25th Anniversary Kids Celebration Sept. 13

Children's Campaign Fund 25th Anniversary Celebration and Fundraiser

At the home of Representative Ruth Kagi in the beautiful Dunn Gardens 13504 8th Ave. NW, Seattle, 98117 Sunday, September 13, 2015 1 until 4 p.m. All ages welcome

Meet us under the big tent with other advocates for kids to celebrate our 25th year electing legislative champions for children in Washington.

Join us under the big tent in the beautiful Dunn Gardens with the roving tumblers and acrobats of SANCA, a nonprofit offering performing art opportunities for children of all backgrounds.

The program includes personal stories from three 2015 legislative successes, the YEAR Act, the Homeless Youth Act and Early Start Act. Your CCF contributions help critical legislation, such as these, succeed!

Event Schedule Activities and entertainment from 1 until 2 p.m. Light refreshments, libations, socializing starting at 2 p.m. CCF's 25th anniversary celebration program from 3 until 4 p.m.

Children's Campaign Fund is raising significant funds to continue our mission of electing champions for children in the Washington legislature for another 25 years. Suggested contribution levels for our guests: $250, $50, $25

Thank You to Our Event Sponsors

Benefactors $2,500+ Connie and Steve Ballmer

Champions $1,000+ Bobbe and Jon Bridge

Patrons $500+ Ginny English Lynn Kessler Cynthia Shurtleff Jack and Gayle Thompson

Community Sponsors $250+ Nancy Ashley Julia Calhoun Sheila Capestany Kathy Carson Dovetailing Danette Glassy Rhonda Levitt and Charles Cowan Paola Maranan Patricia Matthieu Maren Norton ParentMap Jill Sells and Tom Kramer Ann Ramsay-Jenkins Kim Wesselman Kinnon Williams

Event Sponsors $100 - $200 Nancy Amidei Sarah Butcher Kathy Carson Suzanne Dale Estey Patty Hayes William Hochberg Michael Kasprzak and Betty Williams Hannah Lidman Donna Patrick Shari Winstead Reid Yamamoto

Sponsorship opportunities are available: For more info, please email us at info@childrenscampaignfund.org. or call Call Rene 206-963-6010, Michele at 425-773-2826

2015 Legislative Report

The 2015 Washington State Legislative Session was a big success for children’s issues!

Children’s Campaign Fund applauds the Washington Senate and House of Representatives for supporting sound and effective legislation that will help children succeed.

We are thrilled to report that the elected CCF Champions for Children offered bipartisan support for the Children’s Campaign Fund legislative priorities.

We give our gratitude to the Champions for Children for their leadership to help pass the Early Start Act (SB 5452), Anti-sex Trafficking (SB 5884), YEAR Act (SB 5564), Homeless Youth Act (SB 5404), and Extended Foster Care (SB 5740).

The 2015 CCF Champions include: Rep. Reuven Carlyle (D), 36th Rep. Judy Clibborn (D), 41st Rep. Frank Chopp (D),43rd Rep. Eileen Cody (D), 34th Rep. Hans Dunshee (D), 44th Sen. Joe Fain (R), 47th Sen. David Frockt (D), 46th Rep. Roger Goodman (D), 45th Sen. Cyrus Habib (D), 48th Sen. Andy Hill (R), 45th Rep. Ross Hunter (D), 48th Rep. Ruth Kagi (D), 32nd Sen. Karen Keiser (D), 33rd Sen. Jeanne Kohl-Welles (D), 36th Sen. Sharon Nelson (D), 34th Rep. Lillian Ortiz-Self (D), 21st Rep. Kevin Parker (R), 6th Rep. Eric Pettigrew (D), 37th Rep. June Robinson (D), 38th Rep. Tana Senn (D), 41st Rep. Pat Sullivan (D), 47th Rep. Maureen Walsh (R), 16th

Early Start Act, Senate Bill 5452

Sponsors: Sen. Steve Litzow (prime sponsor), and Senators Billig, Fain, Dammeier, Hargrove, Hill, Rivers, Brown, Mullet, Frockt, Jayapal, Angel, Cleveland, Kohl-Welles, Keiser, McAuliffe and Habib

More Washington children will enter elementary school prepared because of the Early Start Art. The landmark legislation, which garnered bipartisan support, provides parents and guardians access to high-quality early learning programs for preschool-age children. It sets quality standards for early learning and provides support to early learning educators across Washington state.

Anti-sex Traffiicking, Senate Bill 5884

Sponsors: Sen. Jeanne Kohl-Welles (prime sponsor), and Senators Darneille, Padden, Keiser, Conway, Chase and Hasegawa

With the creation of a human trafficking information clearinghouse and activating the Washington State Task Force on the Trafficking of Persons, our state continues the fight against human exploitation.

The clearinghouse serves the many groups working to combat human trafficking, and helps them share resources and collaborate to curb trafficking. This bill also reauthorizes the Commercially Sexually Exploited Children Statewide Coordinating Committee to continue to address increasing protections for exploited youth by examining local and regional practices and data as well as making recommendations on Washington laws and practices.

YEAR Act, Senate Bill 5564

Sponsored: Sen. Steve O'Ban (prime sponsor), and Senators Darneille, Miloscia, Hargrove, Kohl-Welles, Fain, Jayapal, Brown, Habib, Dammeier, Frockt, Litzow, Warnick, Hasegawa, and McAuliffe

The YEAR Act, designed to give low-income youth with juvenile records more opportunities, allows automatic sealing of juvenile offense records for youth without regard to ability to pay legal financial obligations. It eliminates many of the court fines and fees that create a financial burden and barriers to seal records for juvenile non-violent offenders.

Homeless Youth Prevention and Protection (HYPP) Act, Senate Bill 5404

Sponsors: Sen. Steve O'Ban (prime sponsor), and Senators Darneille, Frockt, Miloscia, Kohl-Welles, McAuliffe, Chase, Pedersen, and Conway

The HYPP Act creates the Office of Youth Homelessness responsible for safety and housing services for homeless youth. Working in accord with the Washington Youth and Families Fund, the office oversees investments in stable housing, education and employment opportunities, and addresses the wellbeing of young people experiencing homelessness.

Extended Foster Care (EFC), Senate Bill 5740

Sponsors: Sen. Joe Fain (prime sponsor), and Senators Billig, Litzow, McAuliffe, Frockt, Miloscia, Darneille and Jayapal

This bill helps young adults aging out of Washington’s foster care system with safe and appropriate housing support. It supports youth in foster care as they transition into adulthood with the resources necessary to achieve educational and professional goals.

While two other Children’s Campaign Fund 2015 legislative priorities, Social Emotional Learning Bill (HB 1760, SB 5688) and Breakfast After the Bell (HB 1295, SB 5437), were not signed into law, CCF considers the bipartisan efforts by the House and Senate on behalf of these bills and their inclusion into the 2015 budget a success for children.

Best Starts for Kids Tax Levy

Officials Predict Long-term Savings from Best Starts for Kids Tax Levy

by Mark Hennon

(This articles comes to us from an attendee at the June 17, 2015 meeting of the 36th District Democrats)

State, county, and city officials joined with children's health advocates to present the why and how of the Best Starts for Kids initiative June 17 at the Phinney Community Hall in Seattle.

State Representative Ruth Kagi, King County Councilmember Rod Dembowski, and Seattle City Councilmember Tim Burgess revealed details of the proposed November ballot measure.

"It's the right thing to do, it's also the fiscally responsible thing to do," Dembowski said of the proposed 14-cent levy per $1,000 of assessed property value.

Jason Gortney of the Children's Home Society of Washington told how toxic stress in young children leads to many physical and mental problems.

And "once they get behind," Kagi said, "they tend to stay behind."

Burgess said better childhood care means "much, much, lower involvement with the criminal justice system."

The five-member panel addressed the 36th Legislative District Democrats monthly meeting, with a spirited discussion following the hour-long slideshow and talks.

Jennifer DeYoung, a health care reform analyst for Public Health - Seattle and King County, said investing in early development prevents chronic disease, abuse, neglect, domestic violence, and other crime.

The time is right, Dembowski said, for "ending the school-to-prison pipeline" that starts with school suspensions, and continues with dropouts, unemployment, reliance on social-welfare programs, and imprisonment--all very costly to the taxpayer. "For a $400,000 home," he said, Best Starts for Kids would cost "about a dollar a week."

State budgetary battles make it unlikely much help will arrive from Olympia this year, Kagi said, but she expressed optimism that legislators may eventually approve a capital gains tax.

The Best Starts for Kids levy would last six years, completing a "continuum of response from early pregnancy to age five and beyond," Burgess said, and extend "proven outcome programs" from Seattle to the rest of King County.

DeYoung said the Gates Foundation is developing one of the programs the initiative may emulate.

The King County Department of Community and Human Services would oversee Best Starts for Kids finances and reporting. According to the proposed King County ordinance, if the King County Council puts the measure on the ballot and voters approve it, community-based organizations could submit competitive bids for outcomes-focused contracts.

Fifty percent of levy revenue would go to help children under age five and pregnant women, thirty-five percent to help children and youth ages five to 24, nine percent to the partnership between King County and The Seattle Foundation on Communities of Opportunity, and the final six percent for evaluation and data collection to ensure delivery of "results for every child in King County."