Laura, a professor of nursing at Bradley University, signed up for Family Connects Illinois with her students in mind. The evidence-based, universal home visiting program is offered to families with newborn children in Peoria County.

“As I was signing the paperwork to be induced, hospital staff shared information about this free program that they thought I might be interested in,” she recalls. “I thought I would see what it was about not only for myself, but to help connect my students to new opportunities that further their knowledge.”

After giving birth, Laura returned home with her newborn son, Tommy. She had all but forgotten about the program until she received a call a few weeks later, connecting her to her nurse home visitor, Marianne.

Disclaimer: With both the Senate and House working late into the night this week, there is a chance there may be action on legislation covered in this update after we have “gone to print.”

Trivia!

This week’s trivia is in honor of Women’s History Month.

1. What year were women first elected to the Washington State House of Representatives and when was the first woman elected to the Washington State Senate?
2. With March Madness approaching, and the nation focused on rankings, what is the Washington State Legislature’s current national ranking for its number of elected women? (And I never miss a chance to say – GO ZAGS!)

Highlights of the Week

Halfway Mark and “5:00 Bill”. We are now just over halfway through the 2021 legislative session, with the April 25th adjournment date getting ever so much closer. This week was almost exclusively focused on Senate and House floor activity.

Both bodies plan to work over the weekend in advance of the 5:00 p.m. Tuesday, March 9th Floor Cutoff deadline. During the lead up to every Floor Cutoff, there is speculation as to what will be the “5:00 bill.” This expression relates to the rule that if debate starts on a bill prior to 5:00 p.m., the debate can continue for as long as it takes – there is not a hard stop at 5:00.

Sometimes the “5:00 bill” will honor a legislator. For example, two years ago one of the 5:00 bills was Speaker Chopp’s behavioral health bill, a passion of the then Speaker. This extra time provided a chance for legislators to honor Representative Chopp’s legacy as Speaker as he had previously announced plans to step down from that role. Legislators on both sides of the aisle donned mustaches (his signature look) to the delight of the Speaker.

Other times the 5:00 bill can be a controversial item. I recall a couple of years ago the 5:00 bill in the Senate was an immunization bill and there were questions as to whether the proper steps had been taken to initiate the debate prior to 5:00 p.m. After conferring with the Senate counsel, then Lt. Governor Cyris Habib ruled all necessary steps had been taken, and bill received debate and a vote. There are a number of “big” bills in play this year, so there are many “5:00 bill” options.

Floor Activity Shifts Back to Committee Action. Following the March 9^th Floor Cutoff, action will return to policy committees where those committees will begin review of bills that passed the opposite chamber. This review will proceed at a brisk clip, with a March 26^th cutoff for bills to pass out of policy committees.

Two early learning bills have been scheduled for public hearing in House Children, Youth and Families Committee on Thursday, March 11^th: SSB 5151, the Department of Children, Youth and Families licensing bill, and 2SSB 5237, the Senate’s Fair Start for Kids Act (pending approval by the Senate first).

Capital Gains Proposal Continues to Receive Attention. On Wednesday of this week, Senator June Robinson’s Capital Gains proposal, SSB 5096, was moved from the Rules Committee to the Senate Floor calendar. This means there could be a Senate vote for Capital Gains at any time.

A proposed striking amendment to SSB 5096 is posted, adding intent language for the use of the new revenues and changes the distribution of funds generated by capital gains. The striking amendment proposes that the first $350 million collected every year be directed to the existing Education Legacy Trust Account; the next $100 million to the state General Fund; and the balance of revenue collected into a newly formed “taxpayer fairness account.” The intent section states that dollars in the taxpayer fairness account would be used to offset existing tax burdens and would be used to fund policies like the Working Families Tax Exemption.

More specifically, the bill declares legislative intent that the first $350 million collected and directed to the Education Legacy Trust Account is intended to support education, including early learning, and child care.  It also says that funding should also be used to provide for the economic security of low-income households struggling to afford child care and preschool.

There is a lot of debate about the merits and timing for new revenue. This Austin Jenkins piece from March 1^st provides a solid overview of the differing schools of thought on this issue.

Early Learning Facilities Funds Proposed to Be Named After Former Representative Ruth Kagi. SHB 1370 by Representative Lisa Callan would make improvements to the Early Learning Facilities Funds by increasing the grant and loan award limits and reducing the requirement that the project site be under the applicant’s control from a minimum of 20 years to a minimum of 10 years.  SHB 1370 is awaiting a vote on the House Floor.  A proposed Floor amendment would rename these funds the “Ruth LeCocq Kagi Early Learning Facilities and Revolving Fund Accounts” in honor of Ruth Kagi’s tremendous contributions to advance early learning.  A well-deserved honor!

Economic Forecast. On Wednesday, the Washington State Economic and Revenue Forecast Council received an updated economic forecast. This economic forecast informs the revenue forecast that will be released at the Council’s March 17^th meeting, which will , in turn, inform the Senate and House budget proposals that will be released shortly thereafter.

In his presentation, the State Economist Dr. Stephen Lerch reported that the economic forecast includes effects of the federal stimulus bill passed in December 2020 and assumes passage of the primary parts of the $1.9 trillion stimulus bill currently under review in Congress.  In the positive news column, revenue collections exceeded November projections by $593 million (or 9%); housing construction in Washington state continues to outpace November estimates; and while employment has declined since November, overall employment rates are expected to grow.

Not surprisingly, the risks to the economic forecast are still associated with COVID.  The largest risk relates to vaccine distribution.  If the vaccine rollout goes faster than projected, we could see more people returning to work, more consumer confidence and a return to more typical spending patterns.  If there are slowdowns with vaccine distribution, or if the virus variants cause increased illness, the opposite would be true.

A couple data points that jumped out to me:

1. Based on an early February U.S. Census Survey, the top two reasons for changes in household spending in Washington state were concerns over crowds and concerns about the economy.
2. Compared to the November forecast, Washington’s population growth is expected to slow due to higher death rates (think COVID) and lower migration.

Whether your child is a newborn or about to head to kindergarten, here are some great books to read during storytime:

• Little Blue Truck by Alice Schertle
• Giraffes Can’t Dance by Giles Andreae
• Smile, Baby Faces Board Book by Roberta Grobel Intrater
• Hair Love by Matthew A. Cherry
• Peekaboo Morning by Rachel Isadora
• We’re Different, We’re the Same by Bobbi Kates
• Don’t Let the Pigeon Stay Up Late by Mo Willems
• Grumpy Monkey by Suzanne Lang and Max Lang
• What If by Samantha Berger
• Swimmy by Leo Lionni
• The Day the Crayons Quit by Drew Daywalt

Other Early Learning Resources:

• 7 Books for Teaching Young Children How to Be Great Leaders
• 12 Tips to Boost Early Literacy

Amidst a wave of executive orders (EO) issued by the Biden administration, the immigration-focused EO signed in early February 10 has the potential to dramatically impact immigrant families by starting the process of dismantling the public charge rule.

The “public charge” inadmissibility test has been a feature of immigration law for decades. It allows the government to deny an immigrant’s application for admission to the United States or their application for lawful permanent resident status (or “green card”) if they are deemed likely to depend on public benefit support in the future. The prior administration instituted changes to criteria for how public charge determinations are made, further restricting who can lawfully live in this country.

Recognizing that the rule is and will be in effect as the current administration works through appropriate processes, advocates and family-facing agencies must push for clear and accurate information, while still working toward a full reversal of public charge regulations.

What does the executive order entail?
The latest EO calls on relevant federal agencies to review and evaluate the effects of the 2019 public charge rule and address the policies’ effects on our immigration and public health systems within 60 days. Agencies are also directed to develop communications that clarify the applicability of the public charge rule to reduce the harmful impact on immigrants and their families, who may turn down available safety net programs benefits due to a fear of immigration-related consequences. This is known as the “chilling effect.” The EO does not, however, directly rescind or replace the rule.

What is the impact on families with young children?
Even prior to the public charge rule taking effect in early 2020, there was a decline in the uptake of safety net supports by families, often due to fear of immigration-related consequences.¹ Now, despite new economic hardships created by the COVID-19 pandemic, these “chilling effect” fears are exasperated and families continue to disenroll from vital public supports. In 2020, one in six adults in immigrant families reported avoiding using non-cash public benefits, fearing potential impacts on future green card applications or other immigration status or enforcement concerns.²

Fully dismantling the public charge rule carries substantial implications for child and maternal health. In Illinois, 27% of the total child population has one or more foreign-born parents, and within this population, over 214,000 account for children under age 6. ³ In addition, 35% of Illinois’ children rely on public insurance for routine and preventative care, as well as urgent health care needs. ⁴ The impacts of forgone prenatal, postpartum and well-child visits, in addition to other public benefits supports like the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program or housing assistance, jeopardize birth, early health and longer-term developmental outcomes.

Noting the disproportionate harmful impact that the COVID-19 pandemic has had on communities of color, including immigrant families, there is increased urgency to repeal the public charge rule and further ensure that families feel safe accessing safety net supports for which they are eligible. Moreover, by dismantling the public charge rule and fostering acceptance of and support for immigrant families across relevant federal agencies, the administration can uphold its commitment to increasing racial equity.

What comes next?
Advocates can urge the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) to issue clear guidance on the range of programs and individuals impacted by the public charge rule. Through administrative advocacy, allies can push for a full reversal of public charge regulations, including urgent rulemaking by DHS to overturn the policies.

Providers and others who work closely with immigrant families can also begin gathering stories about the impact that the public charge rule has had on families with young children, which will be crucial to support comments on the next round of DHS rulemaking.

Finally, to dispel misinformation and fear, family-facing providers can continue to share the latest information from leading immigrant-rights organizations. See below.

• KeepYourBenefits.org
• You Have Rights health-focused information guide
• Fact sheets on Women, Infants and Children (English | Spanish)
• Should I Keep My Kids Enrolled in Health & Nutrition Programs?

Sources
¹K. Whitener et al, “Decade of Success for Latino Children’s Health Now in Jeopardy,” Georgetown University Center for Children and Families, (March 2020)
² Hamutal Bernstein, Dulce Gonzalez, Michael Karpman, and Stephen Zuckerman, “Immigrant Families Continued Avoiding the Safety Net during the COVID-19 Crisis” (Washington, DC: Urban Institute, 2021).
³ Migration Policy Institute, State Immigration Data Profiles 2018
⁴Kaiser Family Foundation’s “Health Insurance Coverage of Children 0-18,” estimates based on the Census Bureau’s American Community Survey, 2008-2018

The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) is home to several federal offices that set key policies for children and families. As President Biden’s nominee for HHS Secretary, Xavier Becerra, appears before the Senate Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions Committee on February 23, we hope he will keep the needs of children and families at the forefront of the agency’s ongoing work and its efforts to rebuild and recover amidst the COVID-19 pandemic.

Families, providers, and community and state systems leaders have spent this last year learning and innovating as the pandemic forced swift action and adaptation related to key issues of access, inclusion, and equity in early care and learning. Here are the lessons we hope new HHS leadership will heed from early childhood stakeholders as they take the agency’s helm:

1. For the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services: Enable and scale innovations related to home-visiting and early intervention services.

HHS’s Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) should explore new ways to leverage federal funding streams — like Medicaid — to expand access to evidence-based home visiting programs and doula services. By making access to MIECHV supported doula services a priority, HHS has the opportunity to address disparities in maternal health outcomes, improve engagement in home visiting, and strengthen the continuum of health-supportive interventions starting prenatally. Here in Illinois, Start Early has supported legislation to expand the Medicaid program to cover evidence-based home visiting and doula services, helping to ensure families have access to these high-quality supports that keep them and their children healthy. Expanding Medicaid to cover these important interventions will allow for state-wide expansion of home visiting and doula capacity and coordination of services and supports for children and families from before birth through early childhood. Under its new leadership, we encourage CMS to continue working with Illinois and other states who are working to remove barriers that prevent low-income women from accessing home visiting and doula services, provide guidance and support to states like Illinois that are looking to expand Medicaid coverage of these services, and replicate those efforts at the federal level. This includes timely approvals of flexibilities such as the 1115 waiver which extends postpartum coverage for women on Medicaid for up to 12 months.

Since the start of the COVID-19 pandemic, CMS has issued waivers and flexibilities that support the use of telehealth among Medicare beneficiaries. This has benefitted many underserved and priority populations, including children and families in rural areas and those receiving Early Intervention services. HHS has the opportunity to ensure that telehealth remains an option for delivery of all Early Intervention services beyond the current public health emergency. We strongly encourage CMS to use this unprecedented moment as an opportunity to learn from states and local communities where continuation of Medicaid-funded telehealth might benefit kids and families.

2. For the Administration for Children and Families: Promote cross-program collaboration and funding stream innovations that strengthen the U.S.’s child care infrastructure.

HHS’s Administration for Children and Families is home to the federal Office of Child Care and Office of Head Start, two entities that are positioned to continue making great strides in strengthening our nation’s child care infrastructure.

A key lesson from the pandemic is that simply stabilizing child care is not sufficient. We must also focus on improving, strengthening and redesigning our child care system to make it more equitable and accessible and supportive of the unique needs of home-based child care providers and family choice. We urge the Office of Child Care to explore how staffed family child care networks and shared services alliances can fulfill these goals, by increasing providers’ access to technical assistance and families’ access to embedded health, mental health and family engagement services. An investment in research is also essential, to determine the effectiveness of different types of networks for increasing supply, improving quality, enhancing child outcomes and to identify effective programs that support family, friend, and neighbor caregivers to maintain safe, stimulating home environments and earn livable wages.

We also encourage the Administration for Children and Families to explore how existing federal funding streams — including the Preschool Development B-5 funds, Head Start funds, and Child Care Development Block Grant — can be leveraged to ensure providers and networks of providers can partner effectively to best serve the children and families in their communities. While the pandemic has revealed the fragility of our under-resourced child care sector, it has also illuminated the importance of providers being able to braid or layer different funding sources to provide comprehensive services to families. Strong programs braid funding from various sources in order to ensure that the families they serve have access to a comprehensive, high-quality early childhood education experience. The Administration for Children and Families should work closely with state administrators to ensure providers at the local level can partner effectively by encouraging layered funding. This would go a long way toward improving the quality of experience for families with young children by increasing the opportunities for pre-k, head start, early head start and child care partnerships. Family child care networks and shared services alliances can be one of the vehicles for building those partnerships, as can the Early Head Start Child Care Partnerships model, which helps raise the bar on what quality infant and toddler care can and should be.

3. For the Health Resources and Services Administration: Learn from families and home visitors about their COVID-related funding and flexibility needs.

HHS’s Health Resources and Services Administration is home to the Maternal, Infant, and Early Childhood Home-Visiting (MIECHV) Program. Nearly one year into the COVID-19 pandemic, home-visitors and their clients have learned a lot about the limitations of home-visiting funding sources and the additional flexibilities needed to deliver high-quality services during this time. Pending the inclusion of additional MIECHV funding in future COVID relief packages, HHS should continue to support the home visiting field and MIECHV program by offering the utmost flexibility to state grantees. Without losing sight of the goal to return to in-person home visiting when the pandemic subsides, HHS should capitalize on the opportunity to evaluate what the field has learned from the shift to virtual service delivery, from ways to creatively engage families to new sets of workforce supports. As the field works to understand the blend of service delivery strategies that will best serve families in the long-term, research should ensure key equity issues are investigated including access to and comfort with technology, and disparities in health risks and comfort with in-home services moving forward.

Trivia!

1. In the spirit of Presidents Day, how many United States Presidents have visited Washington State’s Capitol while in office?
2. The last Presidential visit to Olympia was in 1948. What is one explanation for why these visits to Olympia have stopped?

Highlights of the Week

Early Action Bill Scheduled for Signature Friday. Governor Inslee is scheduled to sign the Early Action bill, ESHB 1368, on Friday, February 19^th at 1:00 p.m.  See Start Early WA’s January 29th newsletter for a summary of how the $50 million for child care will be distributed.

State Revenue Projections Continue to Exceed Projections. This week, the state’s February Economic and Revenue Forecast was released.  The good news is that state General Fund collections from January 11 – February 10, 2021 came in $269.5 million more than forecasted in November (a 15.3% increase).  The next revenue report will come out on March 17^th and will inform the Senate and House budgets that will be released shortly thereafter.

Fair Start Act Bills Heard in Fiscal Committees. Both the House and Senate versions of the Fair Start for Kids Act are moving as the measures received approval from their respective fiscal committees.  Start Early WA continues to update summary documents on our website to reflect a summary of the latest amendments and a side-by-side comparison of the latest versions.

SHB 1213 received bipartisan support in the House Appropriations Committee on Wednesday with five Republicans joining their Democratic colleagues in voting yes on the bill.  Prior the vote, a few technical amendments were adopted, the most significant of which was inclusion of a “null and void” clause which means the provisions of the bill need to be funded in the final adopted budget to be implemented.

On Thursday, the Senate Ways and Means Committee approved SSB 5237.  Prior to the vote, amendments were taken to change the reduce the income eligibility thresholds for Working Connections Child Care and to change the appointing authority for most members of the Early Learning Advisory Council.

Fiscal notes are not yet available for SHB 1213 or SSB 5237.  (Fiscal notes detail projected costs associated with bill components.)  At the Senate Ways and Means hearing, Committee staff presented a chart detailing projected costs of the Senate version.

Senate Capital Gains Bill Advances. On Tuesday, the Senate Ways and Means Committee approved SSB 5096 which would create a capital gains tax in Washington state.  The tax rate included in the bill is 7 percent and the first $250,000 of capital gains are excluded from the tax as are certain sales or exchanges.

Current projections are this bill would generate $550 million a year in new revenue.  SSB 5096 specifies that the first $350 million raised annually would be deposited into the existing Education Legacy Trust Account and additional funds raised would be deposited into a newly created “Taxpayer Relief Account.”

Current statute provides that the Education Legacy Trust Account can be used to support schools, expanding access to higher education by funding new enrollments and financial aid, early learning through the 2019-21 biennia (although there is legislative intent to extend this to future biennia) and other educational improvement efforts.

The House’s capital gains bill, HB 1496, has a different approach and plan for dollars generated. In the House version, initially half of the revenue would go to the Fair Start for Kids Account and the balance to the state General Fund, with the breakdown rising to 60% for Fair Start and the balance to General Fund in future years.

Capital gains is just one of the active revenue options under review.    This Crosscut article has a great summary of what is in play and describes the differing approaches. This Spokesman Review article highlights the Senate hearing and plans for the revenue.

House Republicans Release Operating Budget. Following Senate Republicans last week, the House Republicans released their priorities for a 2021 Supplemental and 2021-23 Operating budgets. These summary and agency detail documents highlight their vision.  Like in the Senate Republican budget, the House Republicans do not propose new revenue and tap into the Budget Stabilization Account (Rainy Day Fund).

Regarding early learning, the House Republicans also propose moving out the ECEAP entitlement date to 2026-27, would fund additional ECEAP slots, and provide a 7% across the board rate increase.  For Working Connections Child Care, their budget would cap co-payments at $115 a month in Fiscal Year 2022 and at $250 a month in Fiscal Year 2023.

Bill Round Up

Work of Fiscal Committees Wrapping Up; Next up – Floor Action. Monday, Feb. 22nd is the deadline for bills to pass out of fiscal committees. This week we have seen marathon fiscal committee hearings until well into the evening. The law of averages – it always seems that bills you are following are up at the SAME time in different committees. One upside of virtual session is you do not have to dash between legislative buildings and you can watch the debate on multiple monitors. People who signed up to testify this week are real troopers – some waited six or seven hours to testify.

Bills continue to move through the process and nearly every bill passed in Appropriations was amended to include a “null and void clause.” This means that if funding is not ultimately provided in the adopted budget, the provisions in the bill will not go into effect. This clause allows the bills to advance through the process and meet the deadlines while the budget details are being worked out.

The next big deadline is March 9th when bills must be passed out of their house of origin. This means both the Senate and the House will spend most of the next two weeks in hybrid Floor sessions, with a few members and key staff physically present at the Capitol, but the bulk of legislators will be on Zoom. They fully anticipate this process will be slow going and we should anticipate communication and logistical breakdowns.

ECEAP Entitlement Bill Passes Policy Committee. On Monday, the House Children, Youth and Families Committee approved SHB 1451 which would move the entitlement for ECEAP to the 2026-27 school year and redefines entitlement as a full-day program.  The bill is now in House Appropriations and as of this writing, has not been scheduled for a hearing.  The February 22^nd fiscal committee deadline would not apply to this bill because it is “Necessary to Implement the Budget,” as moving the ECEAP deadline will result in budget savings.  Additionally, this concept is also part of the Fair Start for Kids Act bills, which are moving in both chambers.

Waiving of Licensing Fees Folded into DCYF’s Licensing Bill. In an effort to reduce the number of bills moving through the process, the content of some bills is being amended into similar bills.  One example is this is SSB 5151 which was amended and approved by the Senate Ways and Means Committee this week.  Originally introduced as the Department of Children, Youth and Families bill around licensing, the bill was amended in Senate Ways and Means to include the components of SB 5136 which would suspend child care licensing fees through June 30, 2023.  This action means that SSB 5151 now includes both the agency’s licensing issues as well as the temporary waiving of child care licensing fees.  This bill now moves to Senate Rules.

Early Learning Facility Bill Advances. On Wednesday, the House Capital Committee approved HB 1370 which makes changes to the Early Learning Facilities Fund.  At the hearing, amendments were adopted to reduce the commitment period for grantees receiving more than $200,000 from the Fund from 20 to 10 years, and delete a section related to start-up grants connected to the Fair Start for Kids Account.  With these amendments, the bill next moves to House Rules and potentially the Floor for consideration by the full House.