The UPDATE | April 13 | Budget Hearings Conclude. What's Next?

 

Budget Hearings Wrap Up, with Committee Mark-ups Scheduled to Begin April 25

DC Council committees concluded hearings about the proposed FY24 budget this week, listening to District residents, employees, educators, advocates, and government officials as they considered how to prioritize the city’s funds. DC Action staff, coalition leaders, and coalition members were active participants and mobilized hundreds to testify in the hearings, offering oral and written testimony in eight different hearings.  
 

One Committee of the Whole hearing–with 419 witnesses–lasted until midnight, illustrating the continued need for the DC Council to reconsider adding a separate Committee on Education.

DC Action focused our testimony on thanking Mayor Bowser for holding many key programs harmless and expanding child care affordability, but also advocated to restore cuts and enhance funding for home visiting programs, early childhood education, out-of-school-time programs, services for youth experiencing homelessness, and food security. Read about our asks: The District’s children and youth deserve a stronger budget. It’s up to the DC Council to pass one. All of our staff testimony is posted here. 

These next two weeks will be critical for the budget. We will be meeting with the Mayor and with DC Council members and committees to further make our case. During the week of April 24, we’ll host call-in-days and more so you can join us in advocating for a budget that meets the needs of all District residents.
 

DC Residents Enrolled in Medicaid Must Renew to Ensure Continuous Coverage

If youth or families you work with, or other friends and family have health insurance coverage through Medicaid, at some point during the next few months they’ll have to renew coverage for the first time in several years, due to automatic renewals during the pandemic. Everyone should make sure their contact information is up to date to be sure to get the notification when it's time to renew: log in at districtdirect.dc.gov or call the Public Benefits Call Center at 202-727-5355. Please spread the word to families and youth you work with! If guidance in how to support people in your community with renewing Medicaid coverage would help, please reach out to Medicaid.renewal@dc.gov for information on how to join a training.
 

 

A Robust Local Child Tax Credit Could Help End Child Poverty in the District

The 2021 federal Child Tax Credit (CTC) expansion lifted or eased poverty for an estimated 25,000 District children. Nationally, the CTC expansion resulted in at least a 30 percent drop in child poverty rates, and reduced food insecurity and other hardships among children. Despite the fact that this legislation prompted child poverty in the United States to drop to its lowest level on record, Congress let it expire in 2022. However, the District has the opportunity to remedy the situation, at least part way.

 

 

New DC Action Policy Brief Makes the Case for Workforce Development Tailored for Youth Experiencing Homelessness

The District offers a number of workforce development programs targeted toward young people, but none of them are adequately designed to meet and serve the specific needs of young people experiencing homelessness. This is why a tailored program is so desperately needed. Without stable housing, it is incredibly difficult for young people to secure and maintain employment because of institutional barriers to success. Once homeless, young people face even greater obstacles in finding and securing employment, trapping them in poverty. Even for those young people who manage to find employment despite being homeless, one out of four parenting youth, and nearly one-third of unaccompanied youth still do not earn enough to afford housing in DC. 
 

 

Welcome Travis Baillie, DC Action’s New Under 3 DC Organizing Director

Travis Ballie brings over a decade of organizing experience to his work at DC Action. As Organizing Director, Travis will coordinate and lead mobilization efforts for Under 3 DC, which harnesses the voice and power of parents and families with young children, educators, advocates, and health professionals to create transformative social change.

Previously, Travis served as Organizing Director for NARAL Pro-Choice America, a reproductive freedom organization. One of his signature accomplishments over his 10 years at NARAL was hosting their first Activists' Summit, a two-day event training more than 600 attendees about how to make a difference in electoral and legislative advocacy.
 

DC Action in the News

Of the 419 witnesses for the 12-hour DC Council education hearing (including nearly 100 from the early learning and OST communities),  a member of Under 3 DC was quoted in Proposed cuts to D.C. school budget draw big crowd at marathon hearing - The Washington Post, April 5, 2023

Out-of-School Time Providers Organize for Budget Enhancements - The Washington Informer, April 5, 2023

Stronger Start is a five-part series produced by DCTV about building a better early childhood education system in the District of Columbia. DC Action’s Director of Early Childhood Education Ruqiyyah Anbar-Shaheen is featured in the first episode, which aired this week and is available to watch online.

 

About DC Action

DC Action is a nonprofit, nonpartisan, multi-issue advocacy organization making the District of Columbia a place where all kids grow up safe, resilient, powerful and heard. DC Action uses research, data, and a racial equity lens to break down barriers that stand in the way of all kids reaching their full potential. We are home to DC Kids Count, Under 3 DC, DC Out-of-School Time Coalition, the DC Home Visiting Council and the Youth Economic Justice and Housing Coalition. Our collaborative advocacy campaigns bring the power of young people and all residents to raise their voices to create change.

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