Children's Alliance Programs
Don't let early learning fall behind.
In recent years, we have made progress as a state in supporting high-quality early learning that provides support to low-income children and families and prepares children for school. Last year, we slipped back. Further cuts to early learning programs would erode the strong foundation we have been building and harm Washington's ability to compete with other states for new federal funds. Early learning programs reduce the preparation gap that leads to the achievement gap in schools between white kids and children of color. To ensure that children most at risk of starting school under-prepared, the lawmakers should add pre-kindergarten for 3- and 4-year old to the state definition of Basic Education.
Childhood hunger should have no place in Washington.
But 300,000 families in our state struggle to put food on the table. That number rises over the summer months when kids no longer have school meals to count on. Small investments in start-up grants for summer meal programs would yield big results and bring federal money to communities all over the state. Lawmakers should invest $250,000 in a fall cycle of start-up grants for summer meals programs.
Protect kids' health coverage.
The Apple Health for Kids Program is doing what it's supposed to do: protecting children in difficult economic times from the loss of health coverage. Cuts to Apple Health for Kids will hurt the state's fragile economic recovery, and thousands of children will no longer see a doctor for regular immunizations and screenings. Now is not the time to undo ten years of progress in children's health. Protect the program parents have come to rely on to protect their kids.
Recent Successes and Current Challenges
Cover All Kids. This historic legislation, passed in 2007, was the culmination of 10 years of work by the Children's Alliance to make health care insurance available to every child in Washington. This victory for kids demonstrates how we go about our work for kids:
1) Extensive research and analysis of need and proven, effective solutions.
2) Convening a broad coalition of people and organizations with a common goal.
3) Working with and educating legislators directly.
4) Organizing consituents to communicate with their representatives in Olympia.
5) Gathering stories of real children who, with the health care they need, are able to have the childhood they deserve.
6) Strategic media work that engages public support.
7) Empowering those affected to advocate for themselves and their children.
We are able to accomplish much of our research and analysis, coalition development work, and staff support using grants from institutions and foundations. However, these funding sources prohibit legislative advocacy work. We rely on gifts from individuals and organizations to give us the unrestricted dollars we need to bring to fruition legislation, administrative changes, or, on occasion, litigation that benefits children. Unrestricted dollars also allow us to tackle unexpected issues that arise, such as protecting the state's child abuse reporting system from potentially disastrous reorganization.