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Bill Attempts to Ban Seclusion and Restraint

June 18, 2013
By Brianna Gross

What would you do if your child came home covered in bruises and cuts, maybe even a tooth knocked out? Oh, that’s a normal day for my child, you think, roughhousing on the playground, kids will be kids, that sort of thing. But what if you found out that those injuries were inflicted by a teacher?

How about if you found out that your child missed history, math, and English class because she was locked in a room alone for three hours, with no bathroom breaks, no surveillance, and no supervision?

Keeping a Focus on Children as Immigration Reform Hits the Senate Floor

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June 18, 2013
By Anthony Eleftherion

With the Senate currently debating possible reforms to our nation’s immigration system, we at First Focus Campaign for Children, along with a host of other organizations, want to ensure that the interests and needs of children and families are met in the immigration reform bill (S.744).

Po-tay-toe, po-ta-toe? Either Way, a Less Healthy WIC

June 14, 2013
By Radiah Shabazz

This week the U.S. House of Representatives Appropriations Committee passed an amendment to the FY 2014 Agriculture Appropriations Bill that would allow for fresh white potatoes to be included in the WIC food package.

The United States Department of Agriculture’s (USDA) Special Supplemental Nutrition Program for Women, Infants and Children (WIC) provides federal grants to states for food assistance, health care referrals, and nutrition education for low-income pregnant and postpartum women, as well as infants and children up to age 5 who are found to be at nutritional risk.

Little DREAMers on the Hill

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June 12, 2013
By Kevin Lindsey

On Wednesday, June 12th, a group of over 80 seventh graders from the Cesar Chavez Public Charter Schools for Public Policy in Northwest D.C. visited the Senate in support of the DREAM provisions of the immigration reform bill and the Little Dreamers Amendment. After learning about immigration reform in school, the students came to hear from a few panelists about immigration reform and to meet with Senate offices to speak about the DREAM title and to leave letters they wrote to Senators in support of the DREAM Act.