December 5th, 2025
Top image via iStock from skynesher
The past year felt to many Californians, including us at Children Now, like an endless test of will and perseverance. Countless actions taken at the federal level have directly affected our California communities, with kids all too often bearing the brunt. Whether reducing funding for health care, conducting immigration raids, or spreading misinformation about vaccinations, California families have faced far too many threats, which we’ve worked to mitigate together through advocacy efforts, policy change, information sharing, and network building.
While 2025 has been challenging, the fight to improve the well-being of California kids is never easy. Each year poses unique challenges, and through it all we’re proud to persistently lift up the issues affecting California kids and get them the supports they need to thrive. This year our team’s dedication resulted in many victories, which we’ll continue to build on to ensure kids are truly prioritized in the years to come.
Kids’ Mental Health Got More Protected Online
For years, California has been dealing with a mental health emergency when it comes to our youth. At the same time mental health issues have risen to the number one reason California kids are hospitalized, the state ranks last for parents’ ability to get their kids the mental health care they need. This emergency has been amplified by age-inappropriate online interactions that expose kids to experiences that undermine their safety and confidence.
To combat this, we worked with Assemblymember Buffy Wicks and sponsored the Digital Age Assurance Act to establish a concrete way to prevent young kids from accessing inappropriate online spaces while protecting their privacy and providing access to much-needed connection. We coordinated a Children’s Movement campaign signed by more than 380 organizations across California in support of the bill and engaged with key media contacts – including securing an op-ed written by a student mental health advocate – to raise awareness among the public. This ultimately resulted in the Digital Age Assurance Act being signed, establishing a first-in-the-nation law that will have a positive impact on the mental health of California kids.
The Children’s Movement Grew to More Than 6,000 Organizations
The Children’s Movement of California was created with a concrete goal: to push California policymakers to prioritize kids by coordinating the thousands of voices that support kids across the state into one, unified, powerful call for action. Building in strength for over a decade, this year the Movement passed a monumental milestone – surpassing 6,000 organizations that now fight together on behalf of California kids.
Already the most powerful and diverse kids’ advocacy network in the country, that increased collective strength propelled the Movement to help secure major policy victories for kids this year. Movement members combined forces with partner organizations to help California pass bills expanding hearing aid coverage for the more than 20,000 kids across the state who need hearing aids not covered by insurance. More than 460 Movement organizations fought together to reduce a proposed cut to the Family Urgent Response System (FURS), the 24/7 support line dedicated to helping foster youth and caregivers. And through campaigns calling for disaster relief for foster youth and to reduce denials of necessary mental health care, we built stronger awareness of those critical issues among policymakers for our continued fight next year.
Pro-Kid Bills Positively Impacted Kids’ Well-Being
Our experienced Government Relations team worked side by side with state policymakers to pass multiple impactful bills that improved kids’ well-being this year:
- New Parents Got Vital Home Visiting Services for Longer: Home visiting programs are instrumental for kids’ development, providing needed support from trained professionals to new and expectant parents. With the passing of Children Now’s co-sponsored AB 607, families can now participate for up to three to five years (an increase from the previous 24-month limit). Learn more about the importance of this bill in our recent blog post.
- Foster Youth’s Support Helpline Got Stronger: The Family Urgent Response System (FURS) is a dedicated helpline for foster youth and caregivers, offering 24/7 in-person support that provides stability and keeps foster families together. With the passing of Children Now’s co-sponsored AB 898, FURS teams can now be sent without first needing a call to the helpline and families can receive proactive support to help prevent foster care entry.
- A Day of Advocacy Led to Action for Kids’ Environmental Health: Coordinated by Children Now, the California Alliance for Children’s Environmental Health (CACEH) led a Children’s Environmental Health Advocacy Day this past August, meeting with policymakers to highlight the importance of kids’ environmental health. That effort helped pass three bills that will positively impact California kids by protecting them from extreme heat, banning ultra-processed foods in school meals, and testing prenatal vitamins for heavy metals. Learn more about our Children’s Environmental Health Advocacy Day in our recent blog post.
- Read about more work we did to pass great kids’ policy ideas here.
Transitional Kindergarten Received Key Funding and Improvements
For more than 20 years, Children Now has advocated for universal preschool for all California four-year-olds, which was finally accomplished this year through Transitional Kindergarten (TK). Despite an extremely difficult budget year, we pushed for and secured increased funding to ensure the program can be fully rolled out, while also helping to reduce staff-to-student ratios and require 24 units of child development coursework for all TK teachers. All of these will help to ensure all California four-year-olds can receive a developmentally-appropriate and quality education before entering Kindergarten.
Research Brought to Light Issues Impacting Kids
Throughout 2025, our policy experts thoroughly researched critical issues affecting California kids and put forth effective and actionable policy solutions. Those insights came through blog posts detailing how federal policies impacted kids’ health and education, a resource webpage dedicated to navigating federal actions, and a wide range of reports and interactive tools, including:
Social Media, Social Gaming, and Youth Mental Health: With children ages 8-12 spending an average of 4 to 6 hours a day in front of a screen (and teenagers spending as high as 9), our report focuses on how traditional social media platforms and social gaming platforms impact the mental wellness of youth and recommends actions policymakers can take.
California County Scorecard of Children’s Well-Being: With county-level data tracking 40 key indicators of child well-being, the new 2025 Scorecard lets you quickly see and compare how kids from every county are faring and where in California kids could use more support.
Improving Foster Care Through Collaborative Advocacy: Through our “Improving Foster Care Project” aimed at engaging foster youth and caregivers in collaborative policymaking, this report shares input gathered from a statewide listening tour and outlines next steps to achieve meaningful change.
BlueSky Youth Mental Health Survey: In partnership with Blue Shield of California, the BlueSky Youth Mental Health Survey takes the temperature on the mental health of California Gen Z youth and presents actionable strategies for improvement.
While more work remains, we’re proud of what we’ve achieved together over the past year and the momentum we’ve built for 2026 (which will include January’s release of Children Now’s bi-annual California Children’s Report Card). If you can, please consider making a tax-deductible donation to Children Now and fueling our work throughout 2026 and beyond. Children Now accepts donations in all forms, including via donor-advised funds. Visit childrennow.org/support-our-work to learn more and give today.
