Learning begins at birth and continues throughout the lifespan. DC Action for Children works to eliminate disparities and strengthen our early childhood system so it can support families with young children from birth through age 5.

Children and youth deserve quality, affordable, coordinated and culturally sensitive health services, mental health services and nutrition to learn, grow and thrive. DC Action for Children is the leading organization evaluating and working toward improvements in the District's comprehensive health services for children and youth.

DC KIDS COUNT®, a project of DC Action for Children and the Annie E. Casey Foundation, tracks the well-being of the District's children and youth. By providing high-quality data and trend analysis, DC KIDS COUNT seeks to enrich local discussions about ways to secure better futures for all children and youth — and to raise the visibility of kids' issues through a nonpartisan, evidence-based lens.

Children and youth are particularly vulnerable when their families lack the income, assets, and access to consistently meet basic needs. These risks include low birth weight, poor health due to environmental factors, child abuse and neglect, and poor education outcomes. DC Action for Children's work focuses on promoting family self-sufficiency, school readiness and success, and community economic strength by increasing and strengthening access to family safety net programs, such as TANF, SNAP, Medicaid, EITC, and quality child care for low-income working families.