United Way Lobbies the Other Washington

Last week, over 1,100 volunteers and staff from United Ways around the country met with 440 Congressmen and Senators on Capital Hill to advocate for a number of priorities including: reauthorization of the Child Nutrition Act; increased funding for Volunteer Income Tax Assistance (VITA); and support for state 2-1-1 (information and referral) programs. The advocacy efforts blanketed the Hill in a single afternoon and happened several days before passage of health care reform. The effort added nine new co-sponsors for the Calling for 2-1-1 bill.

Impact of Health Care Reform on Early Learning

The federal health care reform legislation just passed by Congress and signed by President Obama contains several provisions that will affect Washington’s youngest population. These include dollars for voluntary home visiting programs that work with parents and children from birth to 5 years old in order to improve school readiness, a United Way priority area, as well as decrease child abuse and neglect. HR 3590, the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act), includes $1.5 billion in federal funding over the next five years for state-based home visiting programs serving families with young children and families expecting children.

The Home Visitation Grant Program will be administered at the federal level by the Health Resources and Services Administration (HRSA) in collaboration with the Administration for Children & Families (ACF). Which entity at the state level will have this responsibility is not spelled out in the legislation.