The following state and federal organizations are committed to family health and well-being and provide the general public with information, research, and additional resources related to family and health policy.

Maryland Public Policy Links

State-Level Data

  • Children's Defense Fund
    A Census information center for data on children and families
  • Kaiser Family Foundation
    Health data; searchable by state or category
  • Kids Count Data Center
    Indicators of child well-being, demographic change, education, economic condition of families, child health, and children in low-income working families
  • National Center for Children in Poverty
    State efforts to promote the economic security, health, and well-being of America’s low-income families and children
  • Policy for Results
    Presents data on child and family well-being and links the data to strategies for improving outcomes.
  • Stateline.org
    Reports on issues such as: health care, taxes, immigration, social policy, education, energy, environment, criminal justice, transportation and elections.

National Health Literacy Links

  • Center for Plain Language
    The Center's mission is to increase the usefulness and efficiency of government, legal, and business documents, so that the people who use those documents can quickly and easily: find what they need, understand what they find, and act on that understanding. 
  • Department of Health and Human Services
    The United States government's principal agency for protecting the health of all Americans and providing essential human services, especially for those who are least able to help themselves.

    DHHS is also home to Healthy People 2020, which is currently in the development stages.  To learn more about Healthy People 2020 and to be involved in the developmental process, please click here.  
     

  • National Health Policy Forum
    Offers a range of educational programming designed to helpcongressional and federal agency staff become better informed about current health policy issues
  • National Institutes of Health
    Part of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, the NIH is the primary Federal agency for conducting and supporting medical research.
  • National Library of Medicine
    A division of the NIH, the NLM is the world's largest medical library. The Library collects materials and provides information and research services in all areas of biomedicine and health care.
  • National Research Center for Women and Families
    Promotes the health and safety of women, children, and families, by using objective, research-based information to encourage new, more effective programs and policies.

Advocacy Organizations

  • Advocates for Children and Youth: Voices for Maryland’s Children
    An independent organization that advocates for the needs of the state's children and families in the community, the media and the public policy arena
  • Child Welfare League of America
    The nation's oldest and largest membership-based child welfare organization whose primary objective is Making Children a National Priority
  • Children’s Defense Fund
    An alliance of national organizations working together to promote public policies which address the needs of low-income and other vulnerable populations
  • National Partnership for Women and Families
    A nonprofit, nonpartisan organization that uses public education and advocacy to promote fairness in the workplace, quality health care, and policies that help women and men meet the dual demands of work and family.
  • Voices for America’s Children          
    A nonpartisan, national organization committed to speaking out for the well-being of children at the federal, state and local levels of government.

Policy Research Organizations or Clearinghouses

  • American Enterprise Institute
    A private, nonpartisan, not-for-profit institution dedicated to research and education on issues of government, politics, economics, and social welfare
  • American Institutes for Research
    Conducts behavioral and social science research in a wide range of substantive areas: education, student assessment, international education, individual and organizational performance, health research and communication, human development, usability design and testing, employment equity, and statistical and research methods.
  • The Brookings Institution                                                                                     
    Nonprofit public policy organization whose mission is to conduct high-quality, independent research and, based on that research, to provide innovative, practical recommendations that advance three broad goals: 1) Strengthen American democracy; 2) Foster the economic and social welfare, security and opportunity of all Americans and 3) Secure a more open, safe, prosperous and cooperative international system
  • Center on Budget and Policy Priorities
    One of the leading organizations in the country working on public policy issues affecting low-income families and individuals
  • Center for Law and Social Policy
    A national nonprofit that works to improve the lives of low-income people. CLASP’s mission is to improve the economic security, educational and workforce prospects, and family stability of low-income parents, children, and youth.
  • CYFERnet
    CYFERnet's Web site brings together the best, children, youth and family resources of all the public land-grant universities in the country
  • Economic Policy Institute
    A nonprofit Washington D.C. think tank whose goal is to broaden the discussion about economic policy to include the interests of low- and middle-income workers
  • Educational Policy Institute
    A non-profit organization dedicated to the study of issues related to the expansion of quality educational opportunities.
  • Heritage Foundation                                                                                             
    A public policy research organization, or "think tank" that draws solutions to contemporary problems from the ideas, principles and traditions that make America great
  • Urban Institute
    Gathers data, conducts research, evaluates programs, offers technical assistance overseas, and educates Americans on social and economic issues — to foster sound public policy and effective government

Foundations

  • Annie E. Casey Foundation
    Primary mission is to foster public policies, human-service reforms, and community supports that more effectively meet the needs of today’s vulnerable children and families.
  • The Future of Children (Princeton-Brookings)
    Seeks to promote effective policies and programs for children by providing policymakers, service providers, and the media with timely, objective information based on the best available research.

Government Organizations

  • Administration for Children and Families
    Responsible for federal programs that promote the economic and social well-being of families, children, individuals, and communities.
  • Office of the Assistant Secretary for Planning and Evaluation
    The principal advisor to the Secretary of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services on policy development, and is responsible for major activities in policy coordination, legislation development, strategic planning, policy research, evaluation, and economic analysis.

University-based Research Centers