President Obama has led the fight to protect everyone — no matter who you are, where you're from, what you look like, or whom you love.
From pushing through sweeping rights and protections for LGBT Americans, to making our immigration system fairer and safer, to tackling poverty and investing in communities, here’s where the Administration's record stands.
In February 2011, the Administration announced it would cease legal defense of the Defense of Marriage Act’s provision defining marriage as only between a man and woman.
After the United States v. Windsor decision, in which the Supreme Court struck down Section 3 of the Defense of Marriage Act as unconstitutional, the President instructed the Cabinet to review all federal statutes to ensure the decision was implemented swiftly and smoothly. After concluding its review, the Justice Department announced that in almost all instances it will extend benefits to same-sex married couples.
In December 2010, the President signed the Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell Repeal Act of 2010 into law, allowing gay men and women to serve openly and with integrity in the U.S. military.
In October 2009, President Obama signed the Matthew Shepard and James Byrd, Jr., Hate Crimes Prevention Act into law, extending coverage of federal hate crimes law to include attacks based on the victim’s actual or perceived sexual orientation or gender identity—the first federal civil rights legislation to include “sexual orientation” and “gender identity.”
In July 2014, the President signed an Executive Order prohibiting federal contractors from discriminating against any employee or applicant for employment “because of race, color, religion, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, or national origin,” continuing to set an example as a model employer that does right by its employees.
The Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) now requires all hospitals receiving Medicare or Medicaid funds to allow visitation rights for LGBT patients. The President also directed HHS to ensure that medical decision making rights of LGBT patients are respected.
These actions include the issuance of landmark guidance from the Department of Justice that concluded that the prohibition against sex discrimination in Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 encompasses claims of discrimination on the basis of gender identity, the release of a directive of the Veterans Health Administration on the respectful delivery of health care to transgender veterans through VA benefits, a new State Department policy making it easier for U.S. passport gender markers to be changed, an end to the Social Security Administration’s practice of sending notifications to employers that the gender of an employee as submitted to the agency did not match social security records, a Department of Health and Human Services’ proposed rule banning transgender health care discrimination in the Affordable Care Act, and guidance from the Office of Personnel Management for the respectful treatment of transgender federal employees.
VA Fact Sheet on LGBT Veteran Health Care
Read the PDF
Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual and Transgender (LGBT) Veteran Care
Read more
Read the Administration's response to a petition on banning conversion therapy.
President Obama on World AIDS Day 2016
National HIV/AIDS Strategy: Updated to 2020
Many same sex, transgender and gender non-conforming persons have reported discriminatory treatment based on sexual orientation when trying to access housing. Read more to see what the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) has done to ensure that lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender (LGBT) persons have equal access to housing and HUD programs.
Department of Justice: Memorandum Opinion for the Acting Attorney General
Presidential Memorandum -- International Initiatives to Advance the Human Rights of Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, and Transgender Persons
Since its establishment, the Department of Homeland Security has approved close to 740,000 DACA requests on a case-by-case basis. More than 526,000 individuals have also successfully renewed DACA.
Taking Action to Attract High-Skilled Immigrants, Graduates, and Entrepreneurs
Read about the key things that the President’s executive actions will do to improve the immigration system for high-skilled workers, graduates, and entrepreneurs.
Extending eligibility for employment authorization to certain H-4 dependent spouses of H-1B nonimmigrants is one of several initiatives underway to modernize, improve and clarify visa programs to grow the U.S. economy and create jobs.
On November 21, 2014, the President established the White House Task Force on New Americans—a government-wide effort tasked with better integrating immigrants and refugees into American communities.
Provisional Waiver Process USCIS Implemented in 2013 and Expanded and Clarified in 2016
Employer enrollment in E-Verify, which allows employers to verify electronically that an employee is eligible to work in the U.S., has more than doubled since January 2009, with more than 561,000 participating companies representing more than 1.7 million hiring sites. More than 28 million queries were processed in FY 2014.
U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services Page
Citizenship Resource Center
Now in its seventh year, the program has awarded more than $63 million through 308 competitive grants to immigrant-serving organizations in 37 states and the District of Columbia. USCIS has also expanded partnerships with cities to promote citizenship and create citizenship corners.
Citizenship and Integration Grant Program and Local Partnerships
Honoring the Contributions of Immigrants Serving in the Military
In 2016, USCIS created a reduced filing fee option for naturalization applicants with family incomes greater than 150 percent and not more than 200 percent as a part the publication of its rule to adjust the fees for application and petitions.
The President announced that the United States will increase the number of refugees we resettle to 110,000 in 2017, increasing the number of people we received by almost 40 percent over a two-year period.
The President also hosted a Leader’s Summit on Refugees, a global gathering that generate broader and deeper commitments to refugee protections and assistance.
Steps to Address Migration Challenges
The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) has set clear enforcement priorities so that individuals who are a threat to our public safety and national security, such as convicted criminals, are the highest enforcement priority. These efforts are producing real results.
Effectively identifying and removing criminals in state and local jails is a critical goal but it must be done in a way that sustains the community’s trust. To address concerns from Governors, Mayors, law enforcement and community leaders which have undermined cooperation with DHS, Secretary Johnson replaced the existing Secure Communities program with a new Priority Enforcement Program (PEP) to remove those convicted of criminal offenses. The vast majority of state and local jurisdictions participate in PEP, including 20 of the top 25 jurisdictions who previously declined to cooperate with DHS. DHS also continues to rely on biometric data to verify individuals who are enforcement priorities, and they works with DOJ’s Bureau of Prisons to identify and remove federal criminals serving time as soon as possible.
In FY 2016, the Department of Justice had a net increase of 42 immigration judges and has set a record for the size of the immigration judge corps. Ninety-five more candidates are moving through various stages of the hiring process.
The Department of Justice has taken various steps to enhance legal representation for individuals in removal proceedings by:
The Executive Office for Immigration Review is taking steps to increase awareness of its Fraud and Abuse Prevention Program, which serves as a centralized referral point for issues involving fraud, scams, and the unauthorized practice of immigration law. EOIR also provides trainings on the unauthorized practice of law and distributes outreach materials for stakeholders and the general public.
This Interagency Working Group launched a pilot to identify and prevent instances in which ICE and employment labor enforcement agencies have conflicting enforcement actions and added an Addendum to their 2011 MOU to include additional parties to address potential conflicts in civil worksite enforcement activities.
Department of Labor Immigration Fact Sheets
In July 2015, President Obama visited the El Reno Federal Correctional Institution outside of Oklahoma City, marking the first visit by a sitting President to a federal prison.
President Obama Visits the El Reno Federal Correctional Institution
In August 2010, President Obama signed the Fair Sentencing Act, which reduces the disparity in the amounts of powder cocaine and crack cocaine required for the imposition of mandatory minimum sentences and eliminates the mandatory minimum sentence for simple possession of crack cocaine. It also increases monetary penalties for major drug traffickers.
Learn more about the federal inmate population.
President Obama has granted commutations to more prisoners than the past 11 presidents combined, and the majority have been for nonviolent offenders sentenced for drug crimes.
Learn more about President Obama’s record on clemency.
Learn more about the Obama Administration’s efforts to phase out the use of private prisons.
U.S. Department of Education Launches Second Chance Pell Pilot Program for Incarcerated Individuals
Body‐Worn Camera Program Fact Sheet
The Police Data Initiative Year of Progress: How We’re Building on the President’s Call to Leverage Open Data to Increase Trust between Police and Citizens
FACT SHEET: White House Police Data Initiative Highlights New Commitments
FACT SHEET: President Obama Announces New Actions to Promote Rehabilitation and Reintegration for the Formerly- Incarcerated
The Administration has advanced numerous effective reintegration strategies through the work of the Federal Interagency Reentry Council, whose mission is to reduce recidivism and victimization; assist those returning from prison, jail or juvenile facilities to become productive citizens; and save taxpayer dollars by lowering the direct and collateral costs of incarceration.
Through the Reentry Council and other federal agency initiatives, the Administration has improved rehabilitation and reintegration opportunities in meaningful ways, including recent initiatives detailed here.
As a part of President Obama’s TechHire initiative, communities are taking action – working with each other and national employers – to expand access to tech jobs for more Americans with fast track training like coding boot camps and new recruitment and placement strategies.
FACT SHEET: President Obama Announces New Actions to Promote Rehabilitation and Reintegration for the Formerly- Incarcerated
Council of Economic Advisers Issue Brief: Fines, Fees, and Bail
Payments in the criminal justice system that disproportionately impact the poor.
Read the PDF Report "Occupational Licensing: A Framework for Policymakers"
OJJDP Announces New Smart on Juvenile Justice Funding Opportunities
Read the full version of the Justice Department's report entitled, “Smart on Crime: Reforming the Criminal Justice System for the 21st Century.”
Correctional Education in Juvenile Justice Facilities
The National Body-Worn Camera Toolkit is a comprehensive clearinghouse for criminal justice practitioners interested in planning and implementing a body-worn camera program in an effort to strengthen community trust and confidence in the justice system and improve officer and community safety.
In January 2015, the President created the Law Enforcement Equipment Working Group to identify actions that can improve Federal support for the acquisition of controlled equipment by law enforcement agencies (LEAs). In May 2015, the President received and accepted the recommendations from the Working Group which among other things: created a prohibited equipment list LEAs will no longer be able to acquire from the federal government; provided a consistent Government-wide controlled equipment list; standardized Federal procedures governing provision of controlled equipment and ensured that LEAs have proper policies and training in place regarding the appropriate use of controlled equipment.
The U.S. Department of Justice's Violence Reduction Network
The National Initiative is working intensively in Birmingham (AL), Fort Worth (TX), Gary (IN), Minneapolis (MN), Pittsburgh (PA) and Stockton (CA), and is providing technical assistance to localities that are not official demonstration sites.
The U.S. Department of Justice Office of Community Oriented Policing Services created the Collaborative Reform Initiative for Technical Assistance in 2011 in response to requests from the law enforcement community for a proactive, nonadversarial, and cost-effective form of technical assistance for agencies with significant law enforcement-related issues. It provides the DOJ with a middle ground between formal investigation and consent decree monitoring through the Civil Rights Division and smaller-scale resources and assistance currently provided by the department.
Youth.gov: National Forum
The Department of Justice’s Civil Rights Division has reached agreements with, among others, New Orleans (LA), Seattle (WA), East Haven (CT), Portland (OR), Suffolk County (NY), Puerto Rico, Albuquerque (NM), Missoula (MT), Los Angeles/Antelope Valley (CA), and Cleveland (OH).
The Department of Justice established the Office for Access to Justice (ATJ) in March 2010 to address the access-to-justice crisis in the criminal and civil justice system. ATJ’s mission is to help the justice system efficiently deliver outcomes that are fair and accessible to all, irrespective of wealth and status. ATJ staff works within the Department of Justice, across federal agencies, and with state, local, and tribal justice system stakeholders to increase access to counsel and legal assistance and to improve the justice delivery systems that serve people who are unable to afford lawyers.
In December 2014, the Department of Justice issued updated profiling guidance, reaffirming the Federal government’s deep commitment to ensuring that its law enforcement agencies conduct their activities in an unbiased manner.
Justice Department Issues Guidance on Identifying and Preventing Gender Bias in Law Enforcement Response to Sexual Assault and Domestic Violence
Criminal Justice Performance Measurement Tool
The White House Data-Driven Justice Initiative brings together a bipartisan coalition of city, county, and state governments to use data-driven strategies to divert low-level offenders with mental illness to effective treatment and to change approaches to pre-trial incarceration so that low-risk offenders no longer stay in jail simply because they cannot afford a bond.
FACT SHEET: Launching the Data-Driven Justice Initiative: Disrupting the Cycle of Incarceration
The National Officer Safety and Wellness Group in the Department of Justice to examines difficult issues such as ambush attacks on police officers, automobile fatalities, heart attacks, suicides, substance use and physical fitness, and has focused on ways to create a culture of safety and wellness within police departments.
Learn more about the National Officer Safety and Wellness Group.
The Obama Administration released a report setting out more than 50 Guiding Principles to help all correctional systems reduce their use of solitary confinement, which cover a range of important reform areas including the use of the restrictive housing as a form of punishment, the appropriate conditions of confinement in restrictive housing, and the proper treatment of vulnerable inmate populations, such as juveniles, pregnant women, LGBTI inmates, and inmates with serious mental illness.
Learn more about the limits on the use of restrictive housing.
Read the Obama Administration’s report on forensic science in criminal courts here.
Read the Council of Economic Advisors’ report on occupational licensing.
The Fair Chance Hiring Pledge encourages businesses to ensure that information regarding an applicant’s criminal record is considered in proper context, and to engage in hiring practices that do not unnecessarily place jobs out of reach for those with criminal records. As of now, more than 300 private companies have signed the pledge.
The Fair Chance Education Pledge encourages universities to move “Beyond the Box” by determining whether criminal justice-related questions are necessary to make an informed admission decision, and if so, whether these questions should be moved to a later part of the application process. As of now, more than 100 college and university campuses have signed the pledge.
Read the President's remarks about the Rafael Ramos and Wenjian Liu Blue Alert Act.
Read the reentry handbook.
OPM: Meeting the President's Challenge to Hire People with Disabilities
U.S. Department of Labor: Office of Federal Contract Compliance Programs (OFCCP) 503 Directory
Insurance for Americans with Pre-Existing Conditions
For too long, too many Americans with pre-existing conditions were left out of the health insurance marketplace. Health insurance companies could charge these Americans more or simply refuse to cover them. But thanks to the Affordable Care Act, the health care system will no longer leave out the people who need care the most.
Vice President Biden Hosts an Event to Highlight the ABLE Act
On February 10, 2015, Vice President Biden hosted an event at the White House with Members of Congress to highlight the benefits and achievements of the ABLE Act. The Act creates a new savings account for families with people with disabilities.
President Obama Signs Bill to Support the Needs of People with Autism
The Autism CARES Act of 2014, which reauthorizes the Combating Autism Act, continues important investments in research, prevalence monitoring and services for both children and adults on the autism spectrum.
Statement by the Press Secretary, 10/5/10
On Tuesday, October 05, 2010, the President signed into law S. 2781, the “Rosa’s Law,” which changes references in many Federal statutes that currently refer to “mental retardation” to refer, instead, to “intellectual disability."
U.S. Department of Education, Office of Special Education Programs' (OSEP's)
The Individuals with Disabilities Act (IDEA), is a United States federal law that governs how states and public agencies provide early intervention, special education, and related services to children with disabilities.
Signed the Bipartisan Budget Act of 2015
This budget agreement prevented a 20% cut to Social Security Disability Insurance (SSDI) benefits that would’ve occurred at the end of next year, ensuring that the program can continue to pay full benefits without reducing benefit levels or imposing new eligibility restrictions. By reallocating payroll tax revenues based on the funding needs of both SSDI and the retirement and survivors program, Social Security will be able to pay full disability benefits until late 2022.
Disabilities
The President is committed to nurturing a society that values the contributions of all of our citizens and residents, including the approximately 50 million people in this country living with disabilities.
President Obama Commemorates Anniversary of Olmstead and Announces New Initiatives to Assist Americans with Disabilities
Statement of the Department of Justice on Enforcement of the Integration Mandate of Title II of the Americans with Disabilities Act and Olmstead v. L.C.
Early Intervention Mental Health Demonstration
Learn more about the progress we've made to end veteran homelessness.
The First Lady and Dr. Jill Biden have led the Joining Forces initiative’s efforts to give our service members, veterans, and their families the opportunities and support they have earned. Through the Mayors Challenge to End Veteran Homelessness, over 800 mayors and other state and local leaders across the country will marshal federal, local, and non-profit efforts to end veteran homelessness in their communities. Ending veteran homelessness means reaching the point where there are no veterans sleeping on our streets and every veteran has access to permanent housing. Should veterans become homeless or be at-risk of becoming homeless, communities will have the capacity to quickly connect them to the help they need to achieve housing stability. When those things are accomplished, our nation will achieve its goal.
Interagency and Cross-Cutting Initiatives to End and Prevent Veteran Homelessness
The First Lady Announces the Mayors Challenge to End Veteran Homelessness
Delivering the Health Care Veterans Have Been Promised
VA has made significant strides in improving access to care, even as more and more veterans are coming to the VA to receive care. Key milestones include
To respond to veterans’ mental health needs, and in response to actions taken by the President, VA has taken a number of aggressive actions to address mental health care. VA provided mental health treatment to more than 1.6 million veterans in Fiscal Year (FY) 2015. And as part of the My VA Access initiative, VA has now committed to providing same-day access for veterans with urgent mental health needs.
The Obama Administration is paying the largest number of veteran disability claims in the history of our country. By partnering with Veteran Service Organizations to systematically reduce the benefits claims backlog, we have reduced it by nearly 90% since its peak in March 2013, and veterans with pending claims are now waiting on average less than a third as long for a claims decision.
Since inception of the Post-9/11 GI Bill in 2009, VA has provided $65.2 billion in education benefits to over 1.6 million individuals and their educational institutions. The President signed legislation to expand the eligibility criteria for Post-9/11 GI Bill benefits under the Marine Gunnery Sergeant John David Fry Scholarship to the surviving spouses of service members who died in the line of duty after September 10, 2001.
Announced that all 50 states, the District of Columbia, and 5 territories are now providing recently transitioning Veterans and their eligible dependents with in-state tuition rates at public institutions of higher learning. This progress was brought about by in response to a provision in the Veterans Access, Choice, and Accountability Act that the President signed into law in August 2014.
FACT SHEET: Honoring the Service of Our Nation’s Veterans
Working to Prevent Suicide: VA has increased the capacity of its Veterans Crisis Line, which has answered over 2.3 million calls since its inception and trained all new staff members to ensure that veterans in crisis can readily reach help. To date, the crisis line has initiated the dispatch of emergency services to callers in imminent suicidal crisis over 61,000 times. The Veteran Crisis Line coordinates with DoD to provide assistance to Active Duty Service Members.
VA Simplifies Access to Health Care and Benefits for Veterans with PTSD
Over the past seven and a half years, the Administration has made more benefits and opportunities available to more veterans than ever before. The funding requested in the President’s Budget for the Department of Veterans Affairs would ensure the Department is resourced at its highest level ever, having increased over 85 percent during the President’s tenure. For the first time in history, beginning in FY 2011, continuity of care for our veterans has been guaranteed, with $66 billion in advance appropriations requested in FY 2018 for VA medical programs to ensure that manufactured crises in Washington don’t disrupt care for our veterans.
FACT SHEET: VA Vet Centers and Administration Progress on Mental Health
Executive Order -- Establishing Principles of Excellence for Educational Institutions Serving Service Members, Veterans, Spouses, and Other Family Members
Read the Presidential Memorandum on advancing fair practices by education and training institutions serving service members, veterans, eligible spouses, and other family members.
The Administration has worked to improve the Post-9/11 GI Bill Comparison Tool – created as part of the Presidents 2012 Executive Order Establishing Principles of Excellence for Educational Institutions Serving Service Members, Veterans, Spouses, and their Family Members – that has yielded over 3.2 million unique page views with over 1 million schools searched. The Post-9/11 GI Bill Comparison tools helps to calculate estimated Post-9/11 GI Bill benefits, research certain school attributes, and compare educational and training programs.
The First Lady and Dr. Biden launched Joining Forces in 2011 and have seen incredible impacts since that time.
Employment: Through the Military Spouse Employment Partnership, more than 82,000 military spouses have been hired by nearly 300 private- and public-sector partners since the program launched, and more than 850,000 veterans and military spouses have been hired in the past four years through Joining Forces-allied companies. 50 states have enacted legislation removing credentialing impediments for separating service members and 49 states have enacted legislation assisting in license portability for military spouses.
Education: More than 100 colleges and universities have signed on to “Educate the Educators”, the Joining Forces commitment that will help prepare educators to lead classrooms and develop school cultures that are more responsive to the social, emotional, and academic needs of children in military families. All 50 states have signed on to the Military Child Education Compact to support military students and families.
Wellness: The First Lady launched the Campaign to Change Direction, a mental health public awareness campaign, garnering commitments to teach the “5 Signs” to more than 145 million people. Through a network of medical and mental health professional organizations, this campaign has created opportunities to prepare the nation’s current and future healthcare work force to meet the unique health needs of service members, veterans, and their families.
DOJ: Do I need a license to buy and sell firearms?
FACT SHEET: New Executive Actions to Reduce Gun Violence and Make Our Communities
FACT SHEET: New Executive Actions to Reduce Gun Violence and Make Our Communities
FACT SHEET: New Executive Actions to Reduce Gun Violence and Make Our Communities
FACT SHEET: New Executive Actions to Reduce Gun Violence and Make Our Communities
FACT SHEET: New Executive Actions to Reduce Gun Violence and Make Our Communities
Federal Efforts to Improve the Safety of Domestic Violence Victims
FACT SHEET: New Executive Actions to Reduce Gun Violence and Make Our Communities
FACT SHEET: New Executive Actions to Reduce Gun Violence and Make Our Communities
FACT SHEET: New Executive Actions to Reduce Gun Violence and Make Our Communities
FACT SHEET: New Executive Actions to Reduce Gun Violence and Make Our Communities
The President's 2013 plan to protect our children and our communities by reducing gun violence:
Learn more about income, poverty and health insurance in the US in 2015.
Learn more about income, poverty and health insurance in the US in 2015.
Under President Obama’s leadership, we have made substantial progress in making the tax code fairer for working families.
“If we are serious about solving this problem, then we're going to not only have to help the police, we're going to have to think about what can we do — the rest of us — to make sure that we're providing early education to these kids; to make sure that we're reforming our criminal justice system so it’s not just a pipeline from schools to prisons; so that we're not rendering men in these communities unemployable because of a felony record for a nonviolent drug offense; that we're making investments so that they can get the training they need to find jobs. … And there’s a bunch of my agenda that would make a difference right now in that.” - President Obama, Tuesday, April 28, 2015 in the Rose Garden
Health Insurance Coverage and the Affordable Care Act
The My Brother's Keeper Initiative
On February 27, 2014, the President launched “My Brother’s Keeper” (MBK) and issued a powerful call to action to close opportunity gaps still faced by too many young people, and often by boys and young men of color in particular. The President’s announcement encouraged candid dialogues around the country and a greater sense of responsibility among community leaders, and young people themselves to put all youth in a position to thrive, regardless of their race, gender, or socioeconomic status.
Read About the My Brother's Keeper Initiative
More than $500 million in non-federal grants and in-kind resources and $1 billion in independently committed financing have aligned with objectives of the MBK initiative.
Since its launch, efforts have advanced along three areas of focus based on the goals laid out in the MBK Presidential Memorandum: state and local engagement, private sector action — independent nonprofit, philanthropic and corporate action; and Public Policy review and reform. This progress report provides an update on all three approaches in the first year of MBK.
President Obama Reflects on "My Brother's Keeper" around the one-year anniversary:
This work focused on children and young adults ages 14 to 24, including youth who are in foster care, homeless, young parents, involved in the justice system, unemployed, or who have dropped out or are at risk of dropping out of school.
Youth.gov: Performance Partnership Pilots for Disconnected Youth (P3)
The Partnership for Sustainable Communities
The Partnership for Sustainable Communities is a HUD-DOT-EPA Partnership that coordinates housing, transportation, and environmental protection planning to find smarter and more sustainable ways to grow, develop, and improve quality of life.
Choice Neighborhoods
Invested over $500 million in the Choice Neighborhoods program to plan and implement the revitalization of high-poverty areas into sustainable, mixed-income neighborhoods by linking housing improvements with services, schools, transportation and access to jobs; will develop nearly 10,000 units of mixed housing.
Neighborhood Stabilization Program
Congress established the Neighborhood Stabilization Program (NSP) for the purpose of stabilizing communities that have suffered from foreclosures and abandonment. Through the purchase and redevelopment of foreclosed and abandoned homes and residential properties, the goal of the program is being realized.
FACT SHEET: Making Homeownership More Accessible and Sustainable
Since 2009, USDA has brought clean drinking water and better waste water management to 14.5 million rural residents through 7,000 loans and grants for water and waste water community infrastructure projects. These investments helped to create or save approximately 150,000 jobs.
The Obama Administration put the needs and priorities of citizens and local leaders at the center of federal efforts by streamlining and targeting federal support, building capacity to pursue long-term objectives, and using data to identify what works. The Administration aligned Federal resources and expertise with the priorities of local government, nonprofit, business, and community residents, working closely with more than 1,800 communities across the country to address various challenges—from improving access to affordable housing and transportation options to creating pathways to jobs of the future, boosting opportunity for more Americans.
Weekly Address: Making Our Communities Stronger Through Fair Housing
Strong Cities, Strong Communities Initiative (SC2)
As part of the President’s priority to strengthen the middle class, create jobs, and build ladders of opportunity as communities regain their economic footing, SC2 named 14 locations to receive technical advice and expertise from federal inter-agency teams.
In the President’s 2013 State of the Union address, President Obama called on Congress to expand access to high-quality preschool to every child in America. As part of that effort, the President will propose a series of new investments that will establish a continuum of high-quality early learning for a child — beginning at birth and continuing to age 5. By doing so, the President would invest critical resources where we know the return on our dollar is the highest: in our youngest children.
Expanding Opportunity for America's Kids by Strengthening Head Start
The Department of Health and Human Services announces important new changes to the Head Start program that build on this Administration’s efforts to improve services for our country’s youngest children.
A Busy Year for Child Care
Today we are celebrating the anniversary of the signing of the first reauthorization of the Child Care and Development Block Grant in nearly 20 years.
Made College More Affordable, Strengthened Community Colleges, and Improved College Accountability
Made 115,000 more students eligible for school meals, and updated science-based school meal standards to increase fruits, vegetables, whole grains, lean protein and low-fat dairy, while reducing fats and sodium.
Allowed schools in high poverty communities to provide free school meals to all students, improving access to nutritious meals and reducing administrative costs.
Opportunity for All: Fighting Rural Child Poverty
Opportunity for All: White House Rural Council Launches “Rural Impact” Effort to Help Rural Children and Families Succeed
Rural Impact is a new effort from the White House Rural Council to address the challenge of rural child poverty by bringing together federal agencies and public and private resources.
USDA StrikeForce for Rural Growth and Opportunity
StrikeForce has brought critical resources to 880 rural counties in need in 21 states and Puerto Rico.
"There's a whole series of success stories in the StrikeForce States — that's why we're trying to expand this opportunity in other states, so we can send the message that USDA is focused not just on places where there has been prosperity recently in rural areas, but also focusing on trying to address the challenge of persistent poverty." - USDA Secretary Tom Vilsack
These efforts not only have scaled up evidence based efforts, but also have funded innovative initiatives designed to expand our toolkit of effective approaches to improving outcomes for children and youth.
Learn even more:
With support of seven Federal agencies, nearly 100 jurisdictions are advancing PFS approaches to increase the use of data to inform impact and drive government resources toward more effective programs for school readiness, employment, homelessness prevention, reduced recidivism justice system involvement, child welfare, and health for vulnerable populations.
Thanks to SIF and its partners, over 590,000 Americans have been served in 35 states. The SIF’s $243 million investment has leveraged more than $500 million in philanthropic matching dollars.
The Department of Housing and Urban Development and the Bureau of Justice Assistance at the Department of Justice launched an $8.7 million demonstration grant in 2015 to address homelessness and reduce recidivism among the justice-involved population.
With funding provided by the Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention at the Department of Justice to allow the Department of Housing and Urban Development, the awards provided $1.75 million in 2016 to aid eligible public housing residents who are under the age of 25 to expunge or seal their records in accordance with their applicable state laws.
The Housing Development Toolkit includes best practices such as streamlining permitting processes, reducing minimum lot sizes, and enacting high-density and multifamily zoning policies.
Read more about this work here:
When Communities Pull Up the Ladder of Opportunity
Rather than use the metropolitan area average to calculate the value of a voucher, jurisdictions with a high degree of variance in rent and a concentration of voucher holders in high-poverty neighborhoods can now calculate rents based on zip code. This will make it so the value of vouchers will more accurately reflect the cost of the neighborhood. Research shows that when families have access to more affluent neighborhoods, they see significantly higher earnings and a greater likelihood of having attended college.
Learn more about HUD’s smoke-free policy.
Learn more about the accomplishments of the White House Rural Council and strategies that have helped rural communities.
Learn more about the Rural Impact County Challenge and local response to child poverty.
Read more about how this Administration has promoted civil rights in agricultural industries here.
Federal agencies and match funders have awarded nearly $3 billion in grants to develop and scale innovative approaches to grantmaking - such as the Corporation for Social Innovation Fund and Investing in Innovation Fund (i3) – to address poverty and economic opportunity, improve student achievement and attainment, transform public workforce systems, and reduce teen pregnancy rates with a proven record of success.
Learn more about the Social Innovation Fund:
Learn more about i3:
The Gen-I initiative focuses on improving the lives of Native Youth through new investments and increased engagement, the Native Youth Challenge, a Cabinet Listening Tour, and Native Youth Community Project grants to improve college and career-readiness.
Learn more about Gen-I:
Learn more about the White House Council on Native American Affairs.
Learn more about the Land Buy-Back Program.
The White House Office of Faith-based and Neighborhood Partnerships coordinates agency Centers for Faith-based and Neighborhood Partnerships. Each Center forms partnerships between its agency and faith-based and neighborhood organizations to advance specific goals to help communities across the country and around the world. During the Obama Administration, the Department of State opened an Office of Religion and Global Affairs and the Peace Corps inaugurated its Faith Initiative. Also, for the first time, EPA dedicated staff to forming partnerships with faith and community groups to advance that agency’s objectives. Read more here.
The Office implemented common-ground reforms of rules governing partnerships with faith-based and other community organizations. Read more here.
The President’s Advisory Council for Faith-based and Neighborhood Partnerships makes recommendations for changes in policies, programs, and practices that affect the delivery of services by faith and community organizations and the needs of low-income and other underserved persons in communities domestically and around the world. The Administration’s three Advisory Councils have addressed issues including fatherhood and healthy families, environment and climate change, global development, interreligious cooperation, human trafficking, poverty and inequality.
At the recommendation of the first Advisory Council, the Administration implemented changes to the rules governing partnerships with faith-based and community groups to provide new religious liberty protections for beneficiaries of federally-funded social service programs, while also adding new protections for the ability of religious providers to compete for government funds on the same basis as any other private organization. Read more here.
President Obama established the Interfaith and Community Service Campus Challenge to build bridges of understanding across differences and serve our neighbors. As of its sixth year, more than 500 schools have participated, across 40 states and 20 countries.
In 2010, President Obama created Opening Doors, the first Federal strategic plan to end homelessness.
President Obama asked his Advisory Council on Faith-based and Neighborhood Partnerships to make recommendations for how the Federal government can strengthen its partnerships with community organizations, including faith and community leaders, to respond to the needs of survivors of trafficking. In 2013, the Advisory Council delivered to the President its report of recommendations, Building Partnerships to Eradicate Modern-day Slavery. The White House has worked alongside the Council and engaged over 12,000 community and religious leaders through training, technical assistance, capacity building and outreach across the country and around the world.
In 2016, HHS published a final rule that represents the first comprehensive revision of the child support regulations since welfare reform. The rule modernizes the child support system to incorporate evidence-based practices and innovative approaches, making the program more flexible, effective, and efficient with the end goal of improving child support collection and better serving families.
President Obama asked each member of his Cabinet to write an Exit Memo on the progress we’ve made, their vision for the country’s future, and the work that remains in order to achieve that vision. Here are their key points on the work ahead to expand social progress.
Reforming our Broken Immigration System
“All of [this Administration’s] efforts to improve our broken immigration system have been important and have led to meaningful progress. But they are fundamentally insufficient in achieving the overall goal of truly fixing the system. The next Administration and the next Congress must return to the subject of comprehensive immigration reform. Everyone agrees the immigration system is broken. For one thing, we must reckon with the millions of undocumented immigrants who live in the shadows in this country, who have been here for years, who are not criminals, who are not going away, and who should be given the opportunity to come forward and become accountable. The next President and the next Congress should finally address this and other immigration issues and adopt comprehensive immigration reform.”
— Secretary Johnson
Creating a More Just Criminal Justice System
“Much of the work still ahead on criminal justice reform requires congressional action. Among other steps, Congress should pass a sentencing reform bill that reduces mandatory minimums for non-violent, low-level drug offenders. Sentences need to fit the crime. When sentences are too long, they harm public safety, waste taxpayer dollars, and severely damage communities.”
—Attorney General Lynch
Enacting Gun Safety Measures
"We hope future Administrations build on these efforts by implementing the kind of commonsense gun safety reforms supported by a majority of the American people. For example, Congress should fund 200 new ATF agents and investigators to help enforce our gun laws. And it is long past time that Congress take action on commonsense gun reform legislation, and I urge the next Congress to do so.”
—Attorney General Lynch
Protecting Voting Rights
“In the next Administration, the Justice Department should continue to defend the voting rights of Americans under the provisions of the act that remain, while making clear the enormous stakes of Congress failing to restore Section 5 of the VRA.””
—Attorney General Lynch
Forging a Better Political System
“We have to end the practice of drawing our congressional districts so that politicians can pick their voters, and not the other way around. We have to reduce the influence of money in our politics, so that a handful of families and hidden interests can’t bankroll our elections – and if our existing approach to campaign finance can’t pass muster in the courts, we need to work together to find a real solution. We’ve got to make voting easier, not harder, and modernize it for the way we live now.”
—President Obama (2016 State of the Union Address)
