Our Issues

We’re building a movement to close the opportunity gap facing America’s children and families.

Every Child Matters wants to make children and families a national political priority. That’s why we’re voting for kids.

Opportunity for All

Every child deserves a shot at the American dream. Fighting poverty, discrimination and other barriers is essential to closing the opportunity gap facing America’s children. When every child gets a fair chance at success, America’s families, communities and the economy benefit.

Working Families

Working and having a family shouldn’t be so hard. Stagnant incomes and workplace practices that pit being a parent against being a provider strain families and harm kids. Paid sick and family medical leave, access to affordable childcare and fair wages can help provide the economic security and flexibility that parents need to build their […]

Education

We believe all kids should have access to high quality schools regardless of their neighborhood or parents’ income. Guaranteeing access to high-quality early childhood education and affordable higher education will help level the playing field and inspire the next generation of leaders and innovators.

Healthy Kids

No child should be denied healthcare. In recent years, the Children’s Health Insurance Program (CHIP) and the Affordable Care Act have expanded access to comprehensive medical care for children. We must work to preserve and build upon this progress.

Safe Kids

Every child needs a safe environment in their home, school and neighborhood. We are committed to preventing child abuse, ending deaths due to abuse and neglect, and to reducing gun violence.

Child Care Breaks Through in First Debate of 2020
January 16, 2020
If you were watching last night’s presidential debate, you got to see—for the first time—a robust, informed, and thoughtful conversation about child care and early education. Over the course of several minutes, debate moderator Brianne Pfannenstiel pressed the candidates to share their plans to address the childcare crisis facing families in Iowa and across the […]
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Every Child Matters Launches Digital Dialogue
December 10, 2019
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE — December 5th, 2019 CONTACT: Bri Steirer; 515-237-0339; [email protected] Des Moines, IOWA (December 4, 2019) – Today, Every Child Matters and the Iowa Children’s Policy Coalition are launching their Digital Dialogue, a new feature aimed at promoting more robust discussion of children’s issues among presidential candidates throughout the 2020 presidential election. Digital […]
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Fixing Iowa child care will take money, more regulation, panelists say
November 22, 2019
Jason Clayworth, Des Moines Register Alleviating Iowa’s child care crisis requires an influx of money and expanded regulation, multiple attendees at a forum hosted Friday by U.S. Rep. Cindy Axne said. Solutions to the child care systems problems — accessibility, affordability and safety —are complex. But more financial resources and government and business focus on […]
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Scenes from Record-Breaking Polk County Steak Fry
October 1, 2019
Colorado Senator Michael Bennet stated that he would provide universal pre-k for three and four year olds, and focus on reducing childhood poverty. Former Vice President Joe Biden talked about his plans to provide pre-K to every three to five year old. Former HUD Secretary Julián Castro said that he plans on making universal child […]
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Digital Dialogue

Engage with the candidates on issues affecting children

Select Candidate

Select Issue

Early Education

"I propose universal access to a pre-k program. And it has to be a quality program."

Steve Bullock

From the candidate website: “Steve will also work with Congress to ensure every family who wants to participate has access to a quality pre-K program. Early childhood education and preschool improve a child’s educational achievement throughout their school years while preparing them for success as an adult.”

"If we do this, we can put every single child age three, four, and five in school. Not day care, school."

Joe Biden

From the candidate website: “Provide high-quality, universal pre-kindergarten for all three- and four -year-olds. For families with young children, finding highly quality pre-K is a major financial, logistical, and emotional burden, with potentially life-long consequences for their children. As President, Biden will work with states to offer pre-K for all three- and four-year-olds. This investment will ease the burden on our families, help close the achievement gap, promote the labor participation of parents who want to work, and lift our critical early childhood education workforce out of poverty.”

"I'm taking a close look at a Universal Basic Income type of program to be able to provide more flexibility, security, and options for parents, and not limit it to external child care."

Tulsi Gabbard

From the candidate website: “We need to make sure we are investing in the future of all of our children. In order to invest in our future, we have to provide adequate resources and meaningful accountability to ensure that all our students have equal access to quality education.”

“Every family in this country, regardless of your income, should be able to send your kid to a high-quality pre-k facility, and we. are going to bring that about.”

Bernie Sanders

From the candidate website: “Enact a universal childcare and pre-kindergarten program.”

Joe Walsh

Our grassroots advocates haven’t recorded this candidate on the campaign trail yet. Help change that by using the tool below to share our call for more public dialogue about early education.

"It is valuable to American society that these children have everything they could possibly need to thrive."

Marianne Williamson

From the candidate website: “Affordable childcare and Universal pre-K”

"As a country, we've got to provide early childhood education, and we have to provide quality."

Michael Bennet

From the candidate website: “Michael will work to ensure that all of our children receive a high-quality education, from early childhood through high school; college students can pursue their studies without incurring the crushing burden of debt; more people seeking an alternative to college can pursue high-quality apprenticeships and job training; and Americans throughout their lives can advance their careers by improving their existing job skills or learning new ones.”

"I think we need universal pre-k and we need a massive expansion of zero to three or early childhood, particularly for lower-income families."

John Delaney

From the candidate website: “While in Congress, Delaney introduced H.R. 3466, the Early Learning Act, which would provide every four-year-old child guaranteed access to a free Pre-K program, fully paid for by a surtax on high income earners of 1.5% on income over $500,000.”

“I believe that with child care and with universal pre-k, what we have is an opportunity to make sure that every single child in our country gets off to a strong start.”

Julián Castro

From the candidate website: “My ‘Working Families First’ Credit includes a universal child credit of $3,000 per child for every family of modest means and a major expansion of the Earned Income Tax Credit. As I’ve previously proposed in my “People First Education” platform, we will provide universal pre-K education, and now I propose expanding that to include universal child care; these programs will lower the cost burden on working families and increase wages for child care workers. Together, the new credit, pre-K education, and child care will help us achieve a bold new goal to reduce child poverty by two-thirds.”

"I think the main thing we gotta do is start early, but also have standards and accountability in K-12."

Bill Weld

"I'm for universal child care in the United States of America. It's been proven to be beneficial every place that's had it."

Andrew Yang

From the candidate website: “Education in America starts too late. It has been shown that there are massive benefits to offering pre-kindergarten options to children throughout their lives, especially for those from low-income families. It also increases sociability, and it relieves the financial burden of finding daycare for families who struggle to afford it.”

Michael Bloomberg

Our grassroots advocates haven’t recorded this candidate on the campaign trail yet. Help change that by using the tool below to share our call for more public dialogue about early education.

Joe Sestak

Our grassroots advocates haven’t recorded this candidate on the campaign trail yet. Help change that by using the tool below to share our call for more public dialogue about early education.

From the candidate website: “Expand early childhood education to all 4-year-olds.”

"It's something that can be done I think very easily by a company."

Donald Trump

"We need to start valuing children from the earliest of stages."

Cory Booker

From the candidate website: “Guarantee universal early childhood education.”

Deval Patrick

Our grassroots advocates haven’t recorded this candidate on the campaign trail yet. Help change that by using the tool below to share our call for more public dialogue about early education.

From the candidate website: “Education from pre-K to community college, and right through workforce development and retraining, because education is the single best investment the public can make in its own collective future.”

Tom Steyer

Our grassroots advocates haven’t recorded this candidate on the campaign trail yet. Help change that by using the tool below to share our call for more public dialogue about early education.

From the candidate website: “Without guaranteed access to a good education, there’s no such thing as equal opportunity. Our government must protect the right to a free, quality, public education from preschool through college and on to skills training.”

"I have always been a big believer in preschool and getting kids child care and everything else they need."

Amy Klobuchar

From the candidate website: “Shared prosperity is about ensuring all families have a fair shot in today’s economy, and Amy believes that this means investing in quality child care, overhauling our country’s housing policy, raising the minimum wage, providing paid family leave, supporting small business owners and entrepreneurs, as well as helping Americans save for retirement.”

"We can't expect to do better with the shortages that we experience unless we are willing to compensate providers for what it is worth."

Pete Buttigieg

From the candidate website: “OTHER CRITICAL POLICY AREAS:
Pass paid family and medical leave
Extend pay and benefit protections to uncovered workers
Invest in high-quality childcare and early childhood learning programs”

"We could do universal child care
for every baby in this country, universal pre-k for every three year old and four year old, and we could raise the wages of every childcare worker and preschool teacher in this country."

Elizabeth Warren

From the candidate website: “The federal government will partner with local providers — states, cities, school districts, nonprofits, tribes, faith-based organizations — to create a network of child care options that would be available to every family. These options would include locally-licensed child care centers, preschool centers, and in-home child care options. Local communities would be in charge, but providers would be held to high national standards to make sure that no matter where you live, your child will have access to quality care and early learning. Child care and preschool workers will be doing the educational work that teachers do, so they will be paid like comparable public school teachers.”