WASHINGTON, D.C. — In what organizers are describing as a critical inflection point for the nation’s youth, the national youth advocacy organization Children’s Defense Fund (CDF) is preparing to convene the American Youth Policy Forum in Washington, D.C. this coming November. Against a backdrop of shifting political dynamics and policy decisions that child advocates say are actively undermining the growth and well-being of the nation’s 73 million children, the gathering aims to unite leaders, researchers, and community organizers to chart a new path forward.
Scheduled for November 4 through November 5, 2026, the high-profile event will take place at Howard University’s Blackburn University Center, located at 2397 6th St NW. Entitled "Doing Our First Works Over: The New State of America’s Children," the forum arrives at a moment when advocates across the country are grappling with the cumulative impacts of recent legislative and executive decisions on public education, public health, and essential social safety net programs.
According to the Children’s Defense Fund, the upcoming forum will serve as a vital space for nationwide advocates to reflect, strategize, and build collective power. Keynote addresses and panel discussions throughout the two-day event will dive deep into pressing systemic vulnerabilities, including the weakening of the Department of Education, the current state of public school systems, and growing threats to foundational public health infrastructure. Furthermore, sessions will explore how systemic attacks on essential safety net 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 significantly exacerbated ongoing challenges related to child food security, health disparities, and early childhood support systems.
A central highlight of the November convening will be the official release of the highly anticipated 2026 State of America’s Children Report. This comprehensive document provides an exhaustive overview of the status of children across the United States, breaking down critical data across a broad spectrum of child well-being indicators. The report examines child population trends, child poverty rates, income and wealth inequality, housing insecurity and homelessness, child hunger and nutrition, child health outcomes, early childhood education access, youth justice reforms, and the devastating impact of gun violence on American youth.
The urgency of the moment is underscored by the timing of the forum, which directly follows the November 3 national elections. Brittany Packnett Cunningham, Vice President and Chief Strategy Officer for the Children’s Defense Fund, emphasized that the conversations held in Washington will serve as a foundational roadmap for future advocacy efforts and policy initiatives 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 continuity of the struggle for child welfare regardless of electoral outcomes. "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 fraught political climate that currently threatens decades of hard-fought progress for young people. Vucic stressed that ensuring every child is safe, supported, and given the opportunity to thrive requires unwavering accountability from the nation’s political leadership.
"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."
The forum will feature a diverse lineup of nationally recognized experts, researchers, policy analysts, and advocacy leaders. Among the scheduled speakers 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 UCLA and co-author of Investing in Children’s Mental Health; and Bruce Lesley, President of First Focus on Children.
Additional featured 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. These leaders will bring multidisciplinary perspectives to the table, ranging from macroeconomic policy and public health to social welfare and grassroots mobilization.
The Children’s Defense Fund, founded in 1973, maintains a long-standing vision of a nation where marginalized children are empowered to flourish, where political and community leaders actively prioritize their health and well-being, and where local communities possess the resources and autonomy to ensure youth success. As the only national, multi-issue advocacy organization operating directly at the critical intersection of child well-being and racial justice, CDF champions the needs of the nation’s most diverse generation—encompassing the 73 million children and youth under the age of 18, as well as 30 million young adults under the age of 25.
Through its grassroots movements anchored in marginalized communities, CDF continues to build enduring power for child-centered public policy, relying heavily on frameworks informed by racial equity and the direct lived experiences of children and youth. Its nationally renowned CDF Freedom Schools program, which operates in nearly 100 cities spread across 30 states and territories, stands as a testament to the organization’s commitment to youth empowerment and educational equity outside of traditional school settings.
As preparations for the November forum finalize, organizers anticipate that the discussions and data unveiled at Howard University will galvanize a renewed national movement. By bringing together the nation’s foremost experts and grassroots defenders of youth, the Children’s Defense Fund aims to transform political challenges into a catalyst for enduring legislative and social protection for America’s future generations.
