The People We Serve - Children

The first line from the song "The Greatest Love of All" states, "Our children are the future. Teach them well and let them lead the way." Unfortunately in DC, too many of our children face serious roadblocks on their way to adulthood, making their own futures, and that of the city, pretty bleak. Poverty begets poverty: lacking a family background in academic success, living in tenuous housing or homeless, surviving in the most fragile of environments, children in DC have little chance of escaping the poverty into which they are born. According to the Annie E. Casey Foundation's Kids Count 2005 Data Book Online:

34% of DC's children live in poverty;
19% live in crowded housing;
52% live in families where no parent had steady employment; and,
63% live in households who spend more than 30% of their income on housing.

It is imperative that CFLS maintain its most important programs and services offered through our Youth Development and Advocacy Department. The three major areas are: academic support, individual enrichment and family enrichment.

For more information about CFLS' Youth Development and Advocacy Programs for the children we serve, please click on one of the links to the left.

Eligibility

While most services are available to children living in housing provided by CFLS, some programs such as summer camp, may be opened to all children living in the District. Contact our Youth Development and Advocacy Department at 202-347-0511 ext 207 for more information on eligibility.