The Children Are Under Attack — and They Are Not Well

Federal cuts to health care, food aid, and after-school programs reveal a troubling contempt for children’s well-being.

by David Adams and Keri Rodrigues, August 29, 2025

In the Maasai culture of East Africa, the traditional greeting is not “hello,” but “Kasserian Ingera?” — “How are the children?” It’s a question that speaks to a society’s priorities. The well-being of children isn’t just a private concern — it’s the measure of a nation.

By that standard, we are falling short. Our children are under attack and they are not well.

The Trump’s administration’s policies harm children.

It is not hard to see the contempt that some in power have for children. In early July, without explanation, the Trump administration froze congressionally authorized federal spending for youth development and after-school programs, putting thousands of local initiatives — including Boys and Girls Clubs and school-based community centers — at risk of closure across the country. After weeks of chaos (and litigation) there was a partial thaw. But it is not enough.  

These programs provide safe spaces, mentorship, enrichment and support for working families. 

We know this to be true through experience. For example, at the Urban Assembly Unison School, a middle school in Brooklyn, 70% of students participated in city-funded after-school programs that support their social, emotional, and academic development. These are the programs that help keep children safe, growing, and thriving all year long. They should never have been cut in the first place. 

These casually imposed and reversed cuts are not the only damage the Trump administration is inflicting on children. Also harmful are changes to food aid and healthcare that will make it harder for children to have those things, as well as the evisceration of the federal Department of Education. 

About 8% of New York state’s education spending is federally funded, but that percentage is much higher in more rural areas. More than half of the districts that will see the largest cuts are in rural West Virginia, Florida, Georgia, and California, and they serve a much larger percentage of students affected by poverty.

These are real children the federal government is proposing to harm.

At the same time, proposed changes to the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) would cut food benefits for millions of Americans, all while stripping over a million children of access to free school meals. In a country where 1 in 5 children live in households where there isn’t enough food to eat, this isn’t just bad policy — it’s a direct assault on children’s health, development, and dignity. These are real children the federal government is proposing to harm, with ambitions and aspirations to contribute to their communities and our nation. Let’s lift our children up. 

Every day, we see the benefits of nourishing children with food, knowledge and ambition. In Urban Assembly schools, where 87% of our 9,000 students face economic hardship, graduation rates are amongst the highest in New York City. That’s because students get what they need: food, high-quality academics, social-emotional learning and teachers who see and develop their potential.  

The Trump’s administration’s policies harm children, including those the Urban Assembly serves. The relationship between poverty and academic achievement is already too strong. A 2005 meta-analysis across 60 studies demonstrates a strong negative correlation between socioeconomic status and academic achievement. That means poorer students consistently perform worse in school.  More recent research found that the achievement gap between children from wealthy and impoverished families has grown by 40% since the 1960s. We can do better. 

And while the pandemic has exacerbated students’ academic challenges, as shown by declining NAEP scores in reading and math, surely making kids hungrier will not help. When children are undernourished, unsupported or left without stable environments, their ability to learn — and to thrive — erodes. 

The federal government has a responsibility to our nation’s children. The preamble to our Constitution commits us to “secure the blessings of liberty to ourselves and our posterity.” That includes making sure every child has enough to eat, a safe place to grow, and a real shot at the future. Instead, this administration is reneging on that promise from our nation’s Founders. But we will not. 

Attacking children has never been popular.

This administration may be comfortable with a decision to throw away children’s lives, but we must not be. The American people do not agree with this war on children. Attacking children has never been popular. Investing in education reflects society’s clearest investment in itself. As Frederick Douglass reminded us, “It’s better to build strong children than to repair broken men.” Let us heed his wisdom and build strong, capable children who will support our communities and our nation. 

This is not about partisanship. This is about priorities.

Kids are loved, and beloved — but they don’t vote. We hate to think so cynically, but that is clearly the political calculus. Children rely on us to be their representatives, their voice, their advocates, their protectors, and we cannot fail them. The choices we make today, from investing in education that prepares children for the jobs and economy of the future to supporting funds for teacher development, to protecting the critical safety net here at home, will shape the world our children inherit.

The children are not well. And this administration must end its war on them. We are the solution. Let’s act like it. 

David Adams is CEO of the Urban Assembly, a network of public schools in New York City. Keri Rodrigues is the founding president of the National Parents Union.