Be a Voice for Children

Rene Murry Chair of the Board Children’s Campaign Fund

Recently, I was asked how we children’s welfare services advocates stay in the game, when it so often seems as though things never get any better.

There are several reasons for continuing in advocacy.

The top of that list is that children cannot vote. Adults must offer their voices to represent them. We need to be the voice for the young children without food security, a home or safe and healthy place to live and grow.

We need to speak for the foster youth who, through no fault of their own, became dependent on the state and yet when they age out at 18, find that their parent is a bureaucracy.

We need to speak for the children who have disabilities who leave their birth families because their needs for support go beyond what they can provide.

We do need to speak for the youth and young adults who couch surf and have limited access services or adults to provide structure for them.

I was personally touched by the event in North Seattle where a young man, who attended the same school as my daughter, took the life of a man for a cell phone. What should and could we have done to prevent this act?

Our answer is both simple and weighty. We must continue to advocate for all of our children. Because we can and we must. There is no one else. We are their voice.

Prioritize Education in Washington

Thursday, February 6, 2014, Washington state House lawmakers heard a plan to tighten an antiquated loophole that enables oil refineries to save millions of dollars in tax breaks, and prioritize education for Washington children.

This is a great opportunity. We can curb subsidies for fossil fuel companies and channel the money toward investment of our most precious resource--children.

Democratic Rep. Reuven Carlyle of the 36th Legislative proposed HB 2465 "to repeal the $59 million state tax preference for British Petroleum, Chevron, Tesoro and the other big oil firms in Washington and spend the money on public education. We call it the Accidental Tax Break because it was created in 1949 to support small town timber mills, but big oil now takes 98 percent of the money."

Yes, there are partisan concerns. Nevertheless, caring for members of our youngest generations is something both sides of the aisle can agree. It is time for decisive and unequivocal support for children.

I serve as chair of the Children's Campaign Fund, a nonpartisan political action committee dedicated to electing Washington state legislators who champion issues that affect kids. Children's Campaign Fund urges elected officials to revise our tax exemptions in order raise much need money for schools across the state. And encourages voters to amplify their voice in support of kids.

Carlyle recently said, "Our state has 640 tax exemptions on the books. The revenue package I proposed closes just 1.4 percent of them, and virtually every dollar goes directly into basic K-12 education ...Ultimately, we have to ask ourselves what our priorities are--keeping a handful of outmoded tax exemptions, or providing a world-class, constitutionally protected education for our children."

It is time to find the revenue for education. It is time to give adequate investment for quality childcare, early education and public K-12 education. Let us tell our legislators that educating Washington kids is a priority.

About Rene Murry Rene Murry is a long-time children rights community activist and has served served as chair of Children's Campaign Fund since January 2013. In addition to being a small-business owner, she has worked with the Center for Women and Democracy and YMCA Family Services and Mental Health. She graduated magna cum laude from the University of North Dakota and spent several years working as a children's protective services worker with Orange County DSS, North Carolina.

The Children's Campaign Fund is a Political Action Committee in Washington state. The goal is to raise funds and support legislative candidates who champion and advocate for legislation that benefits children and their families.

Sources include: Rep. Carlyle blog

WA Leg Agenda

Momentum Builds for Child Priorities

Jon Brumbach Member of the Board Children's Campaign Fund

This year has presented an ambitious agenda for child welfare system reform. Many of the priorities of Children's Campaign Fund have made strong progress halfway through the 60-day session, while some suffer from inaction by our elected leaders.

Legal Representation for Foster Youth - SB 6126

While the House version of the bill failed to make it out of the Appropriations Committee, SB 6126 was approved by a unanimous vote of the Senate this week. According to First Star, a Washington D.C. based child advocacy research group, Washington ranks among the worst in the nation in appointing attorneys for youth in foster care. Read the First Star report “A Child’s Right to Counsel, 3rd Edition” here (opens a new window).

SB 6126 supports youth in foster care whose parents’ rights have been terminated. Studies show that youth in foster care who are appointed attorneys achieve permanency more quickly. With improved outcomes for the children and reduced costs for the state this is good news all around. The bill is now headed to the House Judiciary Committee where it awaits a public hearing.

Extended Foster Care - SB 6101 and HB 2335

Washington state has been working towards allowing youth to remain in foster care until age 21 since 2006. This year legislation that would finish the job stalled due to inaction by the legislature's fiscal committees (the Senate’s Ways and Means and Appropriations in the House). This legislation would have added the two final categories of youth to the Extended Foster Care program—those working 80 hours per month or more and those with documented medical conditions. This is an unfortunate setback, but hope still remains that our legislative leaders will keep this bill alive by addressing it in the final budget.

Youth Opportunities Act - HB 1651

Washington state is one of the only states in the nation that not only allows juvenile criminal records to be public, but actively sells them to credit bureaus and other interested companies. This keeps many youth from obtaining housing or pursuing employment or education. HB 1651 would change that, allowing juvenile court records for certain offenses to be made confidential at age 18. It was approved unanimously by the House of Representatives and now awaits a hearing in the Senate Human Services and Corrections Committee.

These priorities will require significant efforts to make it through the legislature this session. Check back here for regular updates on what our elected leaders are doing (or not doing) to support Washington children.