NORTHERN VIRGINIA INITIATIVE

Welcome to the Northern Virginia Office of
Voices for Virginia's Children!

The Northern Virginia office of Voices for Virginia's Children was established in March 2006. The goal of the office is to raise the particular concerns of children in Northern Virginia to a statewide audience and to increase the total power of those advocating for children in the Commonwealth. We accomplish this by:

• Identifying key issues that particularly affect children in Northern Virginia and building awareness about those issues.
• Building effective links between Voices for Virginia's Children and key groups in Northern Virginia, including legislators and other government officials; members of the media; leaders of child-serving organizations; and other groups with an interest in Voices' priority issues.
• Building connections between those identified stakeholders and the home office of Voices in Richmond.
• Working with the Richmond advocacy staff to adequately represent the needs of children who live in Northern Virginia at the state level.
• Participating in and coordinating local advocacy networks to influence legislative decisions.

Immigration and Children
The Opportunities and Challenges of a Diverse Community

Lessons learned from a recent forum in Northern Virginia are informing the work of Voices and partners to address the needs of children and families impacted by immigration policy and programs in Virginia.

On May 22, 2007, Voices for Virginia's Children and the Mason Project on Immigration hosted “Defining the Unmet Needs of Children in Northern Virginia” The Opportunities and Challenges of a Diverse Community”. The forum brought together a diverse group of professionals in the areas of Early Care and Education (ECE), Mental and Physical Health, and Family Economic Success and Self-Sufficiency (FES) to share information about the barriers to and challenges of providing access to quality services for children and the potential solutions to those barriers and challenges.

Presentations by INOVA, the Mason Project on Immigration and Northern Virginia Community College are now available.  

Immigration Briefs

Call to Action for those interested in learning more about the barriers and challenges to providing services for children and the potential solutions highlighted by forum attendees. This document will be used by Voices and other members of an Action Committee as a jumping off point to formulate a plan of action for the 2008 General Assembly. The members of the committee will outline short-term, pro-active advocacy efforts for the 2008 session. They will continue to work together during 2008 to identify and make plans for longer term advocacy efforts that will result in changes to policies and practices that affect children, particularly those in immigrant and refugee families. If you are interested in joining the Action Committee or learning more about this project, please contact:

Kathy May
Director of Northern Virginia Office
703-955-6325

kmay@vakids.org

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