Kids Are Essential

Our country is at a tipping point, and our children’s futures are at stake. As the nation attempts to recover and rebuild from COVID-19, we must focus on the needs of children and their families—particularly in the prenatal to three period— or we risk creating a generation of children further behind than any other in recent history. That is why we’re proud to announce we are partnering with Kids Are Essential.

Child development doesn’t stop when crises happen. We can’t stop either. We must ensure that our nation is equipped to support children and their families with the critical resources they need to survive the pandemic and thrive in the years beyond it. This is our opportunity to shape the future of millions of families – and our nation as a whole. We need your help.
Kids Are Essential, a group of organizations committed to the success of children, calls on our leaders to invest in children and their families as early as possible, and address the economic, racial, and health disparities that were made worse by the pandemic.

They stand for:
✔️ Ensuring family economic security through affordable access to food, health care, housing, and transportation
✔️Increasing access to affordable, high-quality child care, particularly for infants and toddlers
✔️Ensuring paid family, medical, and sick leave for all working families
✔️Prioritizing maternal and child health before, during, and after pregnancy
✔️Centering mental health as a necessary foundation for later success

Our ask is that you stand with them also. Please visit the Kids Are Essential page and website https://www.kidsareessential.org/ and share their message with your networks and communities to promote the effort and encourage others to add their voice. We will also be posting messages on our social media that you can share.

Let’s recognize young children as our greatest resource and treat them as our highest priority. Their success is our future.

Thank you for all that you do for early childhood in Arkansas!