Cara Baldari Senior Policy Director, Poverty & Family Economics, Housing and Homelessness

Cara Baldari is the Vice President of Family Economics, Housing and Homelessness at First Focus on Children. In this role, she leads the U.S. Child Poverty Action Group, of which First Focus is a founding member.

Her work centers on building the political will for a national commitment to reduce child poverty in the United States. In 2016, she helped to secure federal appropriations funding for a landmark consensus study from the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering and Medicine, A Roadmap to Reducing Child Poverty, released in February 2019.

Through her work, she advocates on a cross-sector set of policies to address child poverty and homelessness, including cash assistance, income supports, hunger and nutrition programs, homelessness assistance, and more.

Cara received a Juris Doctor from the University of Pittsburgh School of Law and a Bachelor of Arts in History and Political Science from the University of Pittsburgh.

Resources by Cara Baldari

Testimony: House Ways & Means Hearing on Measuring the Poverty Line

| October 24, 2023 | Congressional Testimony

Today, First Focus Campaign for Children submitted the following testimony to the Work & Welfare Subcommittee of the House Ways and Means Committee hearing …

Letter: Pass the Child Poverty Reduction Act

| March 14, 2022 | Letters and Correspondence

Today, the U.S. Child Poverty Action Group (CPAG) and First Focus Campaign for Children sent a letter to Congress signed by over 100 organizations …

Fact Sheet: Child Poverty in the Wake of COVID-19

| November 23, 2021 | Fact Sheet

On September 14, 2021, the U.S. Census Bureau released national child poverty estimates for 2020, including both the Supplemental Poverty Measure (SPM) and the …

Policy Brief: Child, Youth, and Family Homelessness in the United States: Undercounted & Misunderstood

| November 22, 2021 | Fact Sheet

For the past year, 14-year-old Kyah has slept on the floor of a relative’s house, living out of a single room with her mother …

Letter: In Support of the Child Poverty Reduction Act (S. 4115/H.R. 7419)

| November 19, 2020 | Letters and Correspondence

On November 19, 2020, the U.S. Child Poverty Action Group and First Focus Campaign for Children sent a letter to Congress signed by over …

Key Stats on the Effect of COVID-19 on Kids

| October 12, 2020 | Resources

Updated on October 12, 2020 The COVID-19 pandemic is doing more than exposing the racial, ethnic, and economic disparities existing in our society; it …

Congress Must Act Quickly to Pass Additional Relief for Struggling Children and Families

| August 10, 2020 | Blog

Given recent spikes in COVID-19 caseloads, an economic crisis that continues to deepen, and an upcoming school year faced with daunting challenges, it is …

Letter: We must ensure that this historic public health pandemic does not threaten our children’s future

| August 10, 2020 | Letters and Correspondence

First Focus Campaign for Children sent the following letter to Congressional leaders in both houses with a set of recommendations to address the needs …

Letter: Include the Pandemic TANF Assistance Act in the next COVID-19 relief package

| July 21, 2020 | Letters and Correspondence

First Focus Campaign for Children, along with the Children’s Defense Fund and the Coalition on Human Needs, sent the following letter signed by 170 …

How to protect children experiencing hunger & homelessness in the wake of COVID-19

| May 4, 2020 | Blog

Every facet of the lives of children and families are being disrupted during this historic public health and economic crisis. Unfortunately, both their short-term …