Womenstake

New Resources on Women's Poverty and Health Insurance

by Joan Entmacher, Vice President for Family Economic Security, 
and Judy Waxman, Vice President for Health and Reproductive Rights, 
National Women's Law Center 

More than one in eight women and nearly one in five children lived in poverty in the United States in 2008 — and their poverty rates were higher than men's in every state.

More than 17 million women between the ages of 18 and 64 were uninsured in the United States in 2008, and in more than one-quarter of the states, the uninsured rate for women exceeded 20 percent.

Women who worked full time, year round earned less than their male counterparts in every state — 77 cents to every dollar earned by men.

In every state in the nation, women and families are experiencing hardship, including low wages, high poverty and high uninsurance rates. The new state-level data released by the Census yesterday detail the realities we're facing.

To help you dig through the data and better advocate on behalf of women and their families, NWLC has prepared three new resources:

• NWLC's complete analysis of national poverty data from the Census;   
• A state-by-state chart of poverty rates for women, children, and men; and  
• A state-by-state chart of women's insurance coverage rates. 

A state-by-state analysis of the wage gap is also available on the Census' site.  

The new resources show the pressing need for health reform that expands women’s access to health insurance, as well as the broader need for our country's policies to help alleviate poverty and promote economic security.  

More Backward Than Forward on Child Care

by Karen Schulman, Senior Policy Analyst,
and Helen Blank, Director of Leadership and Public Policy, 
National Women's Law Center  

A new study by the National Women’s Law Center of policies in the 50 states and the District of Columbia reveals that between February of 2008 and February of 2009 more states made cuts than made improvements in their child care assistance programs. This is troubling news for the many low-income families who need help affording reliable child care that allows parents to work and gives children opportunities to learn — particularly since it follows years of stagnation in child care assistance policies and funding.

The study examines four key policy areas — income eligibility limits for child care assistance, waiting lists for assistance, reimbursement rates for child care providers serving families receiving assistance, and copayments required of parents receiving assistance. A majority of states did not make changes in these areas between February 2008 and February 2009. However, of those states that did make changes, more moved backward than forward.

In 2009, a family with an income above 200 percent of poverty ($36,620 a year for a family of three in 2009) could not qualify for assistance in over three-quarters of the states — even though a family at this income level could barely afford to meet its basic needs in the majority of communities across the country.

In many states, families cannot always receive help even if they meet the eligibility criteria. In 2009, nineteen states had waiting lists for child care assistance or turned families away without even adding their names to the waiting list.

Child Care and Early Education Policy Update

by Helen Blank, Director of Leadership and Public Policy,  
National Women’s Law Center 

Register for a Free Conference Call: Unions Supporting Family, Friend and Neighbor Care in New York

The National Women's Law Center has scheduled the third in our series of conference calls that will examine child care unionization and other strategies for improving compensation, benefits, and working conditions for family child care and family, friend and neighbor care (FFN) providers. This call will focus on New York state and New York City, where unions representing child care and FFN providers are in the process of ratifying contracts. The call will feature representatives from unions who have made much progress in winning increased supports for providers. Presenters for this call will include Denise Dowell from the Early Learning and Care Programs, Civil Service Employees Association and Tammie Miller from United Federation of Teachers.

Register now for a free conference call on Tuesday, October 6, at 2:00 p.m. Eastern.

Early Learning Challenge Fund Update

On Thursday, September 17, the House passed the Student Aid and Fiscal Responsibility Act (H.R. 3221) by a vote of 251 to 171. The bill includes the new Early Learning Challenge Fund which would provide competitive grants to challenge states to build comprehensive, high-quality early learning systems for children up to age five. For detailed information on the Early Learning Challenge Fund, check out NWLC's summary. We expect the Senate to consider its version of the Student Aid and Fiscal Responsibility Act soon. Stay tuned!

Sen. Harkin Is New Chair of HELP Committee

Sen. Tom Harkin (D-Iowa) accepted the chairmanship of the Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions Committee (HELP) Committee, replacing the late Sen. Ted Kennedy (D-Mass.). The HELP committee is responsible for the Child Care and Development Block Grant, Head Start, education for young children with disabilities and special needs, Title I (which can support early learning), and Higher Education. Sen. Blanche Lincoln (D-Ark) will replace Sen. Harkin as Chair of the Agricultural Committee, which is responsible for child nutrition programs including the Child and Adult Care Food Program.

Vote Tomorrow on Early Learning Challenge Fund

by Helen Blank, Director of Leadership and Public Policy,
National Women’s Law Center 

Tomorrow, the House of Representatives will have the opportunity to stand up for children and families when they vote on H.R. 3221, the Student Aid and Fiscal Responsibility Act of 2009. This bill includes an important new initiative that will encourage states to expand disadvantaged children’s access to high-quality early learning opportunities.  Under this Early Learning Challenge Fund initiative, states that put in place the essential elements necessary to support strong early learning programs for children from zero to five will be rewarded with grants to finance their work.  States that are committed to improving their early learning programs but need to do more will also receive support.

The Early Learning Challenge Fund outlines the key components that must be in place to ensure that families have access to high-quality child care/early learning options and sets the course for moving states in this direction.  By including this initiative as part of a broader education measure, Congress is demonstrating that it recognizes that education reform can not be successful if children do not come to school ready to succeed.  Together with expanded funding for child care and Head Start, this early learning initiative can help ensure more children are on the path to success when they enter school.

Call your Representative now and urge them to vote yes on H.R. 3221, the Student Aid and Fiscal Responsibility Act, to ensure that the Early Learning Challenge Grants are enacted and funded and families have new and better early learning choices for their young children.

Senator Kennedy's Passion for Making It Right for Children

by Helen Blank, Director of Leadership and Public Policy, 
National Women’s Law Center 

Ted Kennedy touched all of our hearts when he led the audience of children, legislators, and advocates in singing the Eensy Weensy Spider at the ceremony held in the House of Representatives to mark the passage of the 2007 Head Start reauthorization.

His passion for making it right for children and families led to a continuous improvement and expansion of the Head Start program, the creation of Early Head Start, the enactment of the first comprehensive child care legislation, health care for children, and the Ryan White Act.  His commitment and engaging personality won over colleagues including those from across the aisle – most notably Senator Hatch to co-champion many of his efforts on behalf of children.

Senator Kennedy built bridges with his colleagues, advocates, and the children and families he so deeply cared about. It won’t be the same and it won’t be as much fun as he made working for children.

Take Action: Support the Early Learning Challenge Fund

by Helen Blank, Director of Leadership and Public Policy, 
National Women’s Law Center 

Parents and advocates know that getting kids ready for college starts with early learning. That's why the Early Learning Challenge Fund is such a key component of the higher education legislation — the Student Aid and Fiscal Responsibility Act that the House will soon consider.

To make sure our young learners get access to the high-quality early learning programs they depend on, your support is needed. Let Congress know that the Early Learning Challenge Fund is crucial to young learners’ future success.

The new Early Learning Challenge Fund would provide competitive grants to challenge states to build comprehensive, high-quality early learning systems for children up to age five.

We’re sending messages of support from early childhood advocates across the country.

• Please act now to send your individual message of support.
• If you represent an organization, please join this group sign-on letter in support of the bill.

The House Education and Labor Committee has approved the bill and it will go before the full House for a vote after it returns in September. Take action today!

For detailed information on the Early Learning Challenge Fund, check out NWLC's summary.

Register Today: Call on Supporting Family, Friend, and Neighbor Child Care

by Helen Blank, Director, Leadership and Public Policy, 
National Women's Law Center 

Every day, millions of working parents rely on home-based child care arrangements, including family child care and care by family, friends, and neighbors, for their children. Given the essential role family child care and FFN care plays for so many families, it is important to understand the role that unions are playing to support these providers and the lessons they have learned.

The National Women's Law Center has scheduled the second in our series of calls that will examine child care unionization and other strategies for improving compensation, benefits, and working conditions for family child care and FFN providers and enhancing the quality of care they offer.

Register today for our second call, Lessons Learned: Supporting Family, Friend and Neighbor Care & Family Child Care in Washington State.

The conference call will take place on Thursday, June 18, at 2:00 p.m. Eastern.

Presenters for this call will include:

• Helen Blank, Director of Leadership and Public Policy, National Women's Law Center
• Karen Hart, Early Learning Division Director, SEIU Local 925
• Nancy Ashley, Owner, Heliotrope Consulting Firm

If you missed the first call in our series, "Lessons Learned: Supporting Family, Friend, and Neighbor Care & Family Child Care in Oregon Through Unionization," you can download our audio recording or transcript.

We hope that you will join us for this call!

New Resource: NWLC Child Care Website

by Helen Blank, Director of Leadership and Public Policy, 
National Women's Law Center 

Last year, we released Developing America's Potential: An Agenda for Affordable, High-Quality, Child Care, a "blueprint" for the future of child care. Since then, several bills reflecting parts of the Agenda have been introduced in this Congress. We are happy to announce a new website to better help advocates continue to move forward on the systemic reforms found in the Agenda. 

Check out NWLC's new website based on the agenda.

The website is a one-stop shop for information on the Agenda, including ways you can get involved with our efforts. As you check out the website, you will see that our featured immediate action focuses on the appropriations process.

It's important that we work together and urge our Members of Congress to support a $1 billion increase for the Child Care and Development Block Grant and a $1 billion increase for Head Start in the FY 2010 Labor, Health and Human Services, and Education Appropriations bill. This would be an important step toward the long-term goals contained in the Agenda. While these programs received additional emergency funding in the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act, these funds do not compensate for the longstanding funding shortfalls in these vital programs.

Take action today by sending a message to your members of Congress.

Register Today: Call on Economic Recovery Funds for Child Care

How are states using their economic recovery funds to help boost support for child care?

To strategize about how to best utilize the economic recovery funds, the National Women's Law Center and CLASP are hosting a conference call.

An Economic Recovery Update: How States Can Use Economic Recovery Funds to Help Child Care will take place on Thursday, May 21, at 2:00 p.m. Eastern.

Register today! This conference call is free to participants, but registration is required. 

More details about the key provisions of the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act are available on our website at www.nwlc.org/economicrecovery. 

The call will be moderated by Helen Blank of the National Women's Law Center and Danielle Ewen of CLASP. Presenters will discuss highlights of their states' plans and include:

• Bruce Liggett, Executive Director, Arizona Child Care Association
• Sessy Nyman, Vice President of Public Policy & Government Affairs, Action for Children
• Sheila Hansen, Policy Director, Child and Family Policy Center
• Patty Siegel, Executive Director, California Child Care Resource & Referral Network
• Clare S. Richie, Senior Policy Analyst, Georgia Budget and Policy Institute

We are grateful for the support of the Birth to Five Policy Alliance for sponsoring this call. 

We hope to speak to you soon!

Take Action: Hungry Children Can't Wait

by Helen Blank, Director of Leadership and Public Policy, 
National Women’s Law Center 

Congress has an opportunity to give nutritious meals to millions of children — and we need you to make sure Congress does the right thing. 

Later this year, we expect the Child and Adult Care Food Program (CACFP) to be reauthorized — providing an important opportunity to reach even more children and win additional benefits.

Please urge your Members of Congress to help more children and families by improving the Child and Adult Care Food Program. 

CACFP provides over 3 million children enrolled in child care centers, family child care homes, Head Start, prekindergarten and after-school programs up to two meals and a snack. In addition, it provides ongoing training in the nutritional needs of children, and onsite assistance in meeting the program's strong nutritional requirements. Unfortunately, there are still millions of children in child care who could benefit from CACFP who are currently unserved.

With your help, we have an opportunity to improve the Child and Adult Care Food Program.

There are several key changes that the early childhood and after-school community is seeking in the reauthorization to expand the program's reach and increase benefits to children, including:

• Increasing CACFP reimbursements to stem participation declines and improve nutrition.
• Allowing child care centers and homes the option of serving a third meal as was previously allowed.
• Reducing the current “area eligibility” threshold from 50 to 40 percent to allow all providers living in neighborhoods where at least 40 percent of the children are in low-income families to automatically qualify for the highest reimbursement rate.
• Reducing burdensome paperwork to ensure that more children and providers have access to the benefits offered by CACFP.

These changes will help to reduce hunger, reduce childhood obesity, improve child nutrition and health overall, and enhance child development and school readiness. For more information on ways CACFP could be improved, check out NWLC's fact sheet.