Children's Alliance News

Washington Apple Health For Kids On Tour

The coverage for all kids program in Washington State has a new name; Washington Apple Health for Kids!

The Children's Alliance won a landmark campaign in 2007 with the passage of the Cover All Kids law. Now the Children's Alliance is working hard to make sure parents and caregivers have the information and access to get connected to the health coverage that is now available.

We're pleased that the State has announced the new name, and more importantly, an ambitious outreach and media campaign to spread the word about coverage for kids. The outreach effort includes a bus tour to fifteen cities around the state. The kick-off event was yesterday at Rainier Playfield in Seattle. Governor Chris Gregoire and King County Executive Ron Sims were on hand along with community members to launch the tour. The next stop on the tour is at Bellingham's KidsFest on Saturday.

Washington House of Representatives Speaker Frank Chopp, who was a champion of the new law, welcomed the announcement of the new name.

"We are well down the road to making sure every Washington child has health care. A child's good health is the foundation for success in school and success in life. What better name than Apple Health for Kids for our children's health program?  An apple a day means nutrition and wellness. An apple for the teacher means healthy kids doing well in good schools. And an apple, in Washington state, means economic vitality for the entire state where every child has the ability to grow healthy and thrive. To me, it is the perfect symbol for the best children's health program in the nation."

The Apple Health media campaign is one important strategy to spread the word to families and caregivers and get kids connected to the coverage they need. The message must be shared with all communities as many more families are eligible now and even more will be eligible in January 2009 when the income limit will increase slightly to three times the federal poverty level, or about $5,300 per month for a family of four.

If you have any questions about the Children's Alliance's work to cover all kids contact Health Policy Associate Annique Lennon.

Live From D.C.

In a whirlwind day, Children's Alliance staff Teresa Mosqueda and Annique Lennon, visited 10 of our 11 Congressional delegation members to draw attention to the health of Washington's children. While conversations about reauthorizing the popular and bipartisan federal State Children's Health Insurance Program (SCHIP) are not gracing the headlines lately, SCHIP is set to expire in March 2009. Comprehensive SCHIP reauthorization that addresses critical priorities for kids must be passed before April to ensure that states are able to maintain and expand coverage to millions of uninsured children. Washington's families are depending on Congress to pass a comprehensive SCHIP bill within the next eight months. Our state's Cover All Kids law relies in large part on federal funds to match our state's financial contribution. We will keep you updated as the issue moves through Congress. If you're not yet a member of the Children's Action Network sign up now so you can take quick and effective action to support SCHIP!

The Children's Alliance health policy team was in D.C. to meet with a national group of advocates working to expand access to healthcare for kids in eight different states. Washington State was often referenced as an example of successful coalition building with advocates and state partners. All eyes are on Washington as other states continue to look to us for models of how to get all kids covered.

Court Holds State Accountable

Children living in foster care need what all kids need: love, stability, health, safety and a path to create a successful adult life. For too long in Washington State children living in foster care haven't gotten what they need. A court decision this past week ordered the Department of Social and Health Services (DSHS) to keep the promises made to foster kids in the 2004 settlement of the Braam v. Washington lawsuit.

The Braam lawsuit is a class-action lawsuit brought on behalf of children in WA's foster care system. In 2004 DSHS and the plaintiffs reached a settlement agreement that includes major reforms to the foster care system. On June 30th the court found that DSHS has failed to comply with the agreement in four key areas and ordered the Department to change their practices as well as provide accurate data regarding foster children, or face ongoing court monitoring.

You can read the Columbia Legal Services press release about the decision on our website. Children's Alliance Executive Director, Paola Maranan was quoted in an article on the court action in The Olympian. For more links to press coverage and details on the court decision visit www.braamkids.org.

Making Child Welfare Work for All Kids

Kids of color, particularly African American, Native American and Latino children are more likely to enter into the child welfare system, and once there, they stay in the system longer than white kids. This information is not a surprise to child advocates or communities of color, but it has now been verified by a report issued by the Washington State Institute for Public Policy for the statewide Racial Disproportionality Advisory Committee.

The report found that African American, Native American and Latino children are impacted disproportionately at each decision point as they move through the child welfare system. This finding held true even when researchers compared the experiences of white children and children of color who come from families with similar economic status and family structures.

In 2007, the Children's Alliance and other partners successfully lobbied the legislature to pass Substitute House Bill 1472. The legislation created the Disproportionality Advisory Committee and tasked the members to determine to what degree disproportionality exists in Washington's child welfare system, and to come up with a plan to reduce disproportionality.

In a press release on 6/26/08 the Children's Alliance Executive Director Paola Maranan, who serves on the Committee, said the results of the new report are not surprising, but that it provides critical data that can be used to fuel changes in policy and practice that will make the system work for all kids.

"We have hard work ahead of us to hone in on the strategies, the programs and the actions needed to fix the child welfare system in this state—particularly as it affects children of color. The Children’s Alliance firmly believes that if we can fix the child welfare system for children of color we’ll go a long ways towards fixing the system for all children."

Articles or editorials in the Seattle P-I, the Bellingham Herald, the Seattle Times and other media have covered the findings in the report. If you'd like to receive a twice a week review of media coverage of kids issues in Washington, subscribe now to the Children's Alliance Media Digest.

Have a Heart Day for Kids Day in the Seattle P-I

A feature story about the Lake Washington Girls Middle School in the Seattle P-I this week highlighted the students' participation in The Children's Alliance annual lobby day in Olympia, Have a Heart for Kids Day. All the students at this all girls private middle school came to the capitol to advocate for making school lunch better and more available to all kids. The trip reflects the school's focus on social justice. The article in Tuesday's P-I includes a photo essay. You can read the article, and see some great pictures of girls meeting the Governor and going on lobby visits.

Children's Alliance Celebrates 25 Years

Guests Leita Ovena, Jon Leveque, the first
Executive Director of the Children's Alliance, and
Kikora Dorsey, a former Board Member

The Children’s Alliance 25th anniversary celebration was a phenomenal success. It was a warm, heartening gathering of committed advocates for kids. It was a joyful celebration of 25 years of hard-won victories. And it was an inspiring call to action to recommit ourselves to the struggle for justice until every child is free from want, every child is safe and protected and every child has a real chance for success. And lastly, it was a generous outpouring of support that brought in more than $90,000 in donations for the Children’s Alliance’s work.

The Governor flew in directly from Spokane to share the evening with the Children’s Alliance. In her speech she honored the persistent and powerful work of the Children’s Alliance to put kids first in Washington.

Bill Bentley, CEO of the national VOICES for America’s Children organization painted a compelling picture of the urgent need for action for justice for all children, especially children of color and low-income children nationwide.

Great youth performers from the Northwest Girls Choir, Roosevelt Highschool Drumline and the Garfield High School Jazz Lab all contributed their talents to make the evening full of music.

A dozen students from the acclaimed Leschi Elementary School Choir brought down the house with their soulful rendition of “Who Will Speak for the Children?”, led by Choir Director Debbie Cavitt.

Dr. Ben Danielson, Medical Director of Odessa Brown Children’s Clinic and Board member of the Children’s Alliance, took the stage after the choir sang, but soon realized that the stage truly belonged to the little girl in the front row of the choir, who had discovered she could see herself on the giant video screen on the opposite wall of the ballroom. Her sly glances and dramatic poses rocked the house with laughter. Dr. Ben took it all with grace and his remarks still went straight to the heart of the work of the Children’s Alliance and appealed to each one present to give generously. And they did.

Many thanks are due to many people who made this event, and the organization it celebrated, possible. You’ll be thanked in many ways, but for now you know who you are, and we are grateful to you.

Visit the Children’s Alliance website to see pictures and videos from the event.  More are being posted daily. Share your story from the event! Just click the comments button which is just after the date, directly below this post.

Early Learning = Basic Education

Seventeen organizations, including the Children's Alliance, have issued a statement to the Washington State Joint Task Force on Basic Education Finance urging the members of the Task Force to include early learning in the revised definition of Basic Education.

"Washington State cannot ensure a basic education for all, let alone reach a higher goal, without ensuring that children gain the intellectual and social skills required for success in school prior to entering the K-12 system."

The statement details four shared principles developed by the stakeholders and includes a compelling, clear analysis of the role of early learning in creating an effective statewide system of basic education.

The state's Joint Task Force on Basic Education Finance is meeting in Olympia today and tomorrow to consider this input as they work to develop a new definition of basic education and a financing proposal.

For more information you can read the Stakeholder Statement Regarding Early Learning and Basic Education or contact Leslie Dozono, Children's Alliance Early Learning Policy Coordinator.

Did They Vote For Kids? 2008 Legislative Scorecard

Yesterday we released our second annual report on how Washington State legislators measure up on issues that impact kids in our communities. The 2008 legislative scorecard, Did They Vote For Kids? provides a detailed analysis of the track record of your State Senators and Representatives as well as a 1-5 star rating for each lawmaker.

This report gives you the power to know exactly what legislative action your Senators and Representatives took for kids this year and you can even compare your legislators' performance in 2007 to this year. 

If you're not sure who your state legislators are, you can look up your district now.

Download and read the report the way you want to read it:

Full Report
Senate Voting Record
House of Representatives Voting Record
Voting Record by District

"Child welfare up close"

Today the Seattle Times editorial board called on the leadership of Washington State's Department of Social and Health Services (DSHS) to take a closer look at the children in our state's care who are suffering as a result of racial inequality in our child welfare system.

"Children of color are being harmed by the system; focusing on those children is the way to understand and resolve this."

We know that African American and Native American kids are more likely to be removed from their families than children in white families in similar situations. We also know that once kids are placed in the state's care, African American and Native children don't get what they need to succeed and thrive.

The editorial is a call to action to the people at the highest levels of our child welfare system to take proactive action to solve the problems that lead to racial disparities.

In 2007 the Children’s Alliance helped to pass legislation establishing a Racial Disproportionality Advisory Committee to review disparities in Washington State’s child welfare system and develop recommendations to create an equitable system that serves all communities. Executive Director of the Children’s Alliance Paola Maranan is serving on the committee. The Committee will release it's report before the next legislative session.

Read the full editorial to learn more. Get involved with the Children's Alliance today and help make the child welfare system work for all kids.

Linda Stone Recieves Cynthia F. Shurtleff Award

The Children's Alliance is proud to announce that Linda Stone, Eastern Washington Director and long time advocate to end hunger, will recieve the Cynthia F. Shurtleff Leadership Award from Within Reach. Since 1996 Within Reach has honored extraordinary individuals with this award.

"The Cynthia F. Shurtleff award honors an individual who has shown leadership and  significantly contributed to the health and well-being of women, children and families in Washington State.  This award honors an individual who has shared a vision to improve his/her community, has taken initiative to bring this vision into reality, has created innovative ways to make an impact or difference in their community, understands partnerships and is continually building them to sustain the effort and realize the vision."

Anyone who has worked with Linda has been amazed by her breadth of knowledge of policy, her commitment to make sure all kids can eat three nutritious meals a day, her tenacity, her vision and her accomplishments. Please join the Children's Alliance in congratulating Linda and expressing our gratitude for her continuing work. Linda will recieve the award at the Within Reach Luncheon on May 14th in Seattle. You can read a recent article in the Spokesman Review about Linda's work, or send her a congratulatory note.