CHILDREN'S DEFENSE FUND

Children's Defense Fund

Children's Defense Fund

Introduction

The Children's Defense Fund (CDF) is a national organization that is committed to the social Welfare of children. Founded in 1973, the nonprofit group uses its annual $9 million budget to lobby legislators and to speak out publicly on a broad array of issues on the law, the family, and society. It is involved in the welfare debate: The CDF has consistently fought for federal welfare programs that directly help poor children, a cause that has enjoyed significant success in Washington, D.C. In the 1980s, its intensive LOBBYING efforts saved billions of dollars in proposed funding cuts, and in the early 1990s, close ties with the administration of President BILL CLINTON increased its influence, leading to new federal legislation. Besides its work on Capitol Hill, the organization issues reports on the health and the economic and social well-being of U.S. children. The organization owes much of its effectiveness to the work of its founder and director, civil rights attorney Marian Wright Edelman.( Cravens, 2004)

The first black woman to pass the bar exam in Mississippi, Edelman fought Racial Discrimination in the 1960s. She initially came to national attention by stopping efforts in Mississippi to deny African Americans money from the federal Head Start program. By the end of the 1960s, she ran an advocacy group called the Washington Research Project, whose chief focus was antidiscrimination law. The group acquired powerful allies—one staff attorney was Hillary Rodham, who would become First Lady. Edelman lobbied extensively for federal HEALTH CARE and CHILD CARE, but to little avail. By 1973, she realized that "the country was tired of the concerns of the sixties. When you talked about poor people or black people, you faced a shrinking audience. I got the idea that children might be a very effective way to broaden the base for change." She renamed her organization, made children's issues its primary focus, and began building the corporate sponsorship that has grown to include such major donors as American Express and Coca-Cola. ( Shirelle, 2005)

Discussion

The CDF has taken a stand against cutting federal programs that benefit poor children. Leading its list are the Head Start and Women, Infants, and Children (WIC) nutrition programs. Although viewed as a liberal organization, it has blasted presidential administrations from Jimmy Carter's to George H.W. Bush's whenever budgets have been threatened. It has attacked social spending cuts as "callous" and motivated by "greed," arguing that welfare is properly seen as a children's issue. In a display of its influence during the Reagan era, the CDF convinced Congress to spare approximately $2.5 billion in cuts. In addition to supporting existing programs, the CDF has argued in favor of greater federal support for underprivileged families in the areas of housing, day care, child immunization, so-called family preservation programs, and employment training. ( Shirelle, 2005)

The organization's research and recommendations are often the catalyst for debate. For example, its 1991 study Bright Futures or Broken Dreams: The Status of the Children of ...