Child Poverty Action Lab (CPAL)
Sophie Phillips is a seasoned professional in public affairs and social work, currently serving as a Public Affairs Consultant at the Child Poverty Action Lab since August 2023. Sophie has extensive experience in child welfare, holding positions including Board Chair at the Dallas County Child Welfare Board and Board Member at the Region 3 Foster Care Consortium, both since 2022 and 2020, respectively. Previous roles include Director of Operations at The Morris Foundation and Chief Executive Officer and Chief Operating Officer at TexProtects - Champions for Children. Sophie's academic qualifications include a Master of Social Work from Washington University in St. Louis, a Bachelor of Social Work from the University of Iowa, and current enrollment as an MBA candidate at The University of Texas at Dallas.
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Child Poverty Action Lab (CPAL)
The Problem: Among major cities, Dallas has the third highest rate of child poverty in the nation. Today, one out of every three of our children grows up in poverty. This impairs cognitive and physical development, incites risky behaviors, and creates lasting health challenges. Consequently, chances for economic mobility in our region are slim -- and the odds that today’s children in poverty will grow up to be parents of children in poverty are high. CPAL exists because the level of child poverty in Dallas is morally unacceptable and economically unsustainable. CPAL’s North Star Goal: Reduce Child Poverty by 50% over the next 20 years The Approach: Key drivers of success (basic needs, education, jobs, family/neighborhood prosperity, etc) are symbiotically entwined. There is no single silver-bullet that will move large numbers of children to future economic security, especially within the timeframe of two decades or less. Instead it will require action from multiple angles, using data as a guide to identify our biggest opportunities for progress and to highlight the most impactful strategies to prioritize for scale. CPAL acts as a data backbone committed to breaking intergenerational poverty and improving economic mobility across our region. For the first time in Dallas’ history, the chief executives of our largest government agencies (T.C. Broadnax – City of Dallas, Clay Jenkins - Dallas County, Michael Hinojosa - DISD, Gary Thomas - DART, Fred Cerise - Parkland, Laurie Larrea - Workforce Solutions, Joe May - DCCCD, Rene Hall – Dallas Police Department, Chris Durovich – Children’s Health) have been meeting together on an ongoing basis. Collectively representing $9B+ in annual budget authority, this group of leaders has chosen reducing child poverty as their common agenda and CPAL is keeping data at the center of the conversation.