Research & Evidence
What We Know
Ensuring that children realize their full potential hinges on providing them with safe, nurturing environments conducive to growth and learning.
Unfortunately, the absence of dedicated accounts for children and young people and a lack of transparency for tracking U.S. foreign assistance, make it difficult to monitor the government’s actions and impact to help vulnerable children. The resources on this page analyze various facets of the U.S. budget and assistance efforts for children and/or youth.
Children’s Budget 2024
First Focus on Children
The Children’s Budget provides a comprehensive analysis of the share of spending allocated to kids over more than 250 government programs in the federal budget. This analysis tracks domestic and international spending on children, including both mandatory and discretionary funding across nearly every federal department, representing numerous agencies and bureaus. First Focus on Children has published an annual Children’s Budget for more than 15 years.
Children’s Budget 2023
First Focus on Children
For more than 15 years, First Focus on Children has produced an annual Children’s Budget, an analysis of the funding — and therefore the value — that we as a nation place on our children. Since 2023, this analysis has included efforts abroad as well as dometic fair shares of federal spending. Children’s Budget 2023 finds that U.S. spending on children, both here and abroad, accounts for just 9.89% of the FY 2023 federal budget, a decrease of nearly 16% in real spending from the previous fiscal year. Children abroad received just 0.10% of the entire federal budget. Children and young people around the globe are at a crossroads. Either we invest in their critical and interconnected needs or continue losing progress in the areas of their health, safety, and education.
Child Partnership Policy Brief
ChildFund
Compounding global crises and prolonged conflicts have upended young people’s lives around the world and undone decades of progress to improve children’s and youth’s wellbeing and to amplify their voices. Amidst these global challenges, ChildFund makes four key recommendations for how the U.S. government can prioritize children’s and youth’s most critical needs: health, safety and education.
Moving Beyond Silos
World Vision
Implementing a whole child agenda should be a top priority for the U.S. government in fully addressing the needs of vulnerable children around the world. To achieve this, World Vision proposes six key policy recommendations. Creating an environment where the U.S. government approaches foreign policy with the whole child at the center is not an easy task, yet it is one we know will have long-term impact on achieving development outcomes and creating a better world for children and their families.
On the Side Of Children and Youth
Elevate Children Funders Group
U.S. government policies, programs, and funding levels related to global children and youth issues are complex and regularly in flux. In recent years, there has been no centralized mechanism to monitor, track and report on U.S. government international assistance to children and youth across all agencies and sectors. This paper presents an overview of the U.S. government international assistance architecture for children and youth, as well as the advocacy landscape. It maps U.S. government policies, programs, and funding for global children and youth issues by sector, as well as where there may be gaps and potential areas for improvement.
Analysis Of Congressional Reports On The Implementation Of The Adolescent Girl Strategy 2020-2022
A Generation At Stake
This analysis of reports submitted to Congress in 2020 and 2022 on implementation of the U.S. Global Strategy to Empower Adolescent Girls demonstrates increased activity for girls, especially through diplomacy. But, the strategy’s integration across agencies remains unclear, raising concerns about its how the U.S. government is prioritizing girls.
Policy Brief: Recommendations From Three Years Of Reporting On The U.S. Global Strategy To Empower Adolescent Girls
A Generation At Stake
To more effectively invest in adolescent girls as part of the U.S. Global Strategy to Empower Adolescent Girls, we provide recommendations that include updating implementation plans, expanded Congressional reports, consultations with adolescent girls, greater girl engagement in diplomacy efforts, and increased data collection and transparency in reporting.
Empowering Girls Interactive Map
Child Partnership
An interactive map, sourced directly from Congressional reports, offers a visual overview of the U.S. government’s initiatives aimed at empowering adolescent girls abroad in the years 2020, 2021, and 2022.