The Children’s Defense Fund-Southern Regional Office (CDF-SRO) opened in Jackson, Mississippi in January 1995 to improve policies and programs for children in Alabama, Arkansas, Florida, Georgia, Louisiana and Mississippi. Since 1995, CDF-SRO has built a network of religious and community organizations, children’s advocates, youth leaders and public and elected officials across the South. Over the years, CDF-SRO has worked with black caucuses in southern states on their states’ legislation to implement the Personal Responsibility Act of 1996; helped form the Mississippi Low Income Child Care Initiative; increased the number of Mississippi children enrolled in the Children’s Health Insurance Program (CHIP) from less than 700 to more than 60,000 in four years; and worked with legislative leaders and community partners to ensure that the Mississippi Adequate Education Program is fully funded to secure additional funding for the state’s at risk students
