First Focus

First Focus is a bipartisan children's advocacy organization, launched by America's Promise. The stated purpose of the organization is "making children and their families a priority in federal policy and budget decisions." [ [http://www.firstfocus.net/AboutFirstFocus.aspx?id=882 About First Focus] ]

Funding support for First Focus comes from the David and Lucile Packard Foundation, Atlantic Philanthropies, the Annie E. Casey Foundation, and the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation. [ [http://www.firstfocus.net/AboutFirstFocus.aspx?id=642 About First Focus] ]

Core advocacy issues

First Focus has established three core issue areas for advocacy:

"Children’s Health". First Focus advocates for critical federal programs like the State Children's Health Insurance Program (SCHIP) and Healthy Start, and advancing federal efforts addressing childhood obesity.

"Education". First Focus supports efforts to raise high school graduation rates.

"Family Economics". First Focus is working to strengthen two effective, bipartisan tax measures that have already lifted millions of children out of poverty - the Earned Income Tax Credit and the Child Tax Credit.

Leadership

Former Congressman John Edward Porter is the first Chairman of the First Focus Advisory Board and previously served for 21 years in the U.S. House of Representatives and chaired the House Appropriations Committee's Subcommittee on Labor, Health and Human Services, and Education.

Research

First Focus also conducts research through what is called the First Focus Fellows Program. The program is a two-year fellowship that houses policy thinkers and researchers on children and family issues at organizations, such as the Brookings Institution, Urban Institute, New America Foundation, the Center on Budget and Policy Priorities, and the Ethics and Public Policy Center.

Published research

Published research by the Fellows and think tanks funded by First Focus include:

* [http://www.weeklystandard.com/Check.asp?idArticle=13068&r=gkgbl "The Health of the States: The Real Lesson of the Romney Health Care Plan"] Capretta, James (First Focus Fellow) and Yuval Levin, Ethics and Public Policy Center, published in "The Weekly Standard", December 18, 2006
* [http://www.firstfocus.net/uploadedFiles/FirstFocus/Urban%20Institue-First%20Focus.pdf "Share of Federal Domestic Spending on Children Falls by 17 Percent Since 1960"] Carasso, Adam, Gillian Reynolds, and Eugene Steuerle, (Press Release), Urban Institute, January 31, 2007
* [http://www.cbpp.org/11-14-06health.pdf "Administration Policy Change Threatens Health Care Coverage for Poor Infants"] , deLone, Sarah (First Focus Fellow), Center on Budget and Policy Priorities, December 11, 2006
* [http://www.firstfocus.net/uploadedFiles/FirstFocus/Isaacs_Jan_2007.pdf "Cost-Effective Investments in Children"] , Isaacs, Julia (First Focus Fellow), Brookings Institution, January 2007

Notes

External links

* [http://www.americaspromise.org/APAPage.aspx?id=6526 America's Promise website link]
* [http://www.allhealth.org/briefingmaterials/SOURCELIST-557.doc Alliance for Health Reform Sourcelist on SCHIP]
* [http://www.prnewswire.com/cgi-bin/stories.pl?ACCT=104&STORY=/www/story/02-01-2007/0004518388&EDATE= "Children Squeezed Out of Federal Budget"] PR Newswire, February 1, 2007
* [http://www.nachc.com/press/10807schip.asp "Reauthorization of the State Children's Health Insurance Program (SCHIP)"] National Association of Community Health Centers, Inc., January 8, 2007
* [http://www.iom.edu/CMS/3809/34454/37413.aspx "Emergency Care Dissemination Workshop"] Institute of Medicine of the National Academy of Sciences, December 11, 2006
* [http://www.realclearpolitics.com/articles/2006/12/partisan_fights_likely_over_he.html "Partisan Fights Likely Over Health Care"] Mort Kondracke, Roll Call, December 8, 2006
* [http://www.academyhealth.org/childhealth/2006/panels.pdf "The Economics of Child Health: Making Children the Nation's First Focus"] AcademyHealth, Panel Discussion: June 24, 2006
* [http://www.kaisernetwork.org/health_cast/hcast_index.cfm?display=detail&hc=1693 "Ask The Experts: Children's Health Care"] Kaiser Family Foundation, April 4, 2006