Hundreds gather in nation’s capital for conference of child advocates June 27-29

For Immediate Release: June 26, 2012

Contact: Roberta Heine, heine@voices.org, (202) 380-1781,  Casey Labrack, labrack@voices.org, (202) 380-1784, Sue Lin Chong, schong@aecf.org, (410) 223-2836

Foremost child experts and activists assemble to adapt advocacy for new tactics and challenging times

WASHINGTON – In one of the year’s largest gatherings in child policy, Voices for America’s Children and The Annie E. Casey Foundation this month will jointly hold a conference for nearly 400 child advocates and experts hailing from nearly 80 child-focused organizations.

The conference, titled “America’s Turning Point: Our Decisions, America’s Future” will be held at the Omni Shoreham Hotel in Washington, D.C., from June 27-29.

“Children in America are not doing well – 8 million don’t have health care insurance, one-in-five are at risk of hunger and one-third of our fourth-graders aren’t reading at grade level,” Voices for America’s Children CEO and President Bill Bentley said. “Our kids deserve better from us, even in tight budget times, and child advocates nationwide are coming together to coordinate policy goals and raise support for programs that children depend on.”

During the conference, child policy and data experts will join Obama administration officials to present new information on child well-being and Voices members from Hawaii to New York will head to Capitol Hill to bring their message directly to their local members of Congress during the three day conference in Washington, DC.

“This co-convening of Voices for America’s Children and KIDS COUNT agencies will provide a rich opportunity for advocates to network and build a national consensus on the most pressing issues facing vulnerable children and families,” Annie E. Casey Foundation Associate Director of Policy Reform and Advocacy Dennis J. Campa said.

Speakers at Joint Conference 2012 include Cindy Mann, CMS deputy administrator and director at the Center for Medicaid and CHIP Services, Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services; Dr. Camara Jones, research director at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention; and Judy Solomon, vice president for health policy for the Center on Budget and Policy Priorities.

Voices members from Hawaii to New York will spend one afternoon in a “Hill Day” of advocacy at the offices of their local congressional delegations. Speaking to members of Congress and their policy staff, Voices advocates will make the case for greater investment in children, even in a time of tight government budgets.

Voices will present its annual Florette Angel Memorial National Child Advocacy Awards at the conference to Charles Bruner, executive director of the Child and Family Policy Center in Iowa, and Susan Randall, executive director of South Dakota Voices for Children.

Voices also will honor U.S. Senator Saxby Chambliss (R-GA) and Congressman Dale Kildee (D-MI) with the Children’s Champion award to recognize these two elected leaders for their work in elevating children’s issues in Congress.

Conference sponsors include the Healy Foundation, two Anonymous Donors, Birth to Five Policy Alliance, Coca-Cola Company, Texas Children’s Hospital, Elyria Charities, The Schott Foundation, NVG, American Federation of Teachers, The .McQuade.Brennan.LLP., Optimal Network and California Grill.

Voices for America’s Children is the nation’s largest network of multi-issue child advocacy organizations. Voices works with partners like The Annie E. Casey Foundation, a private charitable organization dedicated to helping build better futures for disadvantaged children in the U.S., to improve the lives of all children in America.

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As the nation’s largest network of multi-issue child advocacy organizations, Voices for America’s Children (Voices) has been on the forefront of every major child policy victory for the past quarter-century. With 62 members nationwide, Voices speaks up for kids, and mobilizes and advocates for public policies to improve the lives of all children, especially those most vulnerable, throughout the United States. Visit us at www.voices.org. Voices is a founding member of the Children’s Leadership Council, a coalition of more than 50 leading national policy and advocacy organizations. www.childrensleadershipcouncil.com.

The Annie E. Casey Foundation is a private national philanthropy that creates better futures for the nation’s children by strengthening families, building economic opportunities and transforming neighborhoods into safer and healthier places to live, work and grow. For more information, visit www.aecf.org.