Child and Family Policy

Start your week with a phone call for child care!

2010-11-15T09:16:00.003-05:00

We are certainly in for some changes in the next session of Congress. But let's not let the sitting Congress off the hook just yet. They're in their offices today, making decisions about what is important enough to move before they leave for the holidays. I think child care rises to that level of importance - don't you?! Here's the call to action from the National Women's Law Center , the Early Care and Education Consortium, NAEYC, the Center for Law and Social Policy, and other national organizations:

300,000 children could lose child care and Head Start if you don't call today!

Congress is back in Washington today and has limited time to do some important work: ensure that funding is not cut for child care and Head Start before the end of the year. Watch this video and share it with your friends and coworkers! Then, call Congress!! As many as to 300,000 children shouldn't be dropped from child care and Head Start, and we need to create the Early Learning Challenge Fund to encourage states to do even better for young children and families.
Congress is considering appropriations bills that could go backwards in spending for child care and Head Start, and would lose the Early Learning Challenge Fund. Tell Congress to move forward and fund the Child Care and Development Block Grant, Head Start, and the Early Learning Challenge Fund.

Quick Tips for your Call to Congress!
1. Call 1-888-460-0813

2. The first person to answer the phone will be an operator who will ask how you want to be connected. Tell the operator the name of your Member of Congress. (Not sure? Look it up here.)

3. Once you are connected to the office of your Member of Congress, a staff person will answer the phone. Tell the staff person:

My name is (name) and I am calling from (city, state) and I am (your role - a parent, a voter, a child care director, a Head Start teacher, etc.).

Don’t drop 300,000 children from child care and Head Start. Make sure that continued funding for the Child Care and Development Block Grant and Head Start is NOT REDUCED in the appropriations bill and that the Early Learning Challenge Fund is included.

We are counting on you here in (state). Thank you.

4. Then, hang up and ask five friends or coworkers to make a call as well.

Thank you for taking five minutes to do this! It will make a world of difference to 300,000 kids and their working families!

Update on Child Nutrition Reauthorization

2010-08-20T11:14:00.004-04:00

Important News from the Afterschool Alliance via the Massachusetts Afterschool Partnership: Child Nutrition Reauthorization Clears the SenateLate in the afternoon of August 5 the full Senate unanimously passed the bipartisan Healthy, Hunger-Free Kids Act, legislation that reauthorizes the federal child nutrition programs. In addition to increasing access to healthful meals for the children that need them most, the bill includes a provision that expands the afterschool meal program to all 50 states. The bill also requires childcare providers participating in the Child and Adult Care Feeding Program (CACFP) to serve only low-fat or fat-free milk to children aged two and up, among other nutrition standards, and encourages physical activity. Of grave concern to the anti-hunger community is the use of Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) benefits as a funding offset to pay for a portion of the child nutrition bill. Attention now turns to the House of Representatives, and whether Congress will be able to pass its version of Child Nutrition reauthorization legislation before the current programs expire on September 30, 2010.

Update on Federal Early Childhood Funding

2010-07-28T12:18:00.004-04:00

Hi everyone! Got this great news yesterday from Danielle Ewen at the Center for Law and Social Policy, so I thought I would share!

Earlier today, the Senate Labor, Health, and Human Services Subcommittee of the Committee on Appropriations presented their plan for FY 2011 funding for agencies under their jurisdiction. The Committee made significant investments in early childhood programs, including $1 billion in new funds for the Child Care and Development Block Grant, an increase of $990.3 million for Head Start and Early Head Start, and $300 million for a new Early Learning Challenge Fund. These amounts exceed the House Subcommittee allocations earlier this month, and are higher than the President’s request.

Chairman Harkin highlighted the importance of these programs even in these difficult times in his opening statement:

“This is a period of great economic uncertainty for our nation,” said Senator Tom Harkin (D-IA), Chairman of the Labor-HHS Appropriations Subcommittee. “Although the economy is expanding again, far too many Americans still can’t find a job, and the threat of a double-dip recession looms large. In the longer term, the national debt continues to rise to dangerous levels. As the largest nondefense Appropriations bill that Congress will consider this year, the Labor-HHS bill must respond to both of these challenges, addressing today’s hard economic realities while taking every possible opportunity to reduce waste, fraud, and abuse so as to reduce the deficit in the long run.

“Three priorities permeate this bill,” Harkin continued. “First, it invests in critical programs that help the neediest Americans—programs that offer job training, protect workers from safety and health hazards, and provide a safety net for those struggling just to make ends meet. Second, this bill recognizes that every taxpayer dollar must be used wisely. And the third priority is reform. This bill includes several initiatives that will leverage systemic changes in the areas of education, health and labor.”

This incredible victory is just the first step in a long Appropriations process. Later this week the full Committee will vote, followed by an eventual vote by the full Senate and a conference process with the House.

Feed Your Children Well: A Child Nutrition Update

2010-06-12T14:42:00.002-04:00

When I was a kid, I ate the “hot lunch” at school pretty much every day, and I liked it. From Tater Tot Casserole to Dagwood Sandwiches, tacos to pizza, my week was filled with meals that appealed to my child-sized taste for comfort food.
Fast forward 35 years, and now I’m sending my own kids off to school each day. And though the fare their schools provide is marginally better nutritionally speaking, we pack their lunches most days to ensure they get whole grains, lean protein, and a good dose of fruits and vegetables. It takes a little more time (my husband’s, since he is the kitchen god in our house), and probably costs a little more than the school lunch. But it’s better for them, and it helps them learn what a healthy meal looks like and develop healthy eating habits.
Yesterday, the House committee responsible for reauthorization of the federal Child Nutrition Act, led by Rep. George Miller of California, filed its version of the bill - the Improving Nutrition for America’s Children Act. The bill is a good step forward for kids like mine who have the occasional school lunch, but more importantly it is a critical step forward for the approximately 30 million children who benefit from the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s National School Lunch Program, which provides free and reduced lunch to low income children across the country. For too many children in food insecure families, this is the single full meal they can count on each day. The House proposal expands eligibility for the lunch program, makes it easier for children to access the program by streamlining the application process, and gives incentive grants to school districts to start healthy breakfast programs.
The legislation also takes steps to improve the nutritional value and safety of school lunches, increase nutrition education in schools, and connect schools to local food growers to improve the quality of the meals. For younger children who receive meals in child care settings, the proposal helps connect their caregivers to the WIC program to improve the nutritional quality of their meals, and makes it easier for home-based caregivers to enroll in the meal program.
As the school year winds down and some of us get ready to pack lunches for summer camp or serve up PB&J’s by the wading pool, it’s good to note that the proposed reauthorization bill takes one more important step. According to the Committee, it will provide year-round meals for over 225,000 children through school based and community based summer and after-school programs. For kids whose best meal of the day is their school lunch, the Summer Food Service Program is a very big deal.
Feeding our children is a basic part of being a parent, a family, a community, and a nation. The reauthorization of the Child Nutrition Act is an opportunity to make sure we feed them all, and we feed them well. To speak up on child nutrition and school lunches, contact your Senator or Representative today by going here.
For more information about child nutrition in schools, visit the Food Research and Action Center, Let’s Move! or Farm to School.

Women in the News on International Women's Day

2010-03-08T11:05:00.002-05:00

Today is International Women’s Day. I’m thinking about the best way to observe the day, and the morning news gave me a lot of ideas.

When I opened the paper at the breakfast table, I saw a photo in the Cape Cod Times of two burqa-clad women who had just braved multiple bombings to vote in Iraq’s parliamentary elections. My lovely math-whiz ballerina daughter, who was sitting next to me, asked, “What are those black things?” I explained to her that women in some religious cultures wear burqas to cover themselves, because they believe women shouldn’t show their faces or any parts of their bodies, or in some cases because men in their lives or religious leaders in their governments require them to. “But why are their fingers black?” “Because they just voted, and that’s how they keep track of voters there, and make sure they don’t vote twice.” I went on to explain how Iraqis, including these women, were willing to face the possibility of being killed to participate in a democratic process that so many of us here take for granted, but I’m not sure how much sunk in over her bagel and cream cheese. That’s ok – we’ll keep talking.

Then I turned to the Boston Globe, and learned that Kathryn Bigelow was the first woman to win Best Director for her film, The Hurt Locker. In a story later on NPR, I heard her say that she hoped to be known not as a female filmaker, but as a filmmaker, and she hoped some day that qualifier wouldn’t be necessary. Fair enough, but the fact remains that she boldly broke new ground.

Finally, I fired up Facebook (yes, I know not exactly a news source, but I do get lots of info from it these days), and noted that lots of my local friends would be eating at the Dan’l Webster today, and 15% of our bills will be going to The Emancipation Network. Two awesome women (shout out Janell and Tammy!) in our community recently traveled to Kolkata as volunteers for this organization, which works to end human trafficking (also known as slavery) of women and girls, and to promote education for girls who might otherwise fall prey to this crime. Educating girls is the key, and may be the cause of our lifetime. If you don’t believe me, read Half the Sky by Nicholas Kristoff and Sheryl Wudunn and I dare you not to feel grateful for your life and to take action.

So what will I be doing today? I’ll be celebrating my life, and the lives of women all over the world. There was a time when people said we couldn’t “have it all.” Well, many of us do. We may not have it all at the same time. We may not have it all when we want it. But we have choices, and so we have everything. We can work, we can play (thanks Title IX!) we can learn, and we can choose our leaders – or be our leaders.

And so on this International Women’s Day, be grateful for the choices you have, and commit yourself to working like hell for the women in the world who don’t have them.

Three Things You Can do Now to Help Kids and Families

2010-01-22T13:41:00.003-05:00

It’s been a while since I’ve checked in with this blog, and I blame my tendency to over-think. I want to write about the most urgent issue, the most effective action you can take, to have the most positive impact on children and their families. But as we seem to be learning almost every day, neither politics nor the public policy they produce are perfect, and we can’t let that paralyze us. So here are three quick but important things you can do today to have a positive impact on children’s lives. Don’t think about them too much… just put one foot in front of the other (as Chris Kringle sings).

1) If you are part of an organization that serves children, the National Women’s Law Center is circulating a sign-on letter to be sent to the House and Senate for national, state, and local groups urging support of the Access to Nutritious Meals for Young Children Act of 2009, S. 2749 and H.R. 4402, introduced by Senator Gillibrand (D-NY) Rep. Paul Tonko (D-NY). If your organization would like to sign on to the letter or if you want more information, please contact Rio Romero by close of business next Monday, January 25th. She can be reached at rromero@nwlc.org, or (202) 319-3056).

2) Check out the important work the National Center for Children in Poverty is doing around measuring poverty and understanding the financial struggles of children and their families. You can start by viewing and listening to NCCP’s webinar on Federal and Local Efforts to Modernize the Poverty Measure – an outdated and inadequate standard that’s used to allocate all types of public support, from Head Start to food assistance. From there you can explore NCCP's tools for advocates, practitioners, and administrators, including their Basic Needs Budget Calculator.

3) Finally, and perhaps most obviously and urgently, please -- if you haven't already -- make a donation to an organization that’s providing relieve in Haiti. With an estimated death toll of 200,000 the Haitian earthquake has certainly left many, many children without food, shelter, health care, and other basic needs. One organization that is doing great work to help them is Partners in Health.

There are so many more steps you can take to help children and families, but the most important thing is to get started. If you have other suggestions, please comment here. A belated happy New Year to all of you!

What Would You Do Without Child Care?

2009-10-23T10:53:00.002-04:00

I’ve been working on child care policy for about 15 years now, and I’ve seen a lot of articles like this one that ran in USA Today on Wednesday. Every time I read one I wonder why it’s so difficult to make progress on ensuring that working families have the high quality, affordable child care they need. Honestly. Around 58% of children ages birth to six have mothers who are employed, and almost 78% of kids ages six to 18 have moms who are working for pay. Most work full-time. Most mothers of babies, toddlers, and school-age kids need some kind of child care or after-school program so they can work.

So why don't federal and state policy makers put more funding into child care, even in less economically challenging times? One theory I’ve considered is that progress on child care policy suffers from a high-turnover constituency. That’s advocacy and organizer-speak, so let me break it down. You’re a parent, and you need to work. You can’t find child care, or you can’t find child care you like or trust. Or you can’t find child care you can afford on your hourly salary. You feel desperate and angry. You are a perfect advocate, because you can call policy-makers and say, “Look, if I can’t find or afford decent child care then I can’t work! That’s not good for my family!” That’s powerful.

But then, eventually, you work it out. You find a child care situation that you can afford. Maybe it’s perfect, or maybe it’s not the best for you or your kid, but it works for now, and it lets you get to your job. Then you’re really busy – because you’re a mom or a dad, and you’re working outside the home. Who has time to call legislators or write letters to the editor? Your problem is solved, and you need to move on. You are part of a high-turnover constituency.

But lots of other moms and dads are still out there, facing the same situation you used to face. And they are struggling. So this is my appeal to all you parents out there who either have great child care now, or used great child care when your kids were younger. You know how important it was to you and your family. Look around you throughout your day. Look at your your nurse, your cashier, your child’s teacher, and your waitress. I wonder if they have children. I wonder if they’re having a hard time finding child care. I wonder if they could use your help – your voice – in improving child care policy.

If you think maybe they can, contact your state and federal legislators and let them know how important it is to provide funding for child care subsidies and quality supports. Other parents and kids still need you. For more information on how to help, check out these organizations: NWLC, Early Education for All (in MA), NAEYC

For All You Cape Cod Parents and Kid People!

2009-10-14T09:19:00.007-04:00

If you've never been to the Upper Cape Early Childhood Conference put on by the Upper Cape Family Network, five area Community Partnerships for Children, and the Child Care Network of the Cape and Islands, this is the year! It's on Saturday, October 31st, 7:30 a.m.-12:30 p.m. at Bourne High School, and will be jam packed with information and fun for parents, early childhood professionals, local businesses, policy makers, and anyone who has an interest in what our young children need and deserve. You can enjoy workshops, continental breakfast, a (free) Discovery toys Give-away, and raffle prizes -- all for $30.00.

Workshops include:

Different Children, Different Needs (with Jeanine K. Fitzgerald)
Building Bias-Free Foundations (with my frolleague Tracey Bromley Goodwin!)
Everything You Always Wanted To Ask the Pediatrician… But ran Out of Time to Ask! (with Dr. Lisa Dobberteen)
A Match Made in Heaven: NAEYC Guidelines and EEC Regulations
And much more!

To register or for more information, email Tina Toran at ttoran@falmouth.k12.ma.us by October 16th.

While I'm plugging local events and thinking about Tracey, I also want to pass on information about a workshop for parents on Navigating ADHD she and her partner Holly Oberacker are holding in Sandwich on November 7. For more information or to register click here.

These people love kids, and I love these people - thanks for letting me share!

Afterschool, Summer, and Closing the Achievement Gap

2009-10-09T10:26:00.005-04:00

About a year ago my then-seven year old daughter came home from school and declared that we shouldn’t vote for Obama because he wants kids to be in school during the summer. From her narrow perspective, school is fun but summer is more fun. That’s when she can dance, swim, and play with abandon. Who would want to mess with that? Similarly, I’ve been watching good thinkers, people who I consider to be like-minded, react with dismay to President Obama’s suggestion that in this less-agrarian era in which the economy demands educated, skilled workers, we might consider lengthening the school year and/or the school day. From a personal perspective I can relate to his critics. We just had a great, glorious summer. We spent time at the beach and the mountains. My kids had many sprawling, unstructured summer days. Summer is one of the reasons I enjoy having a flexible, work-at-home career. A good summer break is what kids who are over-stressed, over-protected, and deprived of nature need. Who would want to mess with that?

But here’s the reality of most families. In its new report, the Afterschool Alliance reports that 15 million U.S. children are alone and unsupervised after school. Their parents aren’t working at home – they’re working at grocery stores and hotels and in office buildings. And they keep working through the summer. The kids who aren’t in afterschool programs during the school year are also very likely not in summer camps during the summer. And while I wish they could all have the relatively carefree summers my children enjoy while I work in my guest room office, I know better. As a person who grew up with both parents working after school, I know those unsupervised afternoon hours can be liberating and empowering. They provide an opportunity to develop responsibility, maturity, and judgment, and to learn how to make your own mac and cheese. But they can also be long, lonely, and full of opportunities to make bad, even dangerous, choices.

But President Obama’s interests are less developmental than educational. After all, depending on whom you ask it’s not the mission of our public schools to provide a safe and developmentally appropriate place for kids while their parents work to pay the bills. They need to somehow close the achievement gap – the one among U.S. students, and the one between our students and those in other countries.

Through a combination of high quality after-school programs, extended learning opportunities through school, and school or community-based summer programs that prevent summer learning loss, we might be able to close that gap.

In Massachusetts, some districts have been funded to try Expanded Learning Time, and teachers participating in the evaluation of the initiative have reported that it provides the time to complete their curricula and meet the needs of all students.
Two 2007 studies (one by Dr. Karl Alexander at Johns Hopkins University, and one by Dr. Beth Miller for the Nellie Mae Education Foundation) looked at summer learning loss as a key to the achievement gap. Both found that a big contributor to the achievement gap may be the difference in the ways kids from different socio-economic groups spend their summers. Those who spend some of their summer in educational activities – which can include having fun at a summer camp with well-trained staff – lose less of what they’ve learned from one school year to the next.
Finally, a variety of research suggests that high quality after-school settings – programs that have trained staff and offer children a variety of activities and learning opportunities – can lead to more school success for kids.

None of those options precludes kids playing or having the freedom to make choices. In fact, high quality educational experiences -- whether they're in the classroom, at camp, or in an afterschool program -- include letting kids play.

So, what’s the answer? Longer school years and school days may be the answer for some kids and for some communities. A lot depends on what other options those kids and their families have during their time outside of school – after school and during the summer. What seems clear is that policy makers, schools, and parents have to consider all of these strategies in their efforts to close the achievement gap and give kids the education they need to be happy and successful adults.

Show your kids where policy happens!

2009-10-08T10:00:00.011-04:00

Hey all you Wonky Moms and Dads out there! I was just thinking that this is the time of year when parents are starting to plan that school vacation get-away for February or April school vacation. You know - Disney. The Carolinas. Maybe a nice island somewhere.

All tempting, but why not do something different this year? If you haven't already, this may be the year to take your kids to their nation's capital! Show them where policy is made, tour the museums and maybe even the White House (get your tix early for that one!), visit your Congressional representatives... We took our kids to Washington, D.C. last year, and it was a great way to introduce them to some history, provide a backdrop for our dinner-time discussions of current events, and empower them to be active citizens who respect and enjoy their national treasures. Here's my son at the gates of the Department of the Treasury. He was doing a report on Alexander Hamilton at the time, and seeing his statue was one of the highlights of his trip. That, and riding in the flight simulator at the Air and Space Museum.

I know times are tight, and not all of you are on the East Coast. For a democracy destination within reach, you can also check out your state capitol. Take a tour, visit your state legislators if they're in session, and enjoy absorbing the power of democracy that is palpable inside those walls. You might even be able to see a committee hearing or watch some floor action.

Just a thought as you browse through your travel brochures and start making plans... If you're thinking about visiting D.C., here is a great site to get you started!

Policy News Families Can Use

2009-10-06T13:55:00.004-04:00

Here are a few child and family policy-related nuggets from today’s news. How do they affect you and yours?

Health – The journal Pediatrics released 2007 National Survey of Children’s Health data yesterday that found that the rate of autism (also known as Autism Spectrum Disorder, or ASD) as reported by parents in the U.S. has increased to one in 100 children, up from a previous estimate of 150. The Centers for Disease Control web site backs that research up, and further expresses hope that “these new data might raise awareness about ASDs to help improve early identification and intervention and to provide information for policy and service planning.” According to an Associated Press story, some of the increase is being attributed to earlier diagnosis and a broader definition for Autism.

Education – Raising a current or future college student? The Senate Committee on Health, Education, Labor and Pensions is considering raising the amount allowed per student under Pell Grants, federally funded college tuition grants for low income students. Pell Grants are a critical support for low income students and their families because unlike student loans they do not leave graduates in debt. In a Philadelphia Inquirer story, Laura W. Perna, an associate professor at Pennsylvania State University Graduate School of Education, is quoted as saying that two-thirds of students who received Pell Grants in 2007-08 came from families who earned less than $30,000. She also cited recent studies finding that the grants covered “32 percent of the average cost of tuition and fees at four-year public colleges and universities nationwide in 2007-08, down from 50 percent a decade earlier.”

Food – The Center for Science in the Public Interest looked at Food and Drug Administration (FDA) data on illnesses caused by food, and found that these are the foods most likely to make you sick: leafy greens, eggs, tuna, oysters, potatoes, cheese, ice cream, tomatoes, sprouts, and berries. Unfortunately, the analysis did not include meat and poultry, because those are regulated by the Agriculture Department, and the Center only looked at FDA regulated foods, but some of the outbreaks included pathogens more commonly found in meat and poultry. Authors think there may be a link to large scale production and processing, so if you haven’t already you might want to get to know your local farmer. According to a Department of Health and Human Services article, Congress is considering a bill that would expand the FDA’s authority over food producers and make it easier to identify and remove tainted foods from grocery stores. In the meantime, eat your veggies but wash them well first!

The Soda Strategy for Healthier Kids

2009-09-24T15:35:00.009-04:00

I’m not a purist. I try to be healthy, but I’ve had my share of soda addictions over the years. There was the Dr. Pepper-for-breakfast era in high school. Classic Coke in college. And anyone who sat in a conference room with me between 1995 and 2007 knows that diet Coke got me through many a long meeting. I’ve done my share to pay Coca-Cola CEO Muhtar Kent’s salary. But honestly, I care more about children’s health and covering the cost of health care than I do about Kent’s efforts to give the world a Coke and a smile. So his Cold War era argument against President Obama’s proposal to tax soda to help pay some of the costs of health care reform, currently being considered by President Obama and Congress leaves me a bit, well, cold.

While speaking at the Rotary Club in Atlanta (home of Coca-Cola), he said, “I have never seen it work where a government tells people what to eat and what to drink. If it worked, the Soviet Union would still be around.” Choice of beverage caused the fall of the Soviet Union? That seems unlikely.
The fact is that we know children’s consumption of soda contributes to childhood obesity. And we know that the public is paying at least part of the costs of treating that childhood obesity and the diseases related to it, including cardiovascular disease and diabetes. When a public health problem becomes not just a belt-buster but a budget buster, it’s time for government to step in.
The federal government has a couple of policy options to lower children’s soft drink consumption. One strategy is public education, and that is obviously important. It can reach children directly, compete with the Mountain Dew ads on TV, and create a culture in which the behavior is less accepted. Education has been an effective part of the efforts to keep kids from smoking and using drugs. (Remember this ad?)

But the evidence seems to show that these campaigns work best in combination with attempts to make it harder to purchase the substance of choice – making them more expensive (yes, through taxes) or banning them entirely. So the second strategy government can use is to target the purse strings of the primary purchasers of sugary sodas (parents) and make it less attractive to fill their shopping carts with two-liter bottles of Yoo-hoo.
A soda tax is likely to decrease soda drinking among adults and children alike, and that can only be good for public health. But to the extent folks keep buying Coke, the tax has another benefit. Those revenues can be set aside to help pay the costs of the health problems the children and adults who continue to drink soda are likely to develop. In policy terms, that’s a win-win.
There is another criticism to the soda tax and other “sin taxes” like it. Some are concerned that such taxes are regressive – that is, that they demand more from lower income tax payers who can afford it least. One study of New Yorkers did in fact find a relationship between soda consumption and lower household income. But even if that is true nationally, soda addiction is not nearly as strong as tobacco addiction or alcohol addiction. People have choices, and for the sake of kids’ health, they need to make smart ones. Maybe a soda tax will be the push they need to make better, healthier choices for healthier children.
To weigh in on the soda tax, contact your Senator or the White House today. For more information, visit the Campaign for Commercial Free Children, or (for a different point of view) the American Beverage Association.

You Too Can Be a Wonky Mom (or Dad)!

2009-09-18T06:37:00.001-04:00

I love public policy. And I love my family. I was passionate about the former well before the latter came along. But not surprisingly raising children has intensified my desire to improve the world through lawmaking (or law changing), especially for kids and the people who care for them.

Those who know me in real life know that this divides my energy in many ways throughout a typical day. I’ve searched for child care for my infant daughter while researching the quality of child care for families in Boston. I’ve followed the health care debate on a day that I took my son to a well visit at his pediatrician’s office (covered by excellent health insurance, natch). I’ve read about the achievement gap, while reviewing my son’s state test scores. The resources and opportunities available to my children make me keenly aware of the challenges of families who aren’t so lucky, and that drives my desire to learn more, and do more to improve the public policies that impact them every day.

I’m blessed with a great network of frolleagues who lead similar professional and personal lives. I can’t list them all here, but you know who you are, and you each inspire me every day. I will give a special shout out to my friend who recently mentioned the challenge of trying to follow health care reform for Results while losing sleep to her son’s teething.

Here’s the thing parents– even if you don’t have a policy degree and have never set foot in the halls of Congress, you too can be a Wonky Mom or a Wonky Dad! It is my greatest hope and desire that if this blog does nothing else it challenges other parents out there to recognize that the world of public policy interacts with their homes, their neighborhoods, their schools and their communities every day. And, more importantly, that they have a role to play in shaping it, not just for themselves but for all the other families out there like them.

To help you get started, here are a few issues that are already underway in Washington, and some resources to help you step up and speak up. I’m leaving health care off the list because I’ve written about that recently, but feel free to check out my earlier posts.

Student Loans for College - H.R. 3221, the Student Aid and Fiscal Responsibility Act of 2009 passed the house last night. Besides setting up the Early Learning Challenge Fund for quality child care and early education, it also shifts college student loans from private financial institutions to the federal government. Proponents say that cutting out the middle man will save money for families borrowing for college. Opponents say it’s a government take over. What do you think? Let your Senator know, because that's where that bill goes next!

Child Nutrition – The federal laws that help children have access to healthy food are due to be renewed by Congress this year. According to the Food Research and Action Center, this reauthorization (for definitions of words used in Congress, go here) will include the School Breakfast and Lunch programs, Summer Food, Child and Adult Care Food (provides food in child care settings) and WIC (Women Infant and Children) programs. You can learn more and sign up for email updates at FRAC’s web site.

No Child Left Behind – This is the nickname for the Elementary and Secondary Education Act, also up for renewal this year, which sets federal policy for public schools with students grades K-12. If you have kids in school, this is the source of the requirement for standardized testing (MCAS in Massachusetts) beginning in 3rd grade. As it makes its way through reauthorization, policy makers, educators, and yes, parents, should speak up about standardized testing, teacher training and qualifications, charter schools, expanded early learning, and federal funding. Our kids spend at least six hours a day in their schools – let’s make them count!

These are just a few of the family friendly issues facing legislators this year. Ready to become a Wonky Mom or Wonky Dad? Visit one of the sites below to get started (and of course it won’t hurt to follow this blog and @childfampolicy on Twitter!).

Results is a great grassroots organizing network that will help you learn to speak up and give you the information you need to be effective. Tell Meredith I sent you – and that I hope she got some sleep last night!

The National Women’s Law Center works on issues affecting women and girls. I especially love their Family Economic Security team!

MomsRising makes it easy and fun with easy to understand updates and fun to use techie organizing tools!

Good luck with your good work! Let me know how it goes on your journey to Wonkdom!

House Education Bill Vote Tomorrow!

2009-09-16T13:18:00.001-04:00

Passing this on from the National Women's Law Center, because I can't say it any better:

"Tomorrow, the House of Representatives will have the opportunity to stand up for children and families when they vote on H.R. 3221, the Student Aid and Fiscal Responsibility Act of 2009. This bill includes an important new initiative that will encourage states to expand disadvantaged children’s access to high-quality early learning opportunities. Under this Early Learning Challenge Fund initiative, states that put in place the essential elements necessary to support strong early learning programs for children from zero to five will be rewarded with grants to finance their work. States that are committed to improving their early learning programs but need to do more will also receive support."

They're also blogging on this bill over at Politics K-12, so check it out, then make the call (or email, or twitter, or whatever you're using these days!)

Which reminds me - I'm on Twitter now too. Click the link on the upper right hand corner of this page to follow me. Thanks to Julie, the genius behind Writing Roads, for inspiring me!

Some answers on health care...

2009-09-10T11:20:00.001-04:00

I know you're all trolling the news for analysis about President Obama's speech to Congress last night. I thought I'd follow up on the questions in yesterday's post, and highlight some of the answers he provided, just to save you all the time of doing the same. So here goes:

Q. Is the “public option” still on the table? Is it off the table? What is it anyway?

A. The short answer is, it's still on the table (and in some Congressional proposals) but may be more likely to take the form of an "insurance exchange." Quoting the President, "... if you lose your job or you change your job, you'll be able to get coverage. If you strike out on your own and start a small business, you'll be able to get coverage. We'll do this by creating a new insurance exchange, a marketplace where individuals and small businesses will be able to shop for health insurance at competitive prices.This exchange will take effect in four years, which will give us time to do it right. In the meantime, for those Americans who can't get insurance today because they have preexisting medical conditions, we will immediately offer low-cost coverage that will protect you against financial ruin if you become seriously ill."
"...an additional step we can take to keep insurance companies honest is by making a not-for-profit public option available in the insurance exchange....it would only be an option for those who don't have insurance. No one would be forced to choose it and it would not impact those of you who already have insurance."

Q. Is health care reform without the public option really reform at all, since theoretically one of the goals is to correct the market failure of the existing health insurance industry and make sure that everyone can have some kind of health care coverage that doesn’t break the bank?

A. I confess, that was a retorical question. Still, President Obama made it clear that the goal continues to be to provide affordable coverage to anyone who wants it.

Q. And speaking of breaking the bank, how much will health care reform cost, and where will the revenues come from to pay for it? Are there ways to increase the efficiency of the health care system so those dollars can be used to cover more people?

A. "...the plan I'm proposing will cost around $900 billion over 10 years..."
"most of these costs will be paid for with money already being spent -- but spent badly -- in the existing health care system. The plan will not add to our deficit. The middle class will realize greater security, not higher taxes. And if we are able to slow the growth of health care costs by just one-tenth of 1 percent each year -- one-tenth of 1 percent -- it will actually reduce the deficit by $4 trillion over the long term."
"...we've estimated that most of this plan can be paid for by finding ..savings within the existing health care system, a system that is currently full of waste and abuse."
"We have long known that some places... offer high-quality care at costs below average.
So the commission can help encourage the adoption of these common-sense best practices by doctors and medical professionals throughout the system -- everything from reducing hospital infection rates to encouraging better coordination between teams of doctors.
Reducing the waste and inefficiency in Medicare and Medicaid will pay for most of this plan."

Q. Finally, if I’m a voter who currently gets health care coverage through an HMO, partially paid for by my employer, how will the current reform proposals affect me and my family?

A. "...if you are among the hundreds of millions of Americans who already have health insurance through your job, or Medicare, or Medicaid, or the V.A., nothing in this plan will require you or your employer to change the coverage or the doctor you have...What this plan will do is make the insurance you have work better for you. Under this plan, it will be against the law for insurance companies to deny you coverage because of a preexisting condition."

So that's where we are, from President Obama's point of view. So far today, various members of Congress have responded by talking about co-ops as an alternative to the public option, busting on Rep. Joe Wilson (R-S.C.) for his ill-advised and downright rude heckling, for which he has since apologized, and setting out a new target date of Thanksgiving for passing a bill.
If that happens, I will indeed be thankful.

For a full transcript of President Obama's remarks provided by The Washington Post, click here.

Back to School on Health Care

2009-09-09T14:17:00.000-04:00

Yesterday, President Obama told school children across America that, “There is no excuse for not trying” when it comes to learning. The same could be said of Congress in its current efforts to pass health care reform.

News reports are filled with accounts of the ins and outs of this attempt to overhaul our health care system, using the term “system” loosely, and the degree to which the Obama administration has learned, or even over-learned, from President Clinton’s earlier attempt at reform. President Obama has steered clear of the backroom approach the Clintons were charged with in producing their own legislation, and has asked Congress to take the lead in crafting reform. But he has clearly made some of his own missteps, mostly in the area of communication to the public about why we need health care reform, how it will affect them, and how it will be paid for. Oh yeah, and whether the public option is actually “socialism” or whether it’s more akin to the public insurance options already available through Medicaid, Medicare, the U.S. Military and the Federal Government.

I want health care reform to succeed, especially for the children and families among the individuals who make up the estimated 46 million uninsured Americans. According to Families USA, in 2007 more than 8.6 million children had no health insurance, and about 88% of those children had a parent who was employed. Children and their families need access to preventive health care, treatment for chronic conditions, and a more rational system of care than the emergency room. But the most recent polls show that the public needs some questions answered clearly before it can fully embrace health care reform that helps the people who need it most. To that end, I would like policy-makers to read the following questions, write down compelling and accurate answers, and carry those answers around on cards in their pockets a la Grover Norquist followers until real, rational health care reform passes the House and the Senate.

Is the “public option” still on the table? Is it off the table? What is it anyway?
Is health care reform without the public option really reform at all, since theoretically one of the goals is to correct the market failure of the existing health insurance industry and make sure that everyone can have some kind of health care coverage that doesn’t break the bank?
And speaking of breaking the bank, how much will health care reform cost, and where will the revenues come from to pay for it? Are there ways to increase the efficiency of the health care system so those dollars can be used to cover more people?
Finally, if I’m a voter who currently gets health care coverage through an HMO, partially paid for by my employer, how will the current reform proposals affect me and my family?

When President Obama speaks tonight, he is expected to answer some of those questions… but then Congress has to carry the ball. Yes, health care reform is big and complicated and potentially expensive. But it’s also needed. Desperately. And as the President said, there is no excuse for not trying.

For more information on federal health care reform legislation, visit the National Coalition on Health Care or Families USA.

The Chatter About Charters

2009-03-10T21:53:00.000-04:00

Did you listen to President Obama’s speech to the Hispanic Chamber of Commerce today? I don’t know how much it varied to his standard stump speech on education. I was happy, but not surprised, to hear him identify high quality early childhood education as a priority.

But today I was listening with a new perspective, and this bit caught my attention:

“Now, that leads me to the fourth part of America's education strategy - promoting innovation and excellence in America's schools. One of the places where much of that innovation occurs is in our most effective charter schools. And these are public schools founded by parents, teachers, and civic or community organizations with broad leeway to innovate - schools I supported as a state legislator and a United States senator.

But right now, there are many caps on how many charter schools are allowed in some states, no matter how well they're preparing our students. That isn't good for our children, our economy, or our country. Of course, any expansion of charter schools must not result in the spread of mediocrity, but in the advancement of excellence. And that will require states adopting both a rigorous selection and review process to ensure that a charter school's autonomy is coupled with greater accountability - as well as a strategy, like the one in Chicago, to close charter schools that are not working. Provided this greater accountability, I call on states to reform their charter rules, and lift caps on the number of allowable charter schools, wherever such caps are in place.”

I confess that I am a newcomer to the charter school debate. I have been vaguely aware for some time that the teacher unions weren’t crazy about them. And since I have great respect for teachers and count many as friends, I assumed that I agreed. I’ve also been engaged in many a stressful budget year as a parent in the local public schools, so the thought of children leaving their home schools and taking their per child state education funding with them (in our case out of district) didn’t sit well with me. And finally, I generally lumped charter schools into the same category as private schools and school vouchers – options that could potentially drain engaged students and parents out of the struggling public schools that need them the most.

So it was almost with embarrassment that I recently entered my own child in the local charter school lottery. When we learned that he had a spot, I was filled with a mix of relief and excitement for my son, who I am certain will thrive in the new environment, and guilt for all the reasons I listed above.

The experience has made me look a little more deeply into charter schools and the debate they engender. Here are the basic arguments on both sides.

The National Alliance for Public Charter Schools says that because charter schools are more flexible (they typically have fewer restrictions on curriculum, structure, hiring, etc.) they are more responsive to their students. In some cases, charters use innovative strategies to meet the needs of underserved students. Because they usually report to their own boards, charter schools argue that they have a high level of accountability, and that they have a strong track record of success.

While the National Education Association cautiously acknowledges some potential benefits that can be drawn from charters, they also point to accountability issues. Citing a report from the U.S. Department of Education on its web site, the NEA argues that, “…the U.S. Department of Education found that many charter school authorizers lack the capacity to adequately oversee charter school operations, often lack authority to implement formal sanctions, and rarely invoke the authority they do have to revoke or not renew a charter. Where charters have been revoked or not renewed, the decision has been linked more to noncompliance with state and federal regulations and financial problems than with academic performance.” In other words, when charters fail to make an academic difference for their students they don't always get shut down.

Obama’s speech today addressed some of those concerns, while simultaneously calling on states to lift any caps on the number of charter schools approved. I think that’s a sound way to move forward in a policy area with such strong potential. In addition to meeting the needs of many students today, the lessons learned as charter schools innovate and experiment could be more widely and effectively disseminated into the public school community at large – exponentially increasing the number of students they benefit. That’s what I believe as a student of policy. As a parent who values public education, I'm grateful that the option is there for my child.

Currently the Massachusetts Legislature is considering two proposals related to charter schools. The first, which the Massachusetts Charter Public School Association opposes, would create a separate budgetary account for charter school funding, and reduce the per-student state expenditure for each student. This is consistent with the Massachusetts Teachers Association’s position that charter schools should not divert public school funds at the local level.

The other proposal would, as President Obama suggested, lift the cap on the number of charter schools in the Commonwealth, and target their development to high need areas.

If you are a parent, a student, a teacher or just a concerned citizen in Massachusetts, you might want to weigh in on these proposals with your state legislators.

Have you had experience with charters, positive or negative? What do you think of President Obama’s casting of them as a tool for the “advancement of excellence?” As I learn more about the charter experience on the personal and professional level, I would appreciate your comments.

States Should Act Now to Invest in Children

2009-02-25T15:06:00.000-05:00

One of the guidelines I’ve read about blogging is that you shouldn’t start a blog unless you have something that interests you so much that you will be able to write about it at least once a week. Hmmm. I seem to have fallen behind, and I apologize. But I assure you that my absence wasn’t due to lack of interest, but to a paralysis of indecision regarding where to start (ok, that and school vacation – all you parents out there will understand). Actually, the situation is that there are so many ideas to act upon that I’m not sure where to start.

Kind of like states implementing the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (also known as the stimulus package).

I just got off a timely conference call hosted by Danielle Ewen at the Center on Law and Social Policy and Helen Blank at the National Women’s Law Center. Here’s the gist. There is money available to states to do important work in the area of child care and early childhood education, that will create and preserve jobs and help families get through this economic crisis. Funding will come through increases in the Child Care and Development Block Grant, Head Start, and Title I. A state by state breakdown of dollars is available from the National Education Association here. States have a lot of flexibility in how to use the new funds, but they have to act now.

With $2 billion new dollars in federal child care funding, $1.1 billion in Early Head Start, $1 billion in Head Start, and $10 billion in Title I, there is clearly an opportunity to strengthen child care and early childhood education services at the state and local levels, which will create and preserve jobs (think teachers, trainers, quality specialists) and help parents stay in their jobs by making child care more affordable. You can track how states are using federal recovery dollars here.

It’s important for state and local administrators not to fall prey to the paralysis of indecision, but to act quickly to turn that money around and invest it in children, families, and communities. It’s important to get these investments right, and they will be held accountable by the feds for the numbers of jobs created and saved. But we have children on the waitlist for child care subsidies today. And programs closing classrooms and laying off teachers because parents can’t afford to send their children. States should not wait until they have the perfect plan to act. As President Obama said in his address last night, “the cost of inaction will be far greater.”

Economic Recovery Conference Committee Meeting

2009-02-11T08:16:00.000-05:00

The conference committee is meeting as we speak to work out differences between house and senate versions of the economic recovery plan. Here are the members (thanks NWLC!).

The House conferees include:
Rep. David Obey (D-WI)
Rep. Charles Rangel (D-NY)
Rep. Henry Waxman (D-CA)
Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-CA)
Rep. Jerry Lewis (R-CA)
Rep. Dave Camp (R-MI)

The Senate conferees are:
Senators Harry Reid (D-NV)
Max Baucus (D-MT)
Charles Grassley (R-IA)
Daniel Inouye (D-HI)
Thad Cochran (R-MS)

Senators Olympia Snowe and Susan Collins (R-ME), Arlen Specter (R-PA), and Ben Nelson (D-NE) aren't conferees, but are likely to have a role in the discussion.

If you have an opinion on the economic recovery bill, and you live in the district of one or more of these members of Congress, now is the time to get in touch! If you don't know how to reach them, go here. If you don't live in one of these districts, you can still call your members of Congress and ask them to pass your message on to the conferees. This will be a quick process, so act now!

Some great comparisons of the early childhood content of the two proposals can be found at NWLC and NAEYC.

Economic Updates

2009-02-09T14:03:00.000-05:00

One of my "frolleagues" just sent me a fun link, and it included this White House-produced summary of how the economic recovery proposal would create jobs and strengthen the economy in each state. Find your state in this document if you need more reasons to ask your Senators to move the bill.

As an update, the Senate is expected to vote on its proposal tomorrow, and the conference committee will probably work things out within the following 48 hours.

If you are concerned about child care funding (see earlier post below), then you'll be happy to know that both the Senate and House version include $2 billion in child care subsidy funding that states can use to move children of working families off waitlists for care, so their parents can find jobs or continue working as their income shrinks. Speaking of which, there was a great local article on the topic yesterday.

Jobs, the Economy, and the Health of a Community

2009-02-06T11:32:00.000-05:00

I live and do my work from a popular vacationland – Cape Cod. Although it’s a gloriously beautiful place to live, and the summers truly are fabulous (come on down and stimulate our local economy this summer!), it has a significant year-round population that’s made up of normal working people – not the Kennedy’s, and not the affluent who own summer homes here, but the people who work in the clam shacks, hotels, and retail shops during the summer but struggle to make ends meet in the off- season.

So when eight jobs are cut by one organization in mid-winter, it doesn’t go unnoticed. Here’s the story of eight such people losing their positions at the Outer Cape Health Services. For those of you who aren’t familiar with the geography, if the Cape looks like an arm to you then Outer Cape’s locations span from just above the elbow to its fingertips. According to the Cape Cod Times article, in 2007 the organization provided treatment and preventative care to 11,000 individuals of all ages. The closest hospital to its clinics in Wellfleet and Provincetown is 50 miles away in Hyannis.

Other than my concern for those eight neighbors who lost their jobs, as well as concern for their families and the many people who get their health care from the clinics, why would I write about these job losses on this blog? This is a state and federal policy blog, not one that catalogues the many economic challenges of my chosen home.

Here’s why. When critics of the current economic stimulus bill criticize the proposal for not creating jobs, they’re forgetting about those eight people on the Lower and Outer Cape, and many others like them across the country.

About 40% of Outer Cape Health Center’s revenue is federal, state and local public funding. The stimulus bill proposed by the House proposes an additional $250 million for health center operations in FY09, and $250 million more in FY10. In addition, both the House and Senate proposals include provisions to train people in health care jobs. Here’s a summary of how current stimulus proposals would strengthen community health centers – and the many people who have jobs at them.

Passing the economic recovery plan wouldn’t completely solve Outer Cape’s problems. As the Cape Cod Times article explains, they could also use an additional physician so they could serve more patients and increase the piece of the organization’s revenue (currently at 52%) that comes from patients. But the funds outlined above and the $37 billion + in Medicaid funds included in at least the House proposal (see analysis from the National Conference of State Legislatures highlighted earlier in this blog) would go a long way toward helping community health centers, the people who still have jobs in them, and the people they serve – a population that will only increase during these economic times.

There’s one more reason to move the economic stimulus plan out of Congress now. If you need contact information for your Senators, click here.

Update on the Child Health Insurance Program

2009-01-30T08:42:00.000-05:00

The Senate approved its renewal of the CHIP program yesterday, extending health benefits to children of legal immigrants, and paying for it by raising the tax on cigarettes by 61 cents per pack. The vote was 66 to 32. For more details see this article in the Washington Post.

The Fed to State Economic Connection

2009-01-29T12:14:00.000-05:00

The news is fast and furious this morning – yesterday the House passed its version of the federal economic stimulus package, and the Governor simultaneously released his proposed Fiscal Year 2010 budget and significant cuts to the budget for the current budget year.

How are these two things related? Pretty significantly, as it turns out. A little more than a quarter of the $819 billion estimated cost of the House’s economic plan takes the form of aid to states, according to the Boston Globe for expenses like highways, drinking water, weatherization, child care, school construction, help with Medicaid, and the largest category – fiscal stabilization. The National Council of State Legislatures has broken down the numbers for most states (but not Massachusetts) here.

Critics of the House bill are citing high costs, a rejection of additional tax cuts proposed by Republican members, and a shortage of investments in infrastructure and transportation. The bill definitely seems to have traded off some of the market-stimulating investments (especially infrastructure and tax cuts to businesses) for direct benefits to individuals and families – extended unemployment benefits, child care assistance, and one time $500 per person tax rebates – to ease the immediate effects of the economic crisis.

How these numbers come out in the end remains to be seen, but I’m thinking state legislators everywhere are feeling at least a little relief as they approach state budgets for next fiscal year. The Senate has released its version of economic stimulus plan from its Appropriations Committee, and is expected to debate it on the Senate floor next week. You can bet that state legislatures will be staying tuned to the federal debate in hopes of some help in handling their own budget woes.

In other, not completely unrelated news, President Obama signed his first bill into law today with fair pay icon Lilly Ledbetter at his side. The two people who I bet she wishes could be at the signing of the Lilly Ledbetter Fair Pay Restoration Act with her? Her husband who passed away last year, and the insightful and brave co-worker who passed her that note in 1998, telling her that she was being paid less than the 16 men who did the same job, some with less experience. Here’s a particularly lovely quote from President Obama from his speech at the signing:

And I sign this bill for my daughters, and all those who will come after us, because I want them to grow up in a nation that values their contributions, where there are no limits to their dreams and they have opportunities their mothers and grandmothers never could have imagined.

Towns and Schools Face an Uncertain Future Together

2009-01-25T19:50:00.000-05:00

It’s going to be a tough budget year at the State House. With the economy in a continual downward spiral, Governor Patrick is simultaneously talking about another round of mid-year cuts and preparing municipalities, state employees, and other recipients of state funds for a deeper cut in the FY10 budget which is facing a gap of about $3.1 billion. We’re still in the beginning of a long period of darkness before the eventual dawn.
What will these next few months of deep budget cuts mean for kids and families?
One major impact on children will come through proposed cuts in state aid to municipalities. Governor Patrick has announced a total cut of about $500 million in local aid, about a quarter of which has to be implemented in this fiscal year (before June). The rest will be part of the FY10 budget proposal he is expected to release this Wednesday. In addition to the families who will lose income directly as towns lay off employees and make cuts to services ranging from libraries to public safety, the cuts will likely have a significant impact on school budgets. In Massachusetts, approximately half of public school expenditures are teacher and specialist salaries (about 37%) and related benefits like health insurance and retirement (about 15%). With most other categories (including administration, at around 3%) in the single digits, massive cuts are going to be hard to implement without cutting back on teachers and increasing class size.
Each municipality will have to decide how it will handle these cuts, and how much they will impact their school districts. Some of the factors they will have to consider are the percentage of the school budget already paid for with local taxes, the capacity and will of the community to raise more revenue through Proposition 2 ½ overrides, and their ability to cut expenditures both in school budgets and in the other areas of the municipal budgets. Ideally, towns will also consider the current quality and effectiveness of their school districts, and how cuts will impact the future of their students. Stakeholders in local districts (town elected officials, town and school administrators, residents and employees) need to start considering those factors now, and be ready to advocate for the most appropriate fiscal strategies for their communities.
What effects of the upcoming budget cuts are you already feeling – in your home, your workplace, or your community? What unexpected strategies have you found for getting by in these difficult times? What suggestions do you have to the Governor and legislature as they make these cuts? Let’s bring the discussion from the State House to the kitchen table and back again, so we can all own the solution to these difficult economic times.

An Update on Economic Recovery from NWLC

2009-01-15T16:30:00.000-05:00

From the National Women's Law Center:

The House just released its proposal for the economic recovery package, and it provides funding for many important child care, early education, and related programs, including:

-$2 billion for the Child Care and Development Block Grant to provide child care services for an additional 300,000 children in low-income families while their parents go to work.

-$2.1 billion for Head Start to provide comprehensive development services to help 110,000 additional children succeed in school.

-$600 million for IDEA Infants and Families for formula grants to help states serve children with disabilities age 2 and younger.

-$726 million for Afterschool Meals to increase the number of states that provide free dinners to children and to encourage participation by new institutions by increasing snack reimbursement rates

-$2.5 billion for Temporary Assistance for Needy Families for block grants to help States deal with the surge in families needing help during the recession and to prevent them from cutting work programs and services for abused and neglected children.

A more detailed description of the proposal can be found here: http://appropriations.house.gov/pdf/PressSummary01-15-09.pdf.

Child Health Care in Senate Committee Today

2009-01-15T11:04:00.000-05:00

Yesterday the House passed an expansion of SCHIP (State Children’s Health Insurance Program), which sends money to the states to cover health care for children. If you’ve been following this issue over the past two years, you know that the House and Senate twice passed SCHIP expansion in 2007, but President Bush vetoed those proposals. At issue were the source of funding (a higher cigarette tax) and the outgoing President’s objection to expanding government-funded health care. In these times, both state governments and working families will likely have no issues with the latter. Current funding for SCHIP runs out in March, so states need this to move now. While the cigarette tax isn’t ideal – it’s arguably a source of funding that hits low and middle-income individuals disproportionately – it’s not a deal-breaker. Smokers will pay a little more at the cash register so that kids can get health care. The American Cancer Society thinks that the cigarette tax increase will reduce smoking related deaths, and that almost 2 million fewer children will take up smoking as a result. That should save health care dollars down the road.
A version of this bill will be heard by the Senate Finance Committee today, and it’s on the fast track so it can be the first bill the incoming President Obama signs. For more details about the current and past proposals, including the one being considered today, take a look at this article from The Hill.
If you’re Senator is on the Finance Committee, you can contact them today and ask them to move the SCHIP expansion quickly. If you’re Senator is not on the committee, contact them anyway and ask them to share their support with Finance Committee Chair Max Baucus (D-MT). If you don’t know how to reach your Senators, go to http://www.usa.gov/.

3 Steps Toward Change for Children

2009-01-14T14:01:00.000-05:00

Change! In the next few days and weeks we'll be hearing that word a lot. It has almost become an Obama brand, but let's not forget that we - each of us - can make change too. Here are three things you can do in the next week that can change the lives of children and their families for the better:

1) Celebrate Martin Luther King Jr. Day next Monday by participating in the National Day of Service. To find a service project near you, go to: http://www.mlkday.gov/ If you can, take your kids or a couple of neighborhood children with you. Nothing creates change over the long term like teaching children how to make it!

2) Call your members of Congress and ask them to support child care and Head Start in the Economic Recovery Bill, and to share their support with key leadership. In the short term, child care support will allow parents who are losing income to stay in their jobs or look for new ones, and will maintain jobs (especially for low- to middle-income women) in the early childhood education field. Most importantly, it can give kids stability and the many benefits of high quality early childhood education while their parents work or look for jobs. Key organizations have asked the incoming administration and Congressional leaders to include a $3 billion increase in child care funding, and a $3 billion Head Start increase in the upcoming Economic Recovery Bill. If you don't know how to reach your Representatives and Senators, go to: http://www.usa.gov/Contact/Elected.shtml For more information about federal support for child care, and why it's critical to economic recovery, go to: http://www.nwlc.org/pdf/ChildCareEconomicStimulusNov2008.pdf

3) As you get ready to attend or watch the historic Inauguration of President Obama, begin learning about the many child and family policy issues the new Administration and Congress will be tackling over the next two years. Congress is preparing to reauthorize funding and policy related to critical issues like education and nutrition (including school lunches), while simultaneously managing the country out of an historically bad economy. You can weigh in, and ensure that Congress and the President put children and families first.

You can make change for children and families - today, next week, and in the coming months and years. Stay tuned to this blog and to http://www.childandfamilypolicy.net/ to find out how!