Who we are…

The Children First initiative grew out of a 1995 Task Force on School and Youth Violence. The Task Force found that, while there were a variety of good programs designed to help young people throughout our state, there simply was not enough money to appropriately fund and replicate them.

The Children First movement began to take hold after a meeting with the Alabama Council of Juvenile and Family Court Judges. The judges were asked to identify gaps in services where no funding existed or services that were inadequately funded, thereby preventing them from meeting the needs of the children who came before them.

With the idea of funding these direly needed services through an increase in the State's tobacco tax, the Children First legislative initiative was born. Hundreds of child advocates, including judges, juvenile probation officers, childcare workers, doctors, foster parents, social workers and teachers, were poised to assist in this monumental effort. The legislation failed, but no one gave up. We continued our fight for Alabama's children and our bill was amended to provide for a revenue source from the tobacco settlement. This legislation passed, the Children First Trust Fund was created, and history was made!

To clarify, a few agencies that have similar names to the Children First Foundation are not to be confused with our program.

Children First Foundation is NOT Children First, which is a division of the Department of Children's Affairs responsible for monitoring and planning the utilization of tobacco funds to twelve agencies. More at www.dca.state.al.us

Children First Foundation is NOT Children's Trust Fund, which was established in 1983 and is governed by the Child Abuse and Neglect Prevention Board. It is designed to encourage, promote, and fund programs whose purpose is to prevent child abuse and neglect. More at www.ctf.state.al.us

Children First Foundation is NOT the Children First Trust Fund, Alabama's portion of the National Master Tobacco Settlement that is used to fund children's programs and services. This fund, initiated in 1999 by the Alabama Legislature, is administered by the Department of Children's Affairs. We did, however, draft the legislation that provided for this revenue source from the tobacco settlement. We continue to work closely with each agency receiving revenues from the Fund, with the Department of Children's Affairs to assist in any way possible with the administration of the Fund, and continue to be a watchdog of the Fund itself. CFF has a full-time executive director and lobbyist working to fulfill our goals and objectives, as well as to be a part of the team that continues to advocate for increased funding for children's programs and services through the Children First Trust Fund and other sources. In addition, we have contracted with the Franklin Resources Group to intensify our leadership and presence in the political arena.