The state just released its biennial Healthy Youth Survey, which gathers anonymous responses from middle and high school students around the state on a number of health-related topics.

The survey results show some great progress on nutrition, but the improvements could come to a halt if the state moves forward with a bill to eliminate nutrition and physical exercise goals in the schools.

At age 19, Laura Montejano had cut off ties to her family in a fit of teenage anger and rebellion. Partly to spite her family, she got married—and didn’t tell them. Her new husband, Francisco, was young too, and new to Washington state, with no community ties. Neither had a college diploma; Laura worked as a nursing assistant and Francisco bused tables in a restaurant.

So when she found herself pregnant, she panicked.  “I felt so alone,” Laura said. She knew she needed help. “I knew I needed something, but I didn’t know what.”

You may have read in newspapers and blogs about the passage of House Bill 2128. Here’s some more detail about what the bill would do.

Last Tuesday, six-year-old Zoe Osborne and her parents got a very special present in the mail: an Apple Health for Kids coupon.  For Zoe and her parents, the legislature’s directive to finally start enrolling families whose coverage was suspended earlier this year isn’t abstract.

We and others have already reported that Washington state’s Children’s Health Insurance Program (CHIP) allotment from the federal government is getting bumped up by about $14 million a year, giving the state access to an estimated $94 million each year.

While great news for kids, CHIP isn’t just about the allotment.