Federal spending on children has dropped nearly 30% in four years, falling from 11.98% of the federal budget in fiscal year 2021 to just 8.57% in fiscal year 2025. That decline is not inevitable—and young people are mobilizing to reverse it by building the relationships, skills, and civic power needed to shape the decisions that affect their lives.
For young Americans, federal budget choices are not abstract numbers on a spreadsheet. They influence whether schools have the resources to support students, whether families can access nutritious food and health care, whether young people have safe places to learn and grow, and whether communities can create real pathways to opportunity. At Seen & Heard, a national nonpartisan nonprofit building youth civic infrastructure, we believe young people must be partners in deciding what comes next—not an afterthought once decisions are already made.
What Is the Children’s Budget?
The Children’s Budget
is an annual analysis from First Focus on Children that tracks how much of the federal budget is directed toward children. It examines more than 250 federal programs that support young people, including investments connected to health, nutrition, education, housing, safety, child care, and family economic security.
Its purpose is straightforward: to make children visible in federal budget decisions. The federal budget is often discussed in enormous categories and totals, but the Children’s Budget asks a vital question that can otherwise get lost: How much are we actually investing in the next generation?
That question matters because children do not vote, do not have full access to traditional political power, and are too often described as future leaders rather than recognized as leaders today. The Children’s Budget gives advocates, donors, policymakers, families, and young people a shared set of facts to understand whether public priorities match public promises.
What the Data Shows
In fiscal year 2021, 11.98% of all federal spending went toward children. By fiscal year 2025, that share had fallen to 8.57%. Put another way, for every $100 the federal government spent in 2025, only $8.57 was directed toward meeting children’s needs.
This is a decline of about 28.5% in children’s share of the federal budget in just four years. The overall decline in inflation-adjusted federal investment in children is even steeper. The Children’s Budget reports that real spending on children fell by nearly 40% from its 2021 level.
Some of the 2021 figure reflected temporary pandemic-era supports, which helped families weather an extraordinary crisis. But that context should not distract from the larger lesson: when a moment of national urgency made child- and family-centered investment possible, those investments demonstrated what federal action can do. Letting support recede without replacing it with durable commitments leaves children, families, and communities to absorb the consequences.
Budget decisions reveal priorities. When the share of federal spending devoted to children declines year after year, it becomes harder to claim that the country is preparing young people to thrive.
Why This Matters Beyond Washington
Federal investment reaches far beyond Washington, DC. It helps shape what schools can offer, whether families can keep food on the table, how communities respond to health and safety needs, and whether young people can access the mentoring, enrichment, and support systems that help them belong and lead.
Underinvestment also compounds inequality. Young people who already face barriers—because of income, geography, race, disability, immigration status, or limited access to opportunity—are often the first to feel the effects when public systems are stretched thin. A reduced commitment to children is not experienced equally. It widens gaps that communities are already working hard to close.
For policymakers, the Children’s Budget should be a call to examine the long-term consequences of short-term choices. Investments in children are investments in healthier communities, stronger educational outcomes, workforce readiness, public safety, and a more resilient democracy. For donors and philanthropic partners, the data reinforces why charitable giving and public investment must work together: philanthropy can innovate, convene, and build capacity, but it cannot replace the scale and consistency of smart public policy.
Why Young People Must Help Lead the Response
Young people understand the impact of policy because they live with it every day. They know what it feels like when mental health support is unavailable, when transportation limits access to opportunity, when school resources do not match student needs, or when adults make decisions about youth without inviting youth into the room.
Seen & Heard is building the civic infrastructure that helps young Americans turn those lived experiences into meaningful civic leadership. As a national nonpartisan nonprofit serving young people ages 15 to 25, we work alongside youth to provide real tools, real mentors, and real access to the policymakers shaping their futures.
That work matters because youth voice is not a symbolic add-on to advocacy. It is expertise. When young people are equipped to organize, communicate, collaborate, and engage decision-makers, they can help build policies that are more practical, more equitable, and more connected to the realities of everyday life.
What Youth-Led Federal Advocacy Looks Like
Youth-led advocacy at the federal level is not one thing. It can include sharing a personal story with congressional staff, participating in a meeting with a member of Congress, submitting public comments, educating peers about an issue, building a coalition across states, creating digital campaigns, or helping shape policy recommendations with nonprofit and community partners.
It also means preparing young people before they enter those spaces. Effective advocacy requires more than passion. It requires an understanding of how federal policy moves, who makes decisions, how to communicate across differences, and how to turn individual stories into collective priorities.
Seen & Heard supports this work through advocacy, education, and partnership. Our young leaders are developing the confidence and civic skills to engage around the issues that matter most to them: Health & Safety, Education, and Joy.
Through our Programs, young people gain opportunities to grow as advocates and leaders. Through Policy & Partnerships, we connect youth voices with organizations, coalitions, and policymakers who can help turn insight into action.
A Different Standard for Federal Priorities
The decline from 11.98% to 8.57% should challenge all of us to ask what kind of future we are funding. Children and young people should not have to compete for visibility in the federal budget. They deserve sustained investment because their health, learning, safety, joy, and civic participation are foundational to the country’s future.
Seen & Heard is working to ensure young people are not simply asked to wait for their turn. We are building a national, nonpartisan movement where they can lead now—bringing their stories, ideas, and solutions directly into the policy conversations that affect them.
FAQ
Why did federal investment in children decline after 2021?
Federal support in 2021 included significant temporary pandemic-era investments. As those programs ended or changed, the share of total federal spending directed toward children declined. The broader concern is whether durable investments are replacing the supports that young people and families still need.
Does 8.57% mean only children’s programs are being counted?
The Children’s Budget measures federal spending that directly supports children across more than 250 programs. It is designed to show how much of the overall federal budget is devoted to meeting children’s needs.
Why should donors care about the Children’s Budget?
Donors can help strengthen the organizations, relationships, training, and youth leadership that move public priorities. Private giving cannot replace federal investment, but it can help build the civic power needed to protect and expand it.
How can young people influence federal policy?
Young people can engage policymakers, share lived experience, join coalitions, educate their communities, and develop policy ideas. With preparation, mentorship, and access, youth advocacy can help shape the public conversation and the decisions that follow.
How can I support Seen & Heard?
You can donate to Seen & Heard, partner with us, mentor young leaders, or help expand the networks that make youth civic engagement possible. The gap in federal investment is real—but so is the power of young people who are prepared, connected, and heard.