Blog Archive: February 2017

2017 Legislative Session Wrap Up: Advocating for Kids in Foster Care

Updated: February 27, 2017 In 2016, Voices successfully advocated for the inclusion of Fostering Futures in the budget. Fostering Futures supports youth who age out of Foster Care to age…

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2017 Legislative Session Wrap-Up: Dismantling the School to Prison Pipeline

Updated February 27, 2017 Virginia is the worst in the nation for referring students to law enforcement. During the 2014-15 school year, Virginia public schools issued over 126,000 out-of-school suspensions…

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Health and Mental Health in the 2017 Conference Report

Wednesday night, Senate and House budget negotiators released their conference budget report for floor consideration by the General Assembly Friday evening.  As previously noted, no specific line item focused on children’s health…

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Continue to Improve the Safety of Child Care- Update 2.17.17

All children deserve safe child care. As we have done for the last two years, Voices will continue to support initiatives to improve the safety of child care. Many parents…

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The Need to Read: What 3rd Grade SOL Test Scores Say About Virginia’s Children

By: Carly Green, University of Richmond Intern Throughout Virginia, school looks different in every district. From school lunch programs to advanced course availability, educational resources can vary widely. Over time,…

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No Cuts for Kids in the FY18 Budget

After learning of the budget shortfall, and discussion of some significant cuts, at the money committee retreats in the fall, we were pleased to see the House and Senate budget…

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Mental Health in the Senate and House Budget Recommendations

Children’s Mental Health and Transforming the Mental Health System While there was not a specific line item focused on children’s mental health in the budget recommendations, several of the House…

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Social Work Advocacy Day takes on School Discipline Reform & Foster Care

On February 9th, the National Association of Social Workers – Virginia Chapter hosted its annual Student Advocacy Day. More than 300 students and professional social workers from all across Virginia…

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Children and the Opioid Epidemic

Legislators from across the Commonwealth are recognizing the impact of the opioid epidemic in their communities. During the first week of Session Secretary Hazel presented on the impact of the…

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