Hundreds of child advocates gather for conference in Memphis

Speakers include CEO and President of NAACP and other experts in racial equity

WASHINGTON – Voices for America’s Children, the nation’s largest network of multi-issue child advocacy organizations, will host more than 160 leading child advocates and policy experts for its annual conference in Memphis, June 22-24, to discuss racial equity, health care and other pressing child issues.

“With states still facing challenges to child services on one hand, and exciting new media advocacy techniques on the other, we will have much to talk about this year,“ said Bill Bentley, president and CEO of Voices for America’s Children. “The purpose of our movement is to give people who care about children a way to make their voices heard – we hope to make citizens care as much about all of America’s children as they care about their own. There are millions of us who believe that investing in children today is an investment in their future – and ours.”

Programming for the event, titled, “America’s Kids, America’s Future: Building the Children’s Movement,” will place a special emphasis on racial equity for children in America, starting with a day of interactive events at the National Civil Rights Museum.

“Our interactive experience at the National Civil Rights Museum will allow us to study not only the history of inequities and disparities, but how to strengthen our own movement, the cause of children in America,” said Bentley. “I firmly believe that children’s well-being is one of the civil rights issues of our time.”

Notable speakers on race equity issues and building a social movement include Ben Jealous, president and CEO of the NAACP; Dr. Manuel Pastor and Angela Glover Blackwell, co-authors of the book Uncommon Common Ground: Race and America’s Future; and Rinku Sen, author, activist and publisher of Colorlines.com. Also, Racquel Russell, of the White House Domestic Policy Council, will speak to child advocates about upcoming administration priorities.

United Healthcare Community Plan CEO Scott A. Bowers will also lead a discussion about health equity and the Affordable Care Act.

“This discussion will help identify barriers that exist to health care services and will address how we break down those barriers and improve the quality of care that is being delivered to America’s children,” said Scott A. Bowers, chief executive officer of UnitedHealthcare Community and State of Tennessee. “We are proud to lend our voice to this discussion and help create an environment that empowers young people to make healthy decisions at an early age.”

The annual conference will also provide workshops and networking opportunities for the more than 160 child advocates, civic leaders, and policymakers expected to attend. Topics for discussion will include the debate over the federal budget, health care, online mobilization tools for advocates and racial equity issue education.

Title sponsorship for the event is provided by United Healthcare Community Plan, whose philanthropic work supports many child health causes. Forum 2011 is also being supported by LeBonheur Children’s Hospital, Healy Foundation, Birth to Five Policy Alliance, Anonymous Donor, The California Endowment, Texas Children’s Hospital, .McQuade.Brennan.LLP., Baker Hostetler and BB&T.

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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.