Overview

The federal government funds over 180 different children’s programs, from child health and education to child welfare and juvenile justice. Childrensbudget.org is a comprehensive guide to all federal spending on children and an invaluable resource for all those seeking to improve the lives of America’s youth.

KEY FINDINGS:

During the past five years, federal spending on children increased by 15 percent due mostly to increases in mandatory spending over the last two years.
ARRA added critical and needed funding for kids, but that funding will start ending as soon as this year. Due to ARRA, it is predicted that an additional $50 billion will be spent on children’s programs in 2010, almost a 20 percent increase.
Without ARRA, this year’s spending on kids would be less than 8 percent of the federal budget, which is below what it was 5 years ago.
President Obama’s fiscal year 2011 budget includes major investments in children, totaling more than $30 billion over current levels, accounting for a 10.1 percent increase.

MAINTAINING THE INVESTMENT:

The boost in federal spending on children during 2009 and 2010 were largely due to increased spending under ARRA. Unless the federal government chooses to appropriate higher yearly levels of support, these programs will be forced to scale back to pre-2009 levels. This issue of a so-called “budget cliff” in many of these programs is steadily increasing in importance as 2010 progresses.
Furthermore, a President’s budget is only a blueprint and it is up to Congress to enact the related policies. Without Congressional action on important pieces of legislation, the proposed investments in the President’s budget for kids will be lost.