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Early Childhood Educators Will Now Be Eligible for Free, Quality Health Insurance
The District will take a significant step in advancing equitable compensation for early childhood educators in January 2023, when it makes free, quality, publicly financed health insurance available to early educators and ALL eligible employees of licensed early learning facilities. This news comes on the heels of the launch of the long-awaited compensation program designed to ensure early childhood educators are paid salaries comparable to educators of older children. Both programs are funded by the District’s Pay Equity Fund, a permanent, dedicated funding source for compensation initiatives in early childhood education.
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DC Out-of-School-Time Coalition Leading Advocacy at the Wilson Building on September 30 & October 4
You’re invited to join the coalition during one or both of our visits to the Wilson Building to meet with government leaders and legislators to discuss current challenges facing OST organizations and ask them to prioritize OST. We will provide talking points and principles for the brief meetings we have set up with legislators, agency leaders, and staff.
Out-of-School Time Programs Can’t Absorb Added Security Costs
DCPS must reverse its recent decision to require OST programs to pay the hefty costs of school building security during hours their programs operate. While the decision was temporarily reversed for the current school year, these dollars won’t be any more reasonable or easier to find in 2023. This change would not only threaten community-based OST organizations’ financial stability and sustainability of programs for youth, but could also compromise the safety of students and staff during afterschool programs. Policy Analyst Ryllie Danylko testified before the Committee of the Whole on September 16 to ask the DC Council to intervene.
Unaccompanied Young People Deserve Easy Access to Their Academic Records
DC Action’s Senior Youth Policy Analyst Rachel White testified on Tuesday before the DC Council Committee of the Whole in support of amendments to the Student and Minors Access to Records and Transcripts (SMART) Act. The bill would give students without parents or guardians or whose parents or guardians are unwilling or unable to help them access their academic records to do so on their own to use transcripts, test scores, and other records in college and job applications or for other purposes.
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Early Voting Starts Next Week--Check Your Mailbox for Your Ballot!
Now is the perfect time for District residents to check or update their voter registration ahead of the 2022 general election. Ballots will be mailed out soon and voters can start returning them beginning October 14. Check out the DC Board of Elections website
for a schedule of early and election day voting, locations of ballot drop boxes and polling places, and lists of the candidates whose names will appear on each ballot.
DC Action Welcomes two new Diane Bernstein Fall Fellows: Ta'Niyah Bogier and Elianna Rivera
We are excited to welcome Ta'Niyah Bogier and Elianna Rivera to DC Action as this fall’s Diane Bernstein Fellows in Child and Youth Advocacy. Ta'Niyah is an undergraduate at Howard University majoring in criminology with a minor in psychology. They will be working on youth advocacy, out-of-school time, and economic justice issues. Elianna is an undergraduate at American University pursuing a degree in political science. She will be working on research and advocacy on home visiting programs.
Families Can Still Receive Child Tax Credit Dollars if They Apply by October 17
Childhood poverty dropped dramatically from 2020 to 2021, thanks largely because of the expanded child tax credit authorized during the pandemic. Parents still have an opportunity to claim their tax credit funding if they apply by October 17. Now advocates must pressure Congress to reauthorize this successful program to keep children and their families out of poverty.
Last call! DC Youth Count Survey Closes September 30
Today and tomorrow are the final days for young people to complete the Youth Count survey, a District-wide effort to collect information about housing instability and homelessness among District youth. Survey results are used to advocate funding and resources for youth, so participation is crucial to ensure young people receive the support they deserve. Eligible youth who complete the survey will receive a $20 Visa gift card. Surveys will be open online at www.YouthCountDC.org until September 30. Youth can take a survey themselves, or partnering youth development organizations can administer the survey to youth in their programs.
