We know the sobering headlines on the economy and the implications of the District's local budget shortfall on services for your children and families. The message is clear and profound: Safety nets are being slashed and we will have to do more with less. I hear it from providers, parents and fellow advocates. There is a real risk of federal...

I'll start with the good news....Yesterday, President Obama released his budget proposal for 2012, keeping his promise to freeze non-security-related domestic spending for the next five years. The good news is the downsized budget still manages to include more funding for vulnerable children and families, including necessary investments in early education, including $350 million for the Early Learning Challenge Fund...

Happy New Year! 2011 started with a bang for DC Action for Children. We are feeling reinvigorated, excited and positively fizzy about the year ahead -- and we've already gotten a running start and have been very busy (hence please excuse the fact that my first post of the year is five days late!).Our resolution for 2011 is to recommit...

Petula Dvorak wrote an excellent column in today's Washington Post that makes a compelling case for why the city must continue to invest in subsidized child care for low-income families, particularly young, single mothers. Without child care, the women she profiles would not be able to work and support their children. And as Dvorak points out, even women with higher...

There was no one celebrating Tuesday when the D.C. Council gave preliminary approval to a budget to fill the city's $188 million gap. Funding for critical safety-net programs was slashed, including basic income assistance to thousands of families with children. We had to look hard to find it, but there was a silver lining. Thanks to your calls and emails...

By now you've probably heard about the town hall meetings that Chairman Gray is holding in every ward in an effort to unite the city following the divisive primary. I am planning to attend the one tonight in Ward 7 and just received this notice yesterday that the locations for the remaining town halls have changed. (Thanks, Fair Budget Coalition...