Family First Initiative
Restoring America Through Strong Families
The family is the foundation of civilization, and marriage—the committed union of one man and one woman—is its cornerstone. The Heritage Foundation’s Family First Initiative is dedicated to:
- Restoring the family to the center of Western civilization.
- Advocating for policies across law, education, technology, health, and culture that elevate parental authority.
- Ensuring that families have the tools, knowledge, and community support necessary to protect their fundamental rights and flourish.
- Seeking to strengthen a culture and legal framework that supports the stability of the traditional American family, securing our nation’s future for all generations to come.
Empowering Families to Lead
Families are the heart of our communities and key to raising the next generation. The Family First Initiative amplifies the voices of parents and families in policy and community life. By pairing rigorous research with practical resources, The Heritage Foundation’s goal is to help families engage confidently in the decisions that shape their children’s futures and strengthen their communities.
Join the Family First Initiative
Empowering families through collaboration, resources, and support, we’re driving change—from challenging policies to championing parental rights wins. Connect weekly, stay informed with our newsletter, and ensure parents’ voices shape the future.
Family First Resources
Parents and families face unprecedented challenges in the modern world. Heritage supports what families are already doing in their homes and communities, while also helping shape policies that allow families to truly thrive.
The Heritage Foundation provides resources, research, and support designed to serve your family across key areas of life—including law, education, technology, health, and culture—ensuring families are informed, empowered, and never alone.
Resources
Policy
- Family: Worth Pursuing: A pair of comprehensive reports examining the decline of the American family and outlines policy solutions to strengthen marriage, support parents, and improve outcomes for children.
Parental Rights
- Parental Rights: Read the latest commentaries and reports from The Heritage Foundation related to Parental Rights.
- Parents in Control: A Guide to Your Rights in Education and Healthcare: Alliance Defending Freedom has created a free, concise, practical resource to equip parents to navigate parental rights issues, including guidance to know when seeking legal help may be appropriate.
- Confronting Religious Discrimination: A Guide for Foster & Adoptive Parents: Alliance Defending Freedom has created a free guide to equip parents with the facts on the important role Christians have historically played in adoption and foster care.
Education
- The Heritage Guide to Historic Sites: An interactive guide to historic sites across all 50 states that helps families explore America’s heritage and the principles that shaped the nation.
- The Phoenix Declaration: An American vision for education focused on parental rights, academic excellence, character formation, and preparing students for civic life.
- Education Freedom Report Card: A state-by-state analysis of education policies and school choice. Tracks how well states empower parents and expand educational options. Be sure to check out the Additional Resources page.
- Curriculum Library: A collection of curated online curricula and learning resources across core subjects, arts, civics, and special education to support student learning at all levels.
- Back to School for Parents: A practical guide to help parents navigate concerns in schools and stay informed, engaged, and involved in their child’s education.
- Choose College with Confidence: A tool that highlights colleges based on academic rigor, free expression, and how well they prepare students for opportunity and long-term success.
- Classical Schools Database: A nationwide guide to nearly 900 schools offering a classical liberal arts education, with tools to search and compare options based on location and school model.
- Education Power for Parents: A state-by-state tracker showing how education legislation is moving across the country and where states stand on issues like transparency and parental rights.
- K-12 Educators’ Guide: Alliance Defending Freedom’s K-12 Educators’ Guide helps you champion free speech in the classroom. In this guide to the First Amendment, you’ll learn about the rights of parents, teachers, and students in education.
- Students Rights Handbook: Alliance Defending Freedom provides parents and students with a clear guide to understanding and defending religious freedom rights in K-12 schools and on college campuses, including free expression, religious clubs, and faith-based activities.
- 3 Ways for Parents to Navigate Destructive Gender Ideology in Schools: Alliance Defending Freedom has created a free guide that equips parents with practical strategies to engage their children, understand their rights, and respond to gender ideology in the classroom with confidence.
- Education: Read the latest commentaries and reports from The Heritage Foundation on all things education policy.
Health
- Why MAHA Must Be Family‑First to Succeed: Commentary written by Heritage expert Jennifer Galardi for ArcaMax on March 4, 2026.
- Restoring American Wellness (RAW): A Heritage Foundation initiative which seeks to build and support a broad and effective coalition of Americans around an ambitious suite of policies to restore American health.
- Healthcare Bill of Rights: The Independent Medical Alliance has launched a Parents’ Healthcare Bill of Rights for back-to-school, restoring parental authority over kids’ health and education.
- Nutrition Library: Discover the IMA Nutrition Library—a curated collection of expert-backed guides, tools, and webinars to help you eat for real health.
- Parent's Guide to Immunizations by Independent Medical Alliance: Elizabeth Mumper, MD, a board-certified pediatrician with more than four decades of experience, offers guidance to help parents navigate the vaccine decision-making process.
- RAW Podcast: A podcast from The Heritage Foundation exploring debates on health and well-being in the U.S. and how policy, civil society, and family shape it.
- Gender: Read the latest commentaries and reports from The Heritage Foundation on gender ideology and related issues.
- Life: Read the latest commentaries and reports from The Heritage Foundation on life-related issues.
Technology
- Safe Kids Online: A collection of articles, research, and guides to help parents better understand online risks and keep their kids safe on the internet.
- A Measure That Would Force Big Tech to Protect Kids Online: Commentary written by Heritage expert Daniel Cochrane for NOTUS on January 27, 2026.
Marriage
- Marriage and Family : Read the latest commentaries and reports from The Heritage Foundation on issues related to marriage and family.
