Resources
What We Read. What We Cite. What You Should Know.
Seen & Heard's work is grounded in data, research, and the knowledge base built by the organizations and institutions that have been studying federal investment in children for decades. The resources below are the sources we return to most and recommend to anyone who wants to go deeper on youth policy, civic engagement, and the federal budget decisions that shape young Americans' lives.
2026 Kids Count Data Book from the Annie E. Casey Foundation
Published annually for nearly four decades, the KIDS COUNT Data Book tracks child well-being across all 50 states using 16 indicators in four domains: Economic Well-Being, Education, Health, and Family and Community. The 2026 edition introduces a new scoring system that shows not just how states rank against each other, but whether outcomes for children are actually improving or declining over time. The national picture is mixed: progress in some areas of family economic stability, continued setbacks in education and health.
119th Congress Children's Agenda, First Focus Campaign for Children
A comprehensive federal policy roadmap covering 17 areas of children's policy, from health care and early childhood to education, nutrition, and youth justice. The report documents the decline in federal investment in children from nearly 12% of the federal budget in 2021 to 8.57% in 2025 and outlines specific legislative priorities and recommendations for Congress to reverse that trend. For anyone who wants to understand what federal action on behalf of children looks like in concrete terms, this is the most thorough resource available.