To borrow a tagline and flip it: what happens in Washington, doesn’t stay in Washington—far from it. Budget and policy decisions on Capitol Hill (and in state capitals across the country) have a big impact on even the smallest neighborhoods.

September 15— The National Collaboration for Youth (NCY), a 40 year old coalition of youth-serving nonprofits, has proposed a national policy agenda, “Toward a Brighter Future: An Essential Agenda for America’s Young People.”

While most would agree that “children are our greatest asset,” the federal government’s investment in children and youth continues to decline. The National Collaboration for Youth offers an agenda and policy recommendations to help states and our nation meet the needs of America’s children and youth in 2009 and beyond.

The Every Child Matters Education Fund and its local, state and national partners are hosting a nonpartisan event on the capitol steps in Washington, DC, and all 50 states to draw public attention to issues affecting America's children—poverty, health care, juvenile incarceration, early care and education, child abuse, and after-school programs.

To make positive change for kids, you need to know where things stand, what’s working and what needs to be improved. The annual KIDS COUNT Data Book offers both data and context for 10 indicators of child well-being—and drills down to a state and local level. This year’s essay offers a “roadmap for reform” in juvenile justice. CFK summer intern Maria Allen attended the June 2008 launch event in DC and has this overview.

Tracking the reach and results of the work is a challenging task for many child and youth organizations. In our ongoing Scorecard series, CFK and Child Advocacy 360 highlight examples of organizations' efforts to measure impact and results. Here, Children's Rights, Inc., shares its follow-up to the groundbreaking Hitting the M.A.R.C. foster care reimbursement study.

If you work with teens with disabilities, you’ll want to know about the Social Security Administration’s Ticket to Work (TTW) program. Its Youth Transition portion offers funds for organizations that help students receiving Social Security disability benefits find employment. Is it right for you? Melody Goodspeed, Youth Transition Specialist for TTW answers some common questions about the funding.

October 2007—Our partner Child Advocacy 360 brings you "Readers' Choice Stories," in which readers vote with their eyes, clicks and emails on the best of Who's Doing What That Works.

Measuring and improving quality is one of the main challenges facing the field. A comprehensive quality assessment program in Iowa is beginning to uncover lessons about measurement and whether quality can drive policy and funding decisions. This Forum for Youth Investment Ready by 21 profile takes a look at the early results.

Now's the time to make 110 your lucky number—and get in touch with your representatives in the 110th Congress. Seasoned policy specialists and former Congressional staffers Tony Peyton and Alan Lopatin have some advice on how to establish a relationship and make the case for action on the issues that matter to you.