Congratulations to the 15 journalists selected for The Future of the American Child 2023 Fellowship! The program will be held in McAllen, Texas from Jan. 22-25. McAllen is located 11 miles from the Mexican border and 274 miles from Uvalde, where the effects of the May 24 school shooting continue to reverberate. This fellowship will explore McAllen as one of the nation’s epicenters of child poverty: 16% of all U.S. children lived in poverty in 2020, but in the Hildago County region, where McAllen is located, it was 42%. Leading economists, policymakers, experts and advocates will cover topics including:

• The impact of COVID-19 on education and child development
• Effects of immigration policy on children
• Child mental health
• Gun violence and juvenile justice
• Effectiveness (or lack thereof) of local anti-poverty programs.

This is the first of three separate fellowships the National Press Foundation will offer in 2023 to help journalists cover the nuances and complexities of public policies that affect children.

The journalists are:

Hibah Ansari | Sahan Journal | Minnesota

Anna Bauman | Houston Chronicle | Texas

Chandra Bozelko | The National Memo | Connecticut

Adam Echelman | Modesto Bee | California

Maria Gardner Lara | WNIJ News/ WNIJ Hola | Illinois

Henry Gass | The Christian Science Monitor | Texas

Cayla Harris | San Antonio Express-News and Houston Chronicle | Texas

Krista Johnson | The Courier Journal | Kentucky

Madison Lammert | The Post-Crescent | Wisconsin

Rory Linnane | Milwaukee Journal Sentinel | Wisconsin

Meghan Mangrum | The Dallas Morning News | Texas

Eliza Relman | Insider Inc. | Washington, D.C.

Kaela  Roeder | Street Sense Media  | Washington, D.C.

Catherine Shoichet | CNN | Washington, D.C.

Aziah  Siid | Word in Black  | New York

This fellowship is funded by the David and Lucile Packard Foundation, the W.K. Kellogg Foundation and the Heising-Simons Foundation. NPF is solely responsible for programming and content.