Mission
Who is Children First for Oregon?
Founded in 1991, Children First is Oregon’s most respected non-profit, non-partisan child advocacy organization committed to improving the lives of Oregon’s vulnerable children and families.
What is our Vision?
Our vision is to make Oregon a place where all children are healthy and safe, and struggling families have the support they need to thrive.
What is our Mission?
Our mission is to make long-term systemic change by advocating for the adoption of policies and programs that keep children healthy and safe, and strengthen families.
Who do we serve?
We advocate for the:
• 80,000 newly insured children who need access to quality, comprehensive health care
• 13,291 children in foster care
• 11,090 children who are either victims of abuse, neglect or threat of harm
• 152,000 children who live in extreme poverty
What is Vision 2020?
Vision 2020 is the roadmap Children First will use to guide our work over the next ten years. It is a set of realistic, achievable goals designed to move us towards accomplishing our vision. Our goals by 2020 are to:
• Ensure all Oregon children have health insurance and access to quality, comprehensive health care
• Safely reduce the number of Oregon children living in foster care by 50%
• Reduce the number of Oregon children living in poverty by 50%
What do we do and why does it matter?
We advocate for the adoption of policies and programs that keep children healthy and safe and strengthen families.
• Keeping Children Healthy: Every child should be able to count on good health care 365 days a year. Neglecting the basic health care needs of children can multiply health problems and costs as they grow into adults. We work to ensure that every child has access to quality, affordable health care and can see a doctor when they need to.
• Keeping Children Safe:A safe and stable home sets kids up for future success. Working to ensure families get the support they need helps prevent children from entering foster care. When children do enter the foster care system, we work to ensure that the experience does not impede their future success.
• Strengthening Families: A financially stable family gives children the best chance at a healthy, safe, and happy life. Far too many families are struggling to make ends meet. Any little setback can push a family into the ranks of the impoverished. We work to increase access to programs that improve the lives of children, keep parents working and lift families out of poverty.
How do we do it?
We develop a policy agenda for each legislative session. Using a variety of strategies, we educate legislators and state agency administrators, rally partners and build public support to achieve our Vision 2020 goals.
o Research- We are an expert resource on state and federal policies that affect children and families. We are Oregon’s only National Kids Count Project grant recipient. Every year, we release a carefully researched County Data Book and policy briefs. The focus of these data-driven reports, analyses and recommendations is to inform policy makers and build public support for policies and programs that keep children healthy and safe and strengthen families.
o Advocacy - We educate legislators and state agency and community leaders on the issues that affect children and families by making research-based policy recommendations that are good for kids. We provide legislative testimony, serve on statewide panels, task forces and committees, work with staff in the Governor’s office, Department of Human Services and other state agencies to keep children healthy and safe and strengthen families.
o Strategic Communications - We continuously connect with our stakeholders through targeted communications. We employ specific campaigns to get the attention of decision makers and opinion leaders. Our news releases, press conferences, editorial board meetings and opinion articles help set the agenda, frame the debate and build public support for advancing policies and programs that keep children healthy and safe and strengthen families.
o Coalition Building - We lead and make key contributions to statewide and national coalitions. By partnering with diverse organizations, we speak with one united and powerful voice to advance research-based policy solutions that keep children healthy and safe and strengthen families.
o Grassroots Mobilization & Leadership Development - We mobilize thousands of Oregonians to take action on the issues that affect Oregon’s most vulnerable kids and families. Through our regular communications, advocacy trainings and membership groups, we are building an effective network of child advocates who take action to keep children healthy and safe and strengthen families.
How Do We Measure Success?
We hold ourselves accountable by continuously measuring, reporting and communicating progress toward our annual policy agenda and Vision 2020 goals. For a full list of our recent accomplishments, click here.
