Allies for Children

07/24/2026

Allies for Children's Medicaid Toolkit is complete! If you've heard about the upcoming changes to Medicaid and want to learn more about them and how to support your community, click here ->

Allies for Children recently released our Medicaid Toolkit to help. This Toolkit contains an overview of Medicaid, as well as sections that have a “deeper dive” into specific policy areas.

07/17/2026

Allies for Children supports Allegheny County's Paid Parental Leave initiative and encourage the Allegheny County Council to identify ways to support small businesses, schools, and nonprofits to make paid leave a viable reality. See AFC's full comments on the initiative here: https://tinyurl.com/jjy9zyr7

07/16/2026

On July 12, twelve days after the June 30 deadline, the General Assembly approved and sent to the Governor a final budget for FY 2026-2027. The enacted budget is a 1.4% increase over last year’s budget and includes some bright spots for children and families. Click to read more:

On July 12, twelve days after the June 30 deadline, the Pennsylvania General Assembly approved and sent to the Governor a final budget for FY 2026-2027. The enacted budget is a 1.4% increase over last year’s budget and includes some bright spots for children and families. Specific details are belo...

07/09/2026

Allies for Children is honored to share a blog written by Dr. Iulia Vann, Public Health Director at the Allegheny County Health Department. Read about how paid family leave helps improve health outcomes for both infants and parents here:

From a public health perspective, Paid Parental Leave is not simply a workplace benefit. It is a population health strategy.

07/03/2026

A recent America After 3 PM report from the Afterschool Alliance found that 40% of Allegheny County families who would like their child to be in a summer program do not have access to one. The Executive Director of APOST discusses the importance of summer learning programs and how the county and state can support them in a new blog:

For families with children in summer programs, 96% of parents express strong satisfaction with the programs that their kids are attending, and 91% express a strong desire to see more public investment in summer learning programs.

07/02/2026

The deadline to approve the state budget has passed, making this the fifth year in a row with no resolution by July 1. Read about the current status of the budget in our new blog:

Pennsylvania’s constitutional budget deadline was June 30, but unfortunately, for the fifth year in a row, there was no agreement by this date.

05/22/2026

Engagement with Out-of-School Time programs has been shown to increase positive outcomes for students, and Pennsylvania is investing $2 million to support these vital programs in Allegheny County. Read more in our new blog:

In April, Lt. Governor Austin Davis announced roughly $2 million of grant funding to Allegheny County specific to OST programs via BOOST funding. The dollars from BOOST give many OST locations greater capacity to serve Pennsylvania students.

05/21/2026

Heather had the opportunity to meet with Curtis Miller and Jahi Jackson at HEIRS Barbershop, where the business is built on a foundation of community, mentorship, and mental health. Read about their goals and community impact in our new blog:

I first met Jahi Jackson at Manchester Academic Charter School (MACS) where he was cutting a student’s hair. I was interested because I believe when young people look good, they feel good—and that confidence can make a big difference in their mental health.

05/06/2026

Allies for Children was honored to join our partners in the Thriving PA Coalition in Harrisburg today to raise visibility for Early Intervention.

PA’s Infants and Toddlers and their families deserve timely, quality services, and the providers who serve them deserve to be fairly compensated. A recent rate study found Infant/Toddler EI is underfunded by nearly 40%. We need sustained investment, starting with a $14 million increase in this year’s state budget. Please contact your PA legislators and ask them to support Infant/Toddler EI. https://tinyurl.com/mptrkj89

04/24/2026

We hope that all of the amazing home visitors who support our children and families felt the love during ! Home visitors play an important role in the lives of families across the country. As members of the Childhood Begins At Home campaign, Allies for Children is proud to support home visitors in Allegheny County and across PA, this week and every week.

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