We can't believe we have to say this so early in 2026, but here we go: VACCINES WORK. VACCINES SAVE LIVES.

NEW: HHS dramatically overhauls childhood vaccine schedule, downgrading advice for flu, meningitis, other shots www.politico.com/news/2026/01...

HAPPY NEW YEAR 🎉 A reminder that millions of Americans are starting 2026 facing steep increases in their health insurance costs BECAUSE Congressional "Republicans cut more than $1 trillion in federal health care and food assistance with Trump’s big tax and spending cuts bill."

A North Texas family is fighting for the release of a man who was detained during a routine check-in at the ICE field office in Dallas. They say he is the primary caregiver for his U.S.-born son, who is disabled and now faces life-threatening medical challenges.

You know who this will ultimately harm? Children. Plain and simple.

"As you may have noticed, I come with more tubes than the average 14-year-old," says Quinn Mackercher. He's been waiting for a multi-organ transplant to save his life. "I want to grow up to help people, especially people with medical needs like me," littlelobbyists.org/quinns-story...

The reality is: disabled children are the first to lose services. They talk a big talk about caring for innocent helpless kids, but children are the least valued members of society. They’re expendable. They can’t fight for themselves. We are awful to children and the people who care for them.

The Garners said they were shocked that the government would cut off assistance for raising a deafblind daughter. “ It seems like it should be a group of kids that everyone wants to help,” said Mr. Garner, a civil engineer. “Taking away help from deafblind kids? I don’t understand.”

"People sometimes forget that disabled children grow into #disabled adults," Maya worries her children will come into adulthood without #Medicaid access and "make decisions based on what they want to do, not what they are forced to do by circumstance." littlelobbyists.org/the-brown-fa...

Is for YOU to make a donation to @littlelobbyists.com BEFORE THE END OF THE YEAR! littlelobbyists.org/donate/

“I think a lot of people will not be able to do anything” without Medicaid, says 16yo Isaac. Born before the #AffordableCareAct, he blew through his two-million-dollar lifetime cap before he was a year old! Thanks to #Medicaid, he's thriving today ❤️💙 littlelobbyists.org/isaacs-story...

"It’s important to me to tell our story so people understand the true faces of Medicaid and learn intimately about the people whose lives will be ripped apart by Medicaid cuts." Forever grateful to all the brave families who share their stories publicly, helping put a face on #Medicaid.

WE'VE SAID IT BEFORE, AND WE'LL SAY IT AGAIN: Vaccines cause children to be able to grow up to be adults, because children can stay alive instead of dying from vaccine-preventable diseases. www.washingtonpost.com/health/2025/...

'Dying because someone took your health care away is not natural,' says foster and adoptive parent Ryan Jolly, who's only able to be that open door because of #Medicaid, 'neither is living a costly life in isolation in a hospital bed," Read Ryan's full story —> littlelobbyists.org/medically-co...

So proud of everything our Little Lobbyists have accomplished this year ❤️ 💙 Help fuel our work in 2026 as we continue building a healthier, more inclusive country where children with complex medical needs and disabilities can survive and thrive. Donate —> bit.ly/littlelobbyi...

Cruelty is the point when it comes to this administration

Mel Sabin's son was born with a rare genetic disorder, Cri du Chat syndrome. This happy little man with great taste in music is the best kid a single mom could ask for. littlelobbyists.org/logans-story/

At least 2,300 times a day, disabled students are restrained or secluded in segregated classrooms—denied their right to appropriate education. The KASS Act would require schools to provide supports, not isolation or restraint, to all children in schools receiving public funding!

Trump built a war on care that targets the kids least able to fight back. Families are resisting, organizers are rising, and the truth is breaking through their cruelty. Read this and share it. Make the harm impossible to ignore. open.substack.com/pub/demcastu...

The GOP is pretending that their drastic cuts to healthcare won't hurt children. But that's a lie. Kids will be hurt most of all. The funding cuts mean more children will die, more will have lifelong medical complications, more will be sent into foster care. New from me in @prospect.org:

"Much of the state money was intended to assist needy Floridians, including children. Instead, it paid for political consultants, lawyers and thousands of advertisements that helped DeSantis and his supporters win at the ballot box."

Kinn's son Bo is an avid reader with big plans for life. "Somehow in our society we’d rather make people’s lives more difficult because of this misguided, puritanical idea that you have to earn your rights to be a person" says his mom Kinn, who says Bo counts on Medicaid to manage his rare disease.

A Republican call to give Americans cash instead of health insurance subsidies revives an old idea that has left millions with medical debt. Full story via NPR www.npr.org/sections/sho...

Oooopsies! 🙊

This is the same person who voted IN SUPPORT of RFK Jr.'s confirmation 👇

THEY DID THIS TO A MOTHER AND HER CHILD

Pennsylvania mom says Medicaid pays for the vital support that keeps her son alive pennsylvaniaindependent.com/health-care/...

Ah yes, healthcare premium increases are just about a couple buck here and there

"I'm out of office because I'm a single mom paying $3,000 for childcare with no paid leave to fall back on." "I'm OOO in the hospital for preeclampsia but I don't qualify for FMLA because I've been at my job less than 12 months. www.marieclaire.com/politics/out...

Minnesota on Jan. 1 will become the 13th state to launch its own state-run paid family and medical leave program.

Did you catch our OOO messages last week? Want to help do something about it and hold elected officials accountable to your families? Join our @change.org petition and ask for #PaidLeaveForAll today. bit.ly/3LER9Eq

#OutofOfficeforCare invites employees to set their “OOO” automated email replies to accurately reflect the array of care responsibilities that pull them away from work—and then share those messages publicly.

“Make no mistake: Care is more than a niche or feminist issue. It is a community value, integral to a functioning democracy in the most basic of ways. Care is the truest expression of what and who we as a society value." #PaidLeaveForAll contrarian.substack.com/p/the-caregi...

A must read ❤️

"America’s systems, structures, and policies were not ready for Alice Wong. I dream of a world where her vision for disability rights isn’t “radical” but the norm." www.thenation.com/article/soci...

Read this to better understand the significance of IDEA (Individuals with Disabilities Education Act). ⬇️

An incredibly important read from our friend @seemiaroll.bsky.social "Obtaining an education is one of the best ways to help disabled people secure a stable income—and by weakening the IDEA, the Trump administration is trying to take those opportunities away."

Incredible and heartfelt tribute to #AliceWong from @littlelobbyists.com ❤️💙

Today, Little Lobbyists honors #AliceWong, a ferocious advocate for disability justice and disability culture-maker who died on November 14 at the age of 51. Alice was a larger-than-life figure in the disability community and a friend to Little Lobbyists 1/🧵

The IDEA is marking its 50th anniversary amidst significant challenges. Students with disabilities face heightened risks as funding, services, and federal safeguards are threatened. Additionally, reductions in federal staff responsible for these essential programs exacerbate the situation.

As private voucher programs grow at the state & federal level, students w/ disabilities are at risk of discrimination and denial of a quality education. @americanprogress.bsky.social explains how to help disabled children & students amid federal rollbacks www.americanprogress.org/article/idea...

@kevinmkruse.bsky.social please signal boost?

Thanks @littlelobbyists.com for joining us for #IDEA50 Week of Action!

For those who may not be aware, the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA) is a law that makes available a free appropriate public education (FAPE) to eligible children with disabilities. 💛♿️💫 #IDEA50

Fifty years ago, Congress passed IDEA to end the exclusion of disabled children from public schools. Today, that promise is under threat from inadequate funding and policy rollbacks. IDEA is a civil rights law. Protect it. Fund it. Celebrate it. #IDEA50

Medicaid is a lifeline for disabled Americans. It’s what keeps people living full, joyful lives in their own homes and communities.

Join the #IDEA50 Week of Action! Share your story, tag your members of Congress, and call for full funding of special education services. #FundIDEA

Medicaid saved her life and saved our family from financial ruin," says her mom, who adds that "even if Olive was perfectly healthy, I’d be here advocating for others, and I like to believe that somebody would step up for Olive, too." littlelobbyists.org/olives-story...

Speechless. Absolutely devastated. RIP