocacy campaigns and legislative policies aimed at uplifting children nationwide. She stressed that the collective task ahead involves analyzing the practical implications of the 2026 election results for children and youth, closely examining the specific policy debates that shape their health, educational attainment, economic mobility, and general well-being, and identifying concrete strategies to move the needle from uncertainty to impactful action.
Echoing these sentiments, Nick Vucic, National Director of Public Affairs at CDF, pointed out that the forum directly confronts the challenging reality of today’s political environment. He emphasized that ensuring every child is safe, healthy, and supported requires holding the nation’s leaders strictly accountable to make certain that public policies and institutional programs genuinely serve the interests of young people. Vucic warned that decades of hard-fought progress in child welfare, civil rights, and social support structures cannot be allowed to quietly unravel, making a unified gathering of advocates an absolute necessity for shaping protective policies and improving daily lives.
The forum boasts a robust lineup of prominent speakers and subject matter experts from across the fields of social policy, public health, economic research, and child 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 studies on investing in children’s mental health; and Bruce Lesley, President of First Focus on Children.
Additional speakers include Brittany Packnett Cunningham 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.
Founded in 1973, the Children’s Defense Fund has spent over five decades operating with a clear vision: a nation where marginalized children are able to flourish, where political and community leaders actively prioritize their health and well-being, and where local communities possess the resources and power necessary to ensure young people thrive. As the only national, multi-issue advocacy organization working precisely at the intersection of child well-being and racial justice, CDF continuously champions the needs of America’s most diverse generation. This includes advocating for the 73 million children and youth under the age of 18, as well as the 30 million young adults under the age of 25 currently navigating the transition into adulthood.
Through grassroots community organizing in marginalized neighborhoods, CDF works to build lasting political power for child-centered public policies that are informed directly by principles of racial equity and the lived experiences of children and families. Among its signature initiatives is the renowned CDF Freedom Schools program, which operates educational and enrichment programs in nearly 100 cities across 30 states and U.S. territories, reinforcing the organization’s long-standing commitment to nurturing the next generation of leaders, thinkers, and changemakers.
