ACTION ALERT: Call Chairman Mendelson on Monday to Advocate for Full Home Visiting Funding

While many of DC Action’s budget requests were fulfilled in this week’s committee markups, the $369,150 enhancement we advocated for in DC Health home visiting programs was not added to the budget. This modest investment would allow programs to keep up with rising inflation rates, increase home visitor salaries, and provide the resources needed to families during this pandemic. Please block out time on Monday, from 9 AM to 5 PM, to call the DC Council and urge them to add $369,150 to the budget to keep critical home visiting programs strong.

What's Happened So Far in Council Commitee Budget Mark-Up Sessions

The DC Council will begin voting on the budget in early May, but committee mark-ups have resulted in promising additions to our DC Action priorities.

To support early childhood, the Committee on Health added $300K in recurring funding for HealthySteps, $700K in recurring funding for Healthy Futures, and one-time funding of $150K for the First Time Mother’s Home Visiting Program. The Committee on Human Services provided an additional recurring $70,500 to home visiting programs under the Child and Family Services Agency.  

For out-of-school time, the Committee of the Whole is expected to make Mayor Bowser’s one-time $5 million enhancement a recurring investment.

And in youth justice, the Human Services Committee approved a $1 million addition to the Department of Human Services budget to begin right-sizing youth homelessness provider contracts.

In health, the DC Council approved annual recertification in the DC Healthcare Alliance which means more families will be able to receive health care without interruption.

Unfortunately, the Committee did not fund the $369,150 increase we requested for DC Health Home Visiting programs, which is why the DC Home Visiting Council is facilitating a DC Council Call-In Day on Monday, April 25th (see above). We will continue to follow and advocate during the budget mark-ups and report on the status of our priorities for children and youth.

ACTION ALERT: Sign Up to Testify to Give SNAP a Raise

While the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) helps working families put food on the table, the current allotment doesn’t necessarily provide food security, especially with inflation and the cost of living in the District. On Thursday, April 28, Councilmember Brianne Nadeau will hold a public hearing on the Give SNAP a Raise Amendment Act of 2022, which would increase DC government funding to match food expenses under the Low-Cost Food Plan set by the Food and Nutrition Service of the USDA. Residents who want to testify must sign up by close of business on April 22.

District Parents Value Social, Emotional and Developmental Support of OST Programs

A report by the Afterschool Alliance demonstrates that parents count on out-of-school-time programs to help their children build confidence; engage with peers; and strengthen their social, emotional, and mental health. These skills and support are essential, especially at a time when the current mental health challenges of youth have been called a crisis by leading experts.

"Through Debate, Our Young People are Learning About the World While Learning The Skills to Change It."

In the latest installment of OST Voices series, David Trigaux of the Washington Urban Debate League discusses how debate shapes young people’s ability to think critically, examine all sides of an issue, and effectively communicate their opinions.

New Numbers Illustrate Ongoing Effects of Pandemic

Although the District has stopped publishing daily COVID statistics, DC Action continues to examine the impact of the public health emergency. Check out our April update of indicators.

DC Action in the News

Kimberly Perry: We should invest in communities, not double down on tough-on-crime policies – TheDCLine.org, April 13, 2022

READ WATCH LISTEN

READ Worked Over: How Round-the-Clock Work Is Killing the American Dream by Jamie K McCallum, which investigates how low-wage workers are negatively impacted by our capitalist culture’s addiction to overwork.

WATCH Experiments in Freedom: The Legacy of the DC Compensated Emancipation Act, a panel discussion co-produced by the DC History Center and African American Civil War Museum. Amara Evering, William Jones, and CR Gibbs discuss the controversial and little known fact that slaveholders were compensated when enslaved people were emancipated in 1862 in the District of Columbia and the implications of that policy at the time and in today’s society.

LISTEN to Dismantling medical racism starts in the classroom, the April 18 episode of Color Code, a podcast that explores the “history of racism in the health care system and how it has — and continues — to impact people of color and underserved communities.”

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