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Goals
What is different because of Voices’ work?
- Vulnerable children, youth and/or their families take action to improve their circumstances, based on information or the persuasion of Voices.
- Key decision makers on public policy, resource allocation, and/or the performance of public systems become more knowledgeable about the issues related to vulnerable children and their families and the most effective strategies to address them.
- Individuals and groups use their increased awareness of issues related to vulnerable children and their families to advocate for and bring about improved results for children and their families.
Intense focus for multiple years on a few key issues is part of our formula for success. This allows us to bring attention to these issues, build coalitions and networks to push for solutions to these issues, and bring our strength as a statewide organization to move the focused agenda forward. Voices is committed to applying core processes and resources first and foremost to the four issues below.
Successes
Early Care and Education
- Gov. Kaine champions expanding and improving Pre-K
- increased per child funding for Virginia Preschool Initiative program from $5400 to $5700
- movement toward implementing quality rating and improvement scale
- business leaders involved in part through Voices' efforts
- progress in professional development including more funding for scholarships, articulation agreements between two and four year institutions and more emphasis on early childhood for teacher licensure.
Health
- reduced barriers for enrollment in state children's health insurance program-- over 97% of eligible children enrolled; mental health benefits now included
- Medicaid reimbursement level for dental care and pediatrics increased
- gained $1 million state funding for demonstration projects for research-based community mental health programs
- raised eligibility level for prenatal care for low-income pregnant moms to 185% of the FPL from 100%.
- expanded mental health services within the juvenile justice system so that all detention programs now have such services
Foster Care
- Children in foster care typically move from family to family, usually changing schools as well. As a result, children in foster care drop out of school at a high rate. Voices successfully advocated for passage of a bill to stabilize school placement for children in foster care.
- Foster youth and those recently leaving the foster care system have a unique perspective on how well the system meets their needs. Voices worked to strengthen the new Youth Advisory Committee, provided training in advocacy, and accompanied youth as they testified before and met with legislators.
- increased funding by $5.5 million over two years for Departments of Social Services in order to improve staffing for foster care and adoption
Family Economic Success
- sales tax on food sharply reduced
Continuing Work
Early Care and Education (ece): Voices' work on ece appears to be on the cusp of significant payoff. The Start Strong Council, which includes Voices' president,was formed to advise the Governor on how to expand and improve pre-kindergarten, a highlight of his education agenda during the campaign. In August, Governor Kaine announced his early learning agenda that mirrors Voices priorities - expand and improve Pre-K, implement a Quality Rating and Improvement Scale, and strengthen professional development. Voices is working closely with the Virginia Early Learning Foundation to provide advocacy training to its regional partners.
Health and Mental Health work emphasizes improving access to health care, including especially prenatal care, dental care, as well as regular medical homes. The reauthorization of SCHIP at the federal level is an important issue. Mental health work emphasizes the severe under funding of the system and its very limited capacity to meet the mental health needs of children and youth.
Foster Care and Adoption: Voices is working with First Lady Anne Holton on her For Keeps initiative to find permanent family connections for all foster youth. Voices is also working to improve support services for older youth aging out of foster care, for example, by improving access to health insurance.
Family Economic Success is focused on increasing funding for child care subsidies for working families currently over 11,000 children are on the waiting list for a subsidy.
Other efforts: The Northern Virginia office is leading Voices' emerging work on the needs of immigrant and refugee children. We also are working particularly on infant mortality and school dropouts, issues raised by our KIDS COUNT report.
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