Children's Alliance News Feed

Media Digest 7-16-2010

Submitted on Fri, 07/16/2010 - 12:07

In this edition, you’ll read about the latest version of a U.S. House of Representatives bill proposing $8 billion in additional funding over 10 years for child nutrition programs, including school breakfast and lunch. The Children’s Alliance supports President Obama’s call to Congress to fund child nutrition programs with $10 billion. You’ll also read opinions from leading business groups supporting investments in early learning now to create a more competitive workforce in the future.

House committee passes child nutrition bill I The Washington Post I 07-15-2010

The House Education and Labor Committee on Thursday passed its version of child nutrition legislation, bringing the multi-billion-dollar bill one step closer to passage. Dubbed the Improving Nutrition for America’s Children Act of 2010, the bill proposes about $8 billion in additional funding over 10 years for child nutrition programs, including school breakfast and lunch. The programs have been the main focus of Michelle Obama’s high-profile Let’s Move campaign, which aims to end childhood obesity within a generation.

Top Human Resources Group Calls for Better Investments in Children’s Programs I Birth to Thrive Online I 07-13-2010

There are plenty of good arguments for better early learning in research papers and academia, but when those arguments come from the business world it’s a big step forward. Now, one of the nation’s top human resources groups has called for smarter investments in early learning in a new brief that suggests if we want to create a competitive workforce for tomorrow, we should invest in better child care today.

Read More: Opinion: Fund early education for a strong future I Puget Sound Business Journal I 07-12-2010

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Media Digest 7-13-2010

Submitted on Tue, 07/13/2010 - 12:25

In this edition, you’ll find information on Washington State’s lack of alternative revenue sources that other states count on to fund education and health services. You’ll also read about the challenge to provide low-cost child care to community college student parents. Most student parents access child care through Working Connections, a child care program available through the Washington State Department of Social and Health Services (DSHS) that helps eligible families pay for child care. The program covered just 10 percent of families in 2005.

Chart of the week: How do Washington State’s taxes stack up? I Washington Policy Watch I 07-12-2010

Washington is one of seven states that currently has no personal income tax. But our state is more of an outlier than even that number would suggest — because of those seven states, six have an alternative source of revenue that Washington lacks. I-1098 isn’t going to be a cure-all for our fiscal and economic woes — there are many pieces to that puzzle. But it would be a step in the right direction for Washington State.

Child care at community colleges faces budget danger I Crosscut I 07-13-2010

The main struggle for the Center for Families at Edmonds Community College, which serves about 300 children over the course of a week, involves providing low-cost child care to student parents who need it most. Currently, more than 50 percent of the students enrolled at the center utilize the child care system through Working Connections, a child care program available through the Washington State Department of Social and Health Services (DSHS), helping those eligible families to pay for the costs of child care. In 2005, just 10 percent of families were covered by the program.

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Media Digest 7-8-2010

Submitted on Thu, 07/08/2010 - 12:20

In this edition, you’ll read about kids’ limited options for learning and meal programs this summer. Studies show that summer food and summer learning are linked to student achievement. You’ll also find articles on how taxing soda shrinks obesity and on France’s standard of offering preschool to all children – a standard President Obama supports.

Learning and nutrition opportunities limited in summer months I Tu Decides I 07-08-2010: In the smallest Washington towns, learning and nutrition opportunities are usually available to students during the school year but not during the summer months. “The reasons why children cannot participate in summer programs are varied. Most children that qualify for these programs come from families with very low incomes, which forces both parents to work outside the home,” says Mariela Rosas, Child Mentor Coordinator for the Children’s Home Society of Washington.
USDA: Taxing soda reduces obesity I Horse's Ass I 07-07-2010: Why are Coke, Pepsi and the rest of the beverage industry spending millions of dollars to repeal Washington’s temporary two-cent per 12-ounce serving excise tax on carbonated beverages? Because, as this new USDA study confirms, raising taxes on sugary beverages does indeed decrease consumption.
French Preschools Aim To Please Toddlers, Moms I NPR I 07-06-2010: President Obama wants to make preschool available to every child in the United States. In Europe, universal preschool is a pillar of society, allowing women to work and kids to be socialized. In France, children start school at age 3, and 100 percent of three, four and five-year-olds attend preschool. So everyone starts first grade on an equal footing.
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Media Digest 7-6-2010

Submitted on Tue, 07/06/2010 - 14:51

In this edition you can find several news updates on the connections between our statewide policies in early learning and kids' health and what happens (or doesn't happen) in the other Washington. And you'll find several updates on statewide ballot initiatives on tax policy. Children's Alliance Deputy Director Jon Gould brings the perspective of kids' advocates to an article reporting that the American Beverage Association-backed attack on the candy and soda tax will likely make it to the ballot.

Wash. anti-tax campaigns turns in signatures | Seattle Times I 07-02-2010

Two anti-tax initiatives moved closer Friday to making the November ballot when supporters turned in petitions with hundreds of thousands of signatures. The tax on soda adds 2 cents to the sale of every 12-ounce container but exempts bottlers with $10 million or less in sales volume. The loss of revenue from the taxes would bring more cuts to state programs, said Jon Gould of the Children's Alliance, which opposes the initiative. "The choice for us is clear, a few extra pennies or the loss of essential services for kids," he said.

Experiments in soda taxes and pay walls I The Curious Capitalist - Time Magazine I 07-02-2010

My story in this week's magazine is about the movement among state and local governments to tax soda. Such taxes are seen as a way to both raise revenue and discourage consumption of a product linked to obesity (and, in turn, rising health costs). As Kansas state senator John Vratil told me, "I thought we might kill two birds with one stone." First of all, there's not any convincing evidence that a soda tax would cost people their jobs. Yes, a penny-per-ounce tax would raise the price of a 2 liter bottle of soda by 68 cents, and that would surely cause people to buy less of it. But does that mean they'd switch over to tap water?

Opinion: Evolution of politics around health care has been breathtaking | Seattle Times I 07-04-2010

Federal health-care reform cannot be rhetorical only. Yet, guest columnist Brendan Williams, a Washington state representative, argues that is what it will be if federal Medicaid money is not approved by Congress. On March 23, after a decades-long congressional battle, a new federal commitment to ensuring health-care access was signed into law. For many it was a triumphant moment. Yet just two months later, on May 28, the House stripped $24 billion in promised Medicaid funding out of a federal jobs bill.

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Media Digest 7-1-2010

Submitted on Thu, 07/01/2010 - 12:41

In this edition, you’ll read about a new report showing that despite rising childhood hunger in the summer, there are fewer summer meal sites available for children in Washington State. Linda Stone, Senior Food Policy Coordinator at Children’s Alliance, explains how fewer resources to offer summer schools and recreation programs are also cutting down access to summer meals. You’ll also find an article celebrating the reunification of families involved in the foster care system that features the work of two recent Children's Alliance Voices for Children Awardees.

Fewer Summer Meal Programs Available For Children I KUOW I 06-30-2010

A report from the Food Research and Action Center shows there are fewer summer meal programs available for poor children. In Washington there are 700 schools, parks and community centers that serve sack lunches — that's 23 fewer than last summer. Linda Stone, senior food policy at the Children's Alliance, says, "Increasingly, school districts don't have the resources to offer summer schools, or any kind of enrichment or recreation programs in the summertime...so what all this means is that not only do kids not have access to those recreation and education resources, but they don't have access to any meals during the summertime."

Courts reunite happy parents, kids in dependency cases | Seattle Times I 06-24-2010

On June 24th, amid applause and cheers, Anderson won her children back, one of a handful of dependency cases celebrated for their happy endings as part of King County Youth Services' first annual Reunion Week. "People can change and families do reunite," said Nancy Roberts-Brown, director of Catalyst For Kids. Of hundreds of children who are removed from their families each year in Washington state because of abuse and neglect, two-thirds are ultimately returned to their families. Nancy Roberts-Brown and Kimberly Mays are both Children's Alliance Voices for Children award recipients.

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