e are at a turning point in America. The historic election of Barack Obama signaled a broad mandate for change; at the same time, the econom's alarming plummet demands bolder and more innovative interventions than we've seen in several decades. These developments are forcing an examination of—and response to—trends that began eroding the security of tens of millions of Americans long before the breakdown in the housing and credit markets and the collapse of key financial institutions. The new administration faces sobering challenges—and unparalleled opportunities—to steer the nation's investments toward strategies that will offer economic stability and the promise of a bright future for all Americans.

The Annie E. Casey Foundation is committed to lending support to President Barack Obama and the new Congress by translating into concrete federal policy recommendations the lessons, hard data, and experience we've gleaned working with families, communities, and public social service systems over the past few decades.

As a foundation dedicated to improving the futures of disadvantaged children, families, and communities, we recognize the severe toll that greater financial stress can exact on core populations we serve. These include children and families in poverty and those living in communities of concentrated poverty, including increasing numbers of families of color; groups facing significant barriers to success such as immigrants, single parents, and people who have been incarcerated; and very troubled families at risk of being torn apart—and those who've already been torn apart—by the removal of a child or caregiver.

Many Casey grantees as well as other service providers are suffering a severe cash crunch, and some are having difficulty sustaining their services for the children and families who need assistance most. As these organizations struggle to stay afloat and respond to the crisis, we're working to assess and respond to emerging needs, both nationally and locally in our home city of Baltimore.

At the same time, we're renewing and heightening our focus on the enduring values and core challenges that have always motivated our work. These values have led us to an intensified advocacy on behalf of:

• Fighting against poverty for low-income workers and promoting opportunity for their children through policies that provide good jobs, support work, enhance incomes, and strengthen families and communities;
• Revamping the child welfare system to ensure a safe, nurturing, and permanent family for every child, and to reduce and ultimately eliminate racial disparities;
• Combating injustices, inefficiencies, and racial disparities in the juvenile justice system and reducing reliance on secure detention; and
• Vigorously collecting and rigorously applying data to guide policy and assure the best return on investments to improve child and family well-being.

In this special issue of our newsletter, we offer a general framework for improving federal public policy in areas where the Casey Foundation has the deepest experience, the best evidence of successful strategies, and the greatest confidence about what it will take to create a more level playing field for children and families living on the economic margin.

With dollars stretched tight, it's all the more critical that policies and programs aimed at children and youth reflect our knowledge about what works. And with the right forces coming together, we're optimistic that this critical time in America can set the stage for actions and reforms that will point the way to brighter futures for vulnerable children.

Douglas W. Nelson, President and Chief Executive Officer, The Annie E. Casey Foundation