A History of Advocacy

Children's Trust Foundation believes in policies that strengthen families and children. Read more about a the highlights of our policy and advocacy initiatives throughout the years.

Get To Know your Washington State lawmakers

Washington State Senate

Washington State House of Representatives

U.S. Senate:

U.S. House of Representatives – Washington State:

Key Definitions

  • “HB” means House Bill “SB” means Senate Bill
  • “Work Session” is a time when people invited by the committee are asked to talk about a particular issue that may or may not have a particular bill attached to it.
  • “Hearing” is when a bill is being discussed by a committee and any member of the public is welcome to come and comment on the pros and cons of that particular piece of legislation.

Additional Resources

For additional information about broader children’s issues visit the Children’s Alliance.

Policy & Action

Legislative Session wrap up

The 2010 legislative session came to an end on April 12, 2010. Here’s an important report about the results of your advocacy from Jon Gould, Children's Alliance Deputy Director.

Speaking Up and Standing Strong

To get a full picture of how things settled out for kids, it helps to look back at where we started. Just before the start of the year, Gov. Gregoire launched the budgeting process with an all-cuts budget. As required by state law, she had to find a way to absorb the full $2.8 billion state deficit by cutting deeply across programs, services, and institutions that kids and families rely on. Even she said she couldn't live with the proposal she was required to put forward. We’ve come a long way from that bleak starting point:

  • In the original budget proposal, 16,000 Washington children were slated to lose Apple Health for Kids health coverage. In the final budget, each of those 16,000 kids is covered, and kids who need care in the future are covered, too. 
  • In the original budget proposal, Working Connections Child Care was slated to be eliminated, forcing 17,000 families to make impossible choices about how to hold on to work without access to child care. In the final budget, no family will lose their child care support.


  • The original budget included no new revenue. Working with our allies, we succeeded in convincing legislators to raise nearly $800 million in new revenue to protect kids and individuals who rely on state programs.

There is more to be proud of. School meals for low- and moderate-income kids were preserved. The vast majority of early learning funds were protected. The Racial Disproportionality Advisory Committee, which is charged with identifying and remedying the racial inequities in our state's child welfare system, was preserved. Even during these tough times, we won new policies that will strengthen early learning opportunities for kids ages birth to five.

Cuts Will Hurt Kids

But there are cuts too. The outreach funding that connects parents to Apple Health coverage was totally eliminated. Funding was cut for 29 kids in the Early Childhood Education and Assistance Program. While quick advocacy prevented some of the most damaging cuts to the Department of Social and Health Services, the remaining cuts will be felt across the state. On top of the cuts passed last year, and the impacts of the recession on struggling families, these losses will hurt children. There is much more work to do to help kids and families get through this recession, and have what they need to thrive.

Revenue as a Kids' Issue

We knew going into the session that raising new revenue would be essential to protecting Children’s Alliance priority issues: children’s health, ending childhood hunger, early learning and child welfare. From the beginning, we called for a balanced approach to the economic crisis, including new revenue.

The Children’s Alliance brought the well-being of kids into the discussion about revenue. With your voice and your advocacy, we identified and successfully fought for taxes on non-essential products that don’t nourish children, like candy and soda, as well as products like tobacco, that are harmful to kids. The revenue package that was passed raises significant revenue. It isn’t enough to protect children and families from all cuts, but it is a step forward. It does protect kids and families from some of the devastating cuts in that first budget proposal back in December. It is possible that the revenue increases will be challenged on the November ballot, and your strong voice of advocacy will be needed again.

Much Accomplished and Work Ahead

Looking back, there is no doubt that your voice, joined together with so many thousands of others, was heard loud and clear. Four months of e-mails, testimony, rallies, visits to legislators, phone calls and personal letters have protected countless kids. There’s also no doubt that we still have a long way to go until the needs of children in Washington State are securely met.

It’s an honor to be a part of the movement for kids that you make possible. In these challenging times, your advocacy and your financial contributions, are especially critical.

If you have questions about the results of this legislative session, feel free to contact me. Thank you once again for speaking up for kids!

Sincerely,

Jon Gould, Deputy Director