Kids and Covid Conversations Series

This month, we mark the second anniversary of the World Health Organization declaring the COVID-19 outbreak a pandemic. First Focus on Children invites you to reflect on this moment and the impact the pandemic has had on children over the past two years with a series of live, virtual conversations throughout the months of March and April 2022.

Beginning on March 16th, First Focus on Children will be joined by experts, advocates, and policy leaders to discuss all of the ways this crisis has impacted the lives of children — from education and juvenile justice to mental health and housing to child poverty, nutrition, and global health — and we welcome you to join us for these live, interactive conversations.

Using the form on this page, tell us which sessions you would like to participate in and we will follow up with instructions on how to watch, ask questions, and engage with our experts.

Featured Conversations:

• 3/16 Wed 3pm ET | Mental Health
  
  • Senator Tina Smith (MN)
  • Trace Terrell (YouthLine)
  • Miriam Calderón (Zero To Three)
  • Dr. Sharon Hoover, PhD. (University of Maryland School of Medicine)
  • Scott Hutchins (Michigan Department of Education)
• 3/22 Tues 2pm ET | Homelessness
  
  • Barbara Duffield (SchoolHouse Connection)
  • Katrina Bostick (Family Promise of the Coastal Empire)
• 3/30 Wed 3pm ET | Child Welfare and Youth Justice
  
  • Allison Green (National Association of Counsel for Children)
  • James Dold (Human Rights for Kid)
  • Jennifer Rodriguez (Youth Law Center)
  • Joshua Rovner (The Sentencing Project)
  • Shereen White (Children's Rights)
  • Tony Parsons (Youth Villages)
• 4/6 Wed 3pm ET | Mixed Status Families
  
  • Gabriella Barbosa (The Children’s Partnership)
  • Evelyn Ramos (United Parent Leaders Action Network)
  • Muleba Sumbwe (UndocuBlack Network)
• 4/12 Tues 3pm ET | Physical Health and Vaccinations
  
  • Rep. Kim Schrier (WA-08)
  • Dr. Theresa Chapple (maternal & child health epidemiologist)
• 4/20 Wed 2pm ET | Economic Impacts (Taxes + Child Poverty + Child Care)
  
  • Anna Johnson, John Burton Advocates for Youth
  • Emmerald Evans, John Burton Advocates for Youth
  • Julie Vogtman, National Women's Law Center
  • Patrick Cooney, Poverty Solutions at the University of Michigan
  • Samiul Jubaed, Detroit Partnership for Economic Mobility / Poverty Solutions at the University of Michigan
• 4/21 Thurs | Global Health and Secondary Impacts
  
  • Philip Goldman, Maestral International
  • Susan Hillis, Center for Disease Control and Prevention
  • Jennifer Rigg, Global Campaign for Education
  • Chrissy Hart, Together for Girls
• 4/27 Wed | Education and Nutrition
  • Robert Boyd (School-Based Health Alliance)
    Katie Wilson (Urban School Food Alliance)