Despite broad support from the public and bipartisan political leaders, children’s issues are often left out of the policymaking process, losing out to the influence of other interest groups. Children Now believes kids deserve a strong, unified advocacy voice to ensure their needs are represented in the policymaking process.
Children Now leverages its in-house policy expertise and coordinates a broad, diverse network of organizations who care about kids to make children the top priority in California. This approach resulted in the successful passage of California’s historic school finance law in 2013, which prioritized resources for the 3.5 million students living in poverty, 1.3 million English language learners and 43,000 foster youth; and has helped to demonstrate and maintain widespread support for the implementation of Common Core, the state’s updated English language arts and math standards. In addition, Children Now continues to advocate for high-quality STEM education and social-emotional learning opportunities for every student through securing support from a diverse range of stakeholders.