Our Work

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Budget and Policy Advocacy

Promise 1: Children and youth will be safe in their homes and communities

All too often in the District of Columbia, young people are abused or neglected by their parents or caregivers. Violence in our communities and homes also threatens the physical and emotional well-being of children and youth. There is much the government can and should do to build and cultivate safe, healthy and caring communities, communities that support and protect children and youth.

Budget advocacy

FY 2008

• Updated analysis of child welfare budget (May 11) (PDF)



• Testimony on proposed FY 2008 Child and Family Services Agency Budget (April 18, 2007)

FY 2007

• Testimony at FYs 2006/2007 Oversight Hearing of the Child and Family Services Agency (PDF) (February 15, 2007)



• Testimony on proposed FY 2007 budget for Addiction Prevention and Recovery Administration (March 24, 2006)



• Testimony on proposed FY 2007 budget for Child and Family Services Agency (April 3, 2006)



• Testimony on proposed FY 2007 budget for the Child and Youth Investment Trust Fund (April 3, 2006)

FYs 2005 and 2006

• Testimony on FYs 2005-2006 budget oversight of Child and Family Services Agency (April 3, 2006)



• Testimony on proposed FY 2006 budget for Child and Family Services Agency (April 15, 2005)

Policy advocacy

• DC ACT in Post’s Close to Home – “There Are Other Children to Save”



• DC ACT quoted in Post, commenting at public roundtable on child abuse (The Washington Post, July 8, 2007) (PDF)



• Watch DC ACT testify on parental responsibility (July 3, 2007)
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• DC ACT presents testimony at public roundtable on Parental Responsibility and Youth Safety (July 3, 2007) (PDF)



• DC ACT’s statement for the record on the "Childhood Sexual Abuse Prevention Amendment Act of 2007" (June 2007)



• Issue in Brief: Child Abuse and Neglect through the Lens of Trauma (PDF) (April 2007)



• DC ACT communication with City Council before crime emergency briefing (July 18, 2006)



• DC ACT communication with City Council before vote on crime emergency legislation (July 19, 2006)



• Policy and program solutions to youth crime and toward citywide embracing of positive youth development framework (September 22, 2006)

On September 22, 2006, DC Action for Children convened a small meeting of providers and advocates with the express goal of developing specific policy, program and budget recommendations for FYs 2007 and 2008. The recommendations are included in the report. The expectation is that the group’s work will inform advocacy and public policy and budget making efforts for FYs 2007 and 2008.



• DC ACT testifies on the city’s effective youth development strategy (November 17, 2006)




The Council’s Special Committee on the Prevention of Youth Violent Crime (Gray, chair) held its final public oversight hearing on November 17. Councilmember Gray was interested in learning from public witnesses about the strategy development process and the range of program offerings associated with the strategy.
DC ACT Deputy Director/Public Policy Susie Cambria testified at the hearing and talked about the need for better linkages between the budget and programming and budgeting for outcomes.

Publications and Tools

• Issue in Brief: Child Abuse and Neglect through the Lens of Trauma (PDF) (April 2007) While trauma manifests differently for each child, one thing is certain of children in the child welfare system—they have experienced trauma related to abuse or neglect and removal from their home. It is important to understand trauma—its effects, its causes and children’s reactions to it—so that systems can better identify trauma and its manifestations. The District’s child welfare system must focus on treating trauma in a comprehensive way, a way in which parents and foster parents are included.
  
  
• Issues in Brief: DC ACT presents the need for a city-wide comprehensive child abuse and neglect prevention plan (PDF) (February 2007) Only in the last 10-15 years have jurisdictions across the country rejected the traditional approach to child abuse and neglect – dealing with it after it occurs – in favor of taking actions to prevent it. And prevention is important. In the District of Columbia alone, 2,508 children and youth had been removed from their home as a result of substantiated abuse or neglect as of April 2006. These young people will spend an average of 3.8 years in out-of-home placements. Preventing child abuse and neglect and later entrance into the child welfare system is good public policy and a significant advance for the overall health and well being of the city. This issue brief will present current data related to child abuse and neglect in the District as well as discuss the value of and need for a comprehensive and collaborative child abuse and neglect prevention plan for the District.
  
  
• Issues in Brief: Out-of-Home Placement Options -- One Size Does Not Fit All (PDF) (November 2006) The importance of appropriate out-of-home placements cannot be overstated. There is significant research that indicates that the “one-size fits all” approach to out-of-home placement does a great disservice to fragile children. The intention here is to present the range of options and to serve as a starting point for discussions about what is in the best interest of children in the nation’s capital who cannot safely return home.
  
  
• Child and Youth Victims in the District of Columbia, presentation to American University class in victimology (October 2006)



• Issues in Brief: Summer 2006 Crime Wave - An Advocacy Opportunity (July 2006)



• DC Youth Development Strategy: FY 06 Annual Report (PDF) This report was prepared by the Deputy Mayor for Children, Youth, Families and Elders and summarizes the government’s work to reduce youth violence and homicides.

Contact Us

If you have questions or comments or would like more information about our work in the area of safe children, please contact Beth Jamieson at 202-234-9404 x216 or bjamieson@dckids.org.