History of the Campaign

In 1992, Massachusetts Citizens for Children (MCC) and a group of leading child advocates began examining the need for the grassroots mobilization of a citizen constituency for children.

One of the key findings to emerge from a national report of the State Legislative Leaders Foundation in 1995, "Keys to Effective Legislation for Children and Families," was that state legislative leaders from across the country are unaware of a cohesive, effective grassroots constituency for children. The leaders in state government rarely heard from their constituents on child and family public policy issues, according to the report.

While the survey from the State Legislative Leaders Foundation detailed a need, MCC had recognized this gap early in the decade. With support from the Boston Foundation, MCC worked to bring together a coalition of organizations representing children's interests. This collaboration, known as the Children's Advocacy Board, developed "All Our Children: The Massachusetts Agenda," a multi-faceted plan to improve the lives of children.

This plan called for a number of key strategies, including the development of an active grassroots constituency for children, and the active engagement of the media in children's issues. This vision of a citizen constituency evolved, with continued input from a broad base of advocates, into the Massachusetts Campaign for Children.

The Campaign aims to broaden the perception of children's issues for many in the state legislature and governor's administration, while it educates the public about the status of children, and possible solutions to the problems they face. As a private, not-for-profit organization that receives no public money, the membership of the Campaign cannot be dismissed as a special interest group.