Strengthening Families Through Policy: Building Economic Security

Strengthening Families Through Policy: Building Economic Security

by | Feb 28, 2023 | Advocacy

This year, Colorado legislators are pursuing policy changes that will enhance financial well-being and help build a foundation for Colorado families to thrive.

By focusing on economic security for working families, Colorado has the opportunity to promote the five research-informed protective factors that increase family strengths and prevent child maltreatment.

How are lawmakers addressing economic security this legislative session?

Legislators have introduced three bills that would enhance economic security, promote awareness of supportive tax credits, and ensure families have the concrete support they need during times of need.

      • HB23-1112 Earned Income And Child Tax Credits – In Colorado, working families who are low and middle income can participate in earned income tax credits (EITC) and child tax credits (CTC). If passed, this bill would increase the amount families can receive through state tax credits and broaden the CTC’s definition of an eligible child to include children 17 and under, matching the age of eligibility for the federal credit. 
      • HB23-1006 Employer Notice Of Income Tax Credits – Although many families are eligible for the EITC, only 76.1% of eligible families in Colorado participate and receive these tax credits. (1) If passed, this bill would require employers to notify employees annually of availability of the state and federal EITC and CTC.

      • HB23-1078 Unemployment Compensation Dependent Allowance – When unemployed, Coloradans have the opportunity to claim unemployment insurance benefits to meet basic needs while seeking new employment opportunities. This bill would enable eligible Coloradans to collect an additional $35/week per child or adult dependent.

How does promoting economic security strengthen families, organizations and communities to prevent child maltreatment?

Economic supports promote protective factors that reduce instances of child maltreatment.

Investing in concrete support in times of need for families is one of five crucial research-informed protective factors for preventing child maltreatment. (2) Chronic stress spurring from financial hardship can result in toxic stress, increasing the risk of child maltreatment. Building concrete economic supports to enhance financial well-being can reduce stress and increase positive interactions. Research has shown states that increased the EITC, CTC, and unemployment benefits saw a reduction in substantiated reports of neglect and hospital admissions for injuries resulting from abuse. (3) 

Increasing the EITC and CTC promotes financial well-being, providing families with a tool to maintain a healthy environment.

When parents have access to economic support, they can build and maintain environments that promote healthy parent and child development. Families use the EITC and CTC to pay for everyday necessities, such as rent, mortgage, groceries, and to pay off debt. (4) In addition, families with school-aged children commonly use these credits to pay for school supplies, while families with children under 5 commonly use credits to pay for child care. Increasing the EITC, CTC, and unemployment benefits promotes healthy parent and child development by providing families with tools to build and maintain a healthy environment.

How is Illuminate Colorado involved?

Illuminate is excited to take action alongside our partners in the Helping Colorado Families Get Ahead Coalition to advocate for the passing of these three impactful bills. As these bills move through the House and Senate, we will lend our voice to share how these bills strengthen families, organizations, and communities to prevent child maltreatment.

How can I get involved?

Contact Your State Legislators

Have you and your family benefited from the EITC or CTC? Have you received unemployment benefits? Contact your legislator to share your story and urge them to vote ‘yes’ on HB23-1112, HB23-1006, and HB23-1078! Click Here!

Stay Up To Date

Use the Illuminate Colorado Bill Tracker to stay up to date on the progression of bills that we are tracking this session. Click Here!

Join Us!

Stay up to date on policy that prevents child maltreatment and the 2023 Illuminating Policy efforts by subscribing to Illuminate’s blog. Click Here!

Citations

(1) Internal Revenue Service. (2022). EITC Participation Rate by States Tax Years 2012 through 2019. Retrieved From: https://www.eitc.irs.gov/eitc-central/participation-rate-by-state/eitc-participation-rate-by-states

(2) Center for the Study of Social Policy. (n.d.) About Strengthening Families and the protective factors framework. Retrieved From: https://cssp.org/our-work/projects/protective-factors-framework/

(3) Chapin Hill. (2022). Child and Family Well-being System: Economic & Concrete Supports as a Core Component. Retrieved From: https://www.chapinhall.org/wp-content/uploads/Economic-Supports-deck.pdf

(4) United States Census Bureau. (2021). Parents With Young Children Used Child Tax Credit Payments for Child Care. Retrieved From: https://www.census.gov/library/stories/2021/10/nearly-a-third-of-parents-spent-child-tax-credit-on-school-expenses.html

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Illuminating Policy in 2023

Illuminating Policy in 2023

by | Feb 16, 2023 | Advocacy

The regular session of the Colorado General Assembly kicked off last month, and Illuminate continues our commitment to ensuring our state’s policies build brighter childhoods for all Coloradans. 

Built on research-informed protective factors, the Illuminate Colorado Policy Framework offers an organized approach for advancing family strengthening now and into the future–and, Illuminate has also prioritized policy solutions to be responsive to what Colorado families need today. Click here to learn about Illuminate’s overarching Policy Framework with key highlights about how each priority builds specific protective factors in Colorado. Read the high-level summary of each advocacy priority below.

In 2023 and 2024, Illuminate will be focusing our advocacy efforts on:

  • Increasing economic support for all families to thrive, by: 
    • Promoting the coordination of prevention efforts.
    • Increasing prevention funding to optimize resources dedicated to primary prevention.
    • Delinking poverty from neglect. 
  • Prioritizing and protecting funding for child sexual abuse prevention in Colorado.
  • Optimizing resources dedicated to addressing substance use disorders in families.

  • Establishing and connecting long-term funding pathways to sustain and scale Illuminate programs, including but not limited to Family Connects Colorado and Healthy Families America.

What are the five protective factors?

        • Parental Resilience
        • Social Connections
        • Knowledge of Parenting and Child Development
        • Concrete Support in Times of Need
        • Social and Emotional Competence of Children
Learn More about the 5 protective factors

Investing in programs and policies that support families to overcome and bounce back from life’s challenges enables children to achieve their potential.

These kinds of programs help Coloradans to raise children to be good neighbors and productive community members. It is essential for elected officials and policy makers to understand how to prevent child maltreatment and to listen to parents in every community.

Use the Illuminate Colorado Bill Tracker to stay up to date on the progression of bills that we are tracking this session.

Check Out the Bill Tracker

Stay up to date on policy that prevents child maltreatment and the 2023 Illuminating Policy efforts by subscribing to Illuminate’s blog. 

Subscribe Today

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Take Action! Congress Can Still Prioritize Family Well-Being This Year

Take Action! Congress Can Still Prioritize Family Well-Being This Year

by | Nov 30, 2022 | Advocacy, General

With the election behind us and the end of this session approaching, Congress has a lot to accomplish before the end of the year. In January, a new Congress will be sworn in so the remaining month of 2022 is the last chance for this version of Congress to pass their priorities. Luckily, the Congressional to-do list includes a number of ways to invest in family well-being as Congress finalizes an end-of-year legislative package. Below, we’ll discuss the to-do list and how you can get involved. 

Reauthorizing the Maternal, Infant, and Early Childhood Home Visiting (MIECHV) program.

One of the wisest investments we can make as a nation is in healthy pregnancies and early childhood development. That is why the MIECHV program is so critical. Evidence-based programs that help families provide proper nutrition, mental and behavioral wellbeing, and a loving home pay massive dividends throughout the life of those who are served. Unfortunately, this important bipartisan program is at risk.

If Congress doesn’t act by December 16th to reauthorize the program, it will expire, which would cause untold hardship for the program’s beneficiaries, and negatively affect recruitment and retention of qualified and effective home visitors. That is why Illuminate Colorado has joined the National Home Visiting Coalition and hundreds of other organizations around the country in our support of the bipartisan Jackie Walorski Maternal and Child Home Visiting Reauthorization Act of 2022 (H.R. 8876). Read more about why Illuminate supports MIECHV reauthorization.

“Expiration of MIECHV would cause untold hardship for the program’s beneficiaries, and negatively affect recruitment and retention of qualified and effective home visitors.”

This week, the U.S. House will vote on a major bipartisan MIECHV reauthorization that would increase the program’s funding for the first time ever.

Now is the time to urge our Members of Congress to act, because home visiting works.

Take Action: The U.S. House is expected to vote on this critical bill this week, and we urge its passage without delay. Healthy pregnancies, infant and child health and development, and school readiness are too important for these critical services to slip through the cracks.  Please contact your U.S. Representative and ask them to vote YES on HR 8876 with this easy-to-use Action Alert to help support the first ever expanded funding for the MIECHV program!

Click Here to Take Action Now!

Contact your U.S. Representative and ask them to vote YES on HR 8876 with this easy-to-use Action Alert.

Reauthorizing the Child Abuse Prevention and Treatment Act (CAPTA).

CAPTA provides federal funding to states and provides grants to public agencies and nonprofit organizations, including Indian Tribes and Tribal organizations. Through CAPTA reauthorization, the current 117th Congress has an extraordinary opportunity to strengthen community-based supports to families to prevent child abuse and neglect. The reauthorization bill emphasizes prevention and race equity and increases funding for Community-Based Child Abuse Prevention. Reauthorizing this program would be transformational for communities and families and greatly expand our capacity as a nation to prevent child abuse and neglect by supporting families.

“Reauthorizing this program would be transformational for communities and families and greatly expand our capacity as a nation to prevent child abuse and neglect by supporting families.”

Enhancing Child Tax Credit (CTC) and Earned Income Tax Credit (EITC).

Policies that strengthen family financial security can go a long way toward reducing childhood adversity and enhancing the relationships that help children thrive. Congress has the chance to enhance the Child Tax Credit (CTC) and Earned Income Tax Credit (EITC) in the remaining days of this session. The EITC and CTC are known to improve the health and well-being of families who receive them, and can even help kids do better in school and lead healthier, longer lives. Improvements to the CTC alone were largely responsible for cutting our national child poverty rate nearly in half in 2021, lifting 3 million children — including 1 million children under 6 — above the poverty line. However, the expiration of the CTC and EITC improvements, combined with high food costs and rising rents, sent many families with children back to experiencing significant material hardship, increasing child hunger and suffering.

“Improvements to the CTC alone were largely responsible for cutting our national child poverty rate nearly in half in 2021, lifting 3 million children — including 1 million children under 6 — above the poverty line.”

Take Action: If your organization takes positions on policy, join Illuminate in signing on to the joint letter led by First Focus Campaign for Children by filling out this form by 5 pm ET on Monday, December 5, 2022.

Click Here to Call on Congressional Leaders to enhance the CTC and EITC!

Fill out this form by 5 pm ET on Monday, December 5, 2022.

 

Want to stay updated on state and federal public policy that impacts children and families?

Click Here to Subscribe to Illuminate's Email List!

Select the “Subscribe to advocacy and legislative blog content” checkbox in the “Interested in other programs, training, or topics?” section.

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The 2022 Election Results Are In: How Will Colorado’s Kids and Families Be Impacted?

The 2022 Election Results Are In: How Will Colorado’s Kids and Families Be Impacted?

by | Nov 17, 2022 | Advocacy, General

When we actively participate in our communities, we help to strengthen them. Voting in elections is one of the most important ways that we can actively participate in our communities by making our voices heard about the kind of state and nation that we want for ourselves and each other. With the 2022 election in the books, we are reflecting on what the outcomes mean for Colorado children and families.

As enthusiastic participants in Colorado’s Healthy School Meals for All campaign, we are overjoyed that Coloradans voted to ensure that all of Colorado’s public school students will have access to nutritious meals at school, regardless of their family’s income.

 

 STARTING IN THE 2023-2024 SCHOOL YEAR, ALL COLORADO FAMILIES WILL HAVE ACCESS TO SCHOOL MEALS BECAUSE COLORADANS VOTED ‘YES’ ON PROPOSITION FF!

This program, which will take effect starting in the 2023-2024 school year, will support the development of Protective Factors that are proven to strengthen families and communities and prevent child maltreatment. When kids are well-fed, their physical, mental, and social well-being increase and families are able to build Parental Resilience and Social & Emotional Competence of Children, two of the Protective Factors that support the prevention of child maltreatment and set the foundation for kids and families to thrive.

Benefits of the Healthy School Meals for All Program

  • Students whose families’ income is too high to qualify for existing programs but not high enough to afford school meals will no longer go hungry or incur school lunch debt,
  • Families and school administrations will no longer be burdened by the cost and time it takes to complete and process school lunch program enrollment paperwork, 
  • And students and families will no longer be subjected to the stigma that comes with participating in free or reduced-price lunch programs.

Healthy School Meals for All will also incentivize the purchase of ingredients from local food systems, increasing wages for individuals employed by school meal programs, and providing healthier meal options to students by offering:

  • An option to participate in a local procurement grant program that will provide schools with funds to purchase food from local farms and ranches,
  • An option to participate in a grant program that will enable schools to increase pay for the staff who serve and prepare meals for students, and
  • Funding for equipment and training to provide students with healthier meals.

THANK YOU, COLORADO, FOR VOTING TO PROVIDE HEALTHY SCHOOL MEALS FOR ALL OF OUR STATE’S STUDENTS!

 Follow the campaign on social media to learn more & keep up with next steps! 

Facebook
Instagram
Twitter

WANT TO LEARN MORE ABOUT OTHER RESULTS OF THE 2022 ELECTION AND HOW THEY WILL IMPACT KIDS AND FAMILIES?

See below for recaps from some of our partners on other election results that impact Colorado’s children and families, including measures related to affordable housing and income tax rates:

  • Colorado Children’s Campaign
  • The Women’s Foundation of Colorado – through a gender, racial, & economic lens.
  • From Colorado Coalition for the Homeless: 
    • Proposition 123 passed and will provide $300M per year for housing affordability and homelessness resolution across Colorado without raising taxes also passed. 
    • Denver voters overwhelmingly supported Question 2K to allow the city to keep excess revenue from a .25 percent sales-and-use tax approved by voters in 2020 for homelessness resolution.
    • Unfortunately, the news is not all good. Coloradans voted in favor of Proposition 121 to decrease the state income tax rate from 4.55% to 4.40%, reducing state funding for critical public services and putting more money in the pockets of very wealthy taxpayers and corporations.
  • Alliance for Early Success– includes insights about election results across the nation.

Want to stay updated on state and federal public policy that impacts children and families?

Subscribe to Illuminate's Email list!

Select the “Subscribe to advocacy and legislative blog content” checkbox in the “Interested in other programs, training, or topics?” section.

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Are You Ready to Vote this November to Make Your Voice Heard for Colorado Families?

Are You Ready to Vote this November to Make Your Voice Heard for Colorado Families?

by | Oct 26, 2022 | Advocacy, General

It takes all of us to ensure that families in Colorado have what they need to be well and thrive. This November, make your voice heard about the policies you want in place and the leaders who you want to represent your community. The most important way you can help create a Colorado where all families thrive is by voting in the statewide election.

Elected officials and policies up and down the ballot can impact our daily lives and the well-being of our communities. On November 8th, Colorado will be voting on topics ranging from school funding to substance use, infrastructure to taxation, and housing to wildfire prevention and response. The initiatives and candidates that are on the ballot have the potential to influence programs, policies, and funding that directly affect children, families, and communities.

It Takes All of Us to Ensure that Families in Colorado Have What They Need to Be Well and Thrive.

What is Colorado Voting On?

By voting this year, you can ensure all of Colorado’s kids have access to healthy school meals, weigh in on housing issues, decide who will represent you as governor and in the state and U.S. Senate and House, and more! Find more information about what’s on the table this year by exploring The Colorado Health Foundation’s Local Ballot Measure Tracker and learning about which candidates are running for elected office on Ballotpedia.

What's on the Ballot?

The Colorado Health Foundation’s Local Ballot Measure Tracker

Who's on the Ballot?

Ballotpedia: Learn about the candidates running for office

Have You Made Your Plan to Vote?

The 2022 General Election is on Tuesday, November 8th.

Voting is our chance to stand up for our families and our communities. We ALL deserve to have our voices heard this election season.

 

Check out Go Vote Colorado to register to vote or ensure your mailing address is current.

You can also find information specific to your county here.

Click Here to Check Out Go Vote Colorado!

Register to vote or ensure your mailing address is current.

Here Are Some Key Dates in Colorado: 

  • Monday, October 17th – Counties began mailing ballots to registered voters. 
  • October 24th-November 8th – Drop boxes are available and polling centers are open.
  • Monday, October 31st – Last day to submit or update a voter registration and still receive a ballot in the mail.
  • Tuesday, November 8th – Election Day! Polls will be open 7am-7pm. In Colorado, you can register to vote and vote in person up to 7pm on Election Day. If you filled your ballot out at home, be sure to turn it in at a dropbox by 7pm!

Voting lets us weigh in on the issues that are most important to us and that will make and keep Colorado a great place to live. Be a role model for your community and vote! 

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Colorado Voters Must Act to Ensure that No Child Goes Hungry

Colorado Voters Must Act to Ensure that No Child Goes Hungry

by | Oct 13, 2022 | Advocacy, General

This November, you can ensure all of Colorado’s kids have access to healthy school meals. Election ballots will begin hitting mailboxes later this month, and at Illuminate, we are thrilled by the inclusion of Proposition FF: Healthy School Meals for All, a measure that would make access to school meals free for all students in Colorado starting in the 2023-2024 school year.

The Healthy School Meals for All Program supports the development of Protective Factors that have been proven to strengthen families and communities and prevent child maltreatment. The program ensures that no student goes hungry during the school day, breaking the stigma that comes with programs that only provide free meals to low-income students. Additionally, the Healthy School Meals for All Program incentivizes the purchase of healthy ingredients from local sources.

Proposition FF: Healthy School Meals for All

 Make access to school meals free for all students in Colorado starting in the 2023-2024 school year.

Weighing in on the Conversation

In September, Illuminate Colorado’s Strategic Initiatives Manager, Cassie Davis, sat down virtually with the Healthy School Meals for Colorado campaign to discuss why Illuminate Colorado supports this critical measure. Watch the recording to learn more about the program’s capacity to strengthen families and prevent child maltreatment.

Click here to see to what Cassie has to say about Healthy School Meals for All!

How Can I Help to Ensure that Colorado Provides Healthy School Meals for All of Its Students?

 

Vote YES on Proposition FF on Colorado’s November ballot 

      • Make sure you’re ready to vote on this November’s ballot! In Colorado, you can REGISTER TO VOTE and vote in person until 7 p.m. on Election Day, November 8th. In order to receive a ballot in the mail, the deadline to register to vote or update your registration is October 31.
      • You can also sign up for BallotTrax – a system promoted by the Colorado Secretary of State that will allow you to track your ballot from sent to accepted. Sign up for BallotTrax here!

Click Here to Register to Vote Now!

If you would like to vote by mail, you must be registered by October 31st!

Spread the word to get others to Vote YES on FF! 

      • Talk to your friends and family about why you support the measure and encourage them to do so as well. 
      • Participate in the Healthy School Meals for All Days of Action to educate voters in your community on the topic and ask them to vote YES. 
        • Training, materials, and support will be provided!

Click Here to Participate in the Healthy School Meals for All Days of Action!

Sign up for canvassing shifts to educate voters in your community about Healthy School Meals for All.

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