Trivia Answers

1. The Legislative Building was closed for two years to allow for the completion of $21 million in repairs and seismic upgrades. It has been said that the building had long been in need of repairs and the earthquake effectively “called the question.”
2. Legislative business initially continued with lawmakers making committee rooms in the John A. Cherberg and John L. O’Brien Buildings, the respective Senate and House Chambers.

Nisqually Earthquake: Reflections from Representative Ruth Kagi (Ret.)

To get a first-hand account of that infamous day and for what life was like afterwards when the Legislative and other campus buildings were closed for repair, I reached out to former Representative and lifelong early learning champion Ruth Kagi.

At the time of the quake, Representative Kagi was in her 3rd floor office in the John L. O’Brien Building that looked out onto the Legislative Building. She described the sound of the earthquake as a freight train. She was meeting with a lobbyist when the shaking began, and the lobbyist promptly dove under a table. Remembering the admonition learned in her childhood to stand in a doorway during an earthquake, Representative Kagi quickly moved to her doorway, waiting it out (this will be important later).

Representative Kagi recalled that a number of pipes broke on the 3rd floor and water was everywhere. When the rumbling subsided, everyone ran for the stairs and assembled in the parking lot. Hours later when it was determined to be relatively safe, people were allowed to return to their offices to retrieve their personal belongings. Back in her office to grab her purse, Representative Kagi realized that directly above her door was a glass transom window that thankfully did not shatter on her during the quake!

Miraculously, no one was hurt on the Capitol campus. Representative Kagi recalled that when they were able to return to their chambers before the Legislative Building was shut down for repairs, she saw tipping walls and cracks and holes. In the O’Brien building, a chunk of plaster had fallen in one of the stairwells. Former Representative Kathy Haigh and her legislative assistant created artwork depicting a mountain scene out of the broken plaster area that remains in the stairwell to this day. I was not on the Capitol campus that day, but if I were there, I would have gone and taken a picture and included it here. My search to find a photo online came up empty.

Representative Kagi went on to share memories of House floor activity being held in a modular building in a parking lot while the O’Brien building was being renovated and upgraded (the renovation of the O’Brien and Cherberg buildings was undertaken to ensure seismic safety in those buildings as well). Representative Kagi recalled that long tables filled the modular building; legislators were squished together, the modular had low ceilings and it was very loud. She remembered one night when they were voting on the budget, the heat went out, and they were there until 3:00 a.m. with no heat in a modular in a parking lot. Who says being a state legislator isn’t glamorous??

Other memories from Representative Kagi’s tenure in modular buildings were of walls so thin you could hear conversations happening in other offices. Having her office near a very boisterous legislator, Capitol staff had to come in and install sounding boards so she could have functional meetings!

Thank you for sharing this account, Representative Kagi.

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 Answers

Answer 1: According to a 2016 edition of “Thurston Talk,” a total of four sitting United States Presidents have visited the Washington State Capitol.

This is a bit of a trick question, because FIVE Presidents have actually visited Olympia, but President Rutherford Hayes’ October 1880 visit was before Washington became a state. See below for a summary of the Presidential visits (and some historic pictures).

Answer 2: Thurston Talk opines that the transition to airplanes from trains as the preferred mode of transportation meant that Presidents visiting Washington State have been more likely to land in Seattle (or even Spokane) for a visit. It was much easier to stop in Olympia when a President was traveling through by train. As those of us who commute to Olympia via SeaTac can attest, that drive can be traffic filled. It does make sense that any Presidential visits to our state would be centered near major airports.

A quick summary of Presidential visits, courtesy of Thurston Talk and HistoryLink.org Essay 5466:

President Teddy Roosevelt visited the Capitol in 1903 during a tour of Western states. President Roosevelt spoke to thousands gathered on the Capitol campus and took in a special game from Olympia’s minor league baseball team. He said of Olympia, “You have one of the prettiest little cities I have ever visited. It is a delightful place for a home. I have been greatly surprised and gratified. I shall never forget Olympia and her generous people.”

President William Taft’s 1911 visit lasted just one hour. He lunched at the Governor’s Mansion (picture below) where a memorable exchange occurred after another guest hit the President’s hand with a hot coffee pot. “O, I beg your pardon. I didn’t mean to burn you.” To which President Taft replied, “I’ll remember you warmly.”

President Franklin Delano Roosevelt’s 1937 visits to the Capitol was extremely brief, lasting only a few minutes. He was in the region touring what was to become Olympic National Park. After a quick stop-by to the Governor’s mansion, FDR was back at the road, reaching Fort Lewis by car within the hour.

HistoryLink.org devoted an entire piece to President Harry Truman’s 1948 visit where he stayed overnight at the Governor’s Mansion which was inhabited by the President’s friend and former U.S. Senate colleague, then Governor Mon Wallgren.

President Truman flew directly to the Olympia airport from Washington D.C. (the first and last U.S. President to do so). The trip was billed as a “vacation” and President Truman used the Governor’s mansion as home base while he toured the sites in Washington state (think mountains and fishing). Politics never takes a vacation and the real reason for President’s Truman landing pad was its proximity to San Francisco where the United Nations was meeting and he wanted to be close in case he needed to intervene.

Two final additions to President Truman’s visit to Washington state.  He began his trip with a speech at the Spokane Club (I wondered if he enjoyed some of their famous orange rolls?).  It was after this speech that the President had the infamous exchange with a Spokesman Review reporter, telling the reporter, “The Chicago Tribune and this paper are the worst in the United States.”

After the speech and exchange with the media, the President’s train next headed to Ephrata. One member of the Presidential entourage, the President’s Chef, missed the train because he had run out of butter. By the time he tracked it down, the chef missed the train and had to take a cab 90 miles to catch up with the Presidential entourage.

Start Early, formerly the Ounce of Prevention Fund, appreciates the steps taken by Illinois Governor J.B. Pritzker and his administration over the past year to support early care and education programs during a global pandemic. We are, however, disappointed that the Fiscal Year 2022 (FY22) budget framework offered today proposes cuts in state funding to both the Early Intervention (EI) program and the Child Care Assistance Program (CCAP). The administration did propose to maintain current funding levels for preschool and evidence-based home visiting programs, however, which is commendable given the significant financial pressures facing the state.

“We strongly support Governor Pritzker’s efforts to make Illinois the best state in the nation for families raising young children,” Ireta Gasner, Start Early vice president of Illinois policy, said. “But now is not the time to cut state funding of services for infants and toddlers with developmental delays or disabilities, many of whom have been negatively impacted by the pandemic. We look forward to working with the administration and the Illinois General Assembly to direct additional state and federal resources (including federal child care funds), as they become available, to the state’s early care and education system.”

The public health crisis wrought by the COVID-19 pandemic has exacerbated the needs of families, certainly among those already lacking equitable services and opportunities. It has also brought into sharp relief the essential nature of the work performed by early childhood professionals – workers whose efforts are central to the well-being of children, families and communities. Not only must we preserve the ability of state government to serve our communities left most under-resourced, we must do more to equitably invest in our young children and their families.

Despite these challenging times, the administration is laying the necessary groundwork to ensure the state can capitalize on future opportunities to strengthen our early childhood system. The Illinois Commission on Equitable Early Childhood Education and Care Funding is poised to release its recommendations next month on how to fund and structure our state system to ensure all children, birth to age 5, have access to the highest quality care. In addition, Start Early is thrilled that state agency officials and stakeholders came together to create a comprehensive, multiyear plan to improve services and supports for expecting families, infants and toddlers. Together, we will improve the earliest days of a new baby’s life; we will make sure young children with disabilities and developmental delays receive the services and supports they need; and families facing greater challenges will thrive as their child’s first and most important teacher.

To that end, Start Early is eager to partner with the legislature and the administration to implement and retain policy improvements that positively impact young children. For instance, telehealth has been a lifeline for families in the EI program over the last year. Retaining telehealth as an allowable mode of service delivery, even once in-person services return, should be a top priority. In addition, Start Early will continue to partner with the Illinois Legislative Black Caucus to expand the state’s Medicaid program to include coverage for doula services and evidence-based home visiting. Parents deserve access to quality services that keep them and their children healthy, and these kinds of services are key to reducing racial disparities in maternal and child well-being.

Trivia Answers

1. Which current statewide elected officer was instrumental in the development of TVW?

When he was Chief of Staff to former Governor Booth Gardner in 1992, our current Lt. Governor Denny Heck, along with Governor Gardner’s Policy Director Stan Marshburn, began advocating for Washington state to develop its own version of the Congressional channel, CSPAN.

Below is a picture of Lt. Gov. Heck, along with former Governor Booth Gardner and former Lt. Governor Joel Pritchard when TVW went “on the air.” I believe Lt. Governor Heck is the person furthest to the right at the podium. I really enjoy the old technology – HUGE desktops!

In what qualifies as a full circle memory, TVW’s current President Renee Radcliff Sinclair is also a former member of our House of Representatives (21st Legislative District) and she recalls that her first lobby visit after her election was from Lt. Governor Heck and Dale Vincent seeking her support for this proposed method of covering the Legislature.

2. What was TVW’s original name?
TVW was originally named “WASHPAN” for Washington Public Affairs Network (a take on CSPAN). Everyone quickly agreed that name was, well, awful, and it was changed to TVW.

3. When did TVW go on the air?

(Photo credit: Pat Dunn, longtime TVW supporter)

4. What was first broadcast?
The idea of covering legislative activity was not initially supported by a number of members of the Legislature. It took some time for them to see the upside. As a result, the first broadcast showcased oral arguments for a death penalty appeal in the Washington State Supreme Court. To this day, TVW continues to cover our State Supreme Court.

During a special legislative session in 1995, focused on state funding for what was then Safeco field, the House took a vote supporting turning on the cameras, so the first TVW coverage of the House centered on Floor debate for a baseball stadium. The Senate voted to turn on cameras for their events in 1996 and both chambers were regularly covered starting in 1997. At that time, they could only broadcast one event at a time, so TVW would tape other events and show later.

TVW’s motto is they provide “gavel to gavel coverage, anytime, anywhere, on any device.” It has taken time and investment to get there, but that motto is now a reality, particularly with their robust archives section on their website. (I didn’t know this, but you can also access programming on Roku and it’s even produced programs for Amazon Prime). There are now over 60 cameras on campus, filming as many as 15 events at once.

5. What is TVW’s budget and how much of that does the state cover?

TVW has an annual budget of $20 million and only $3 million of that is covered with state funding. TVW makes up the balance of its budget with sponsorships and individual gifts. Importantly, every cable company in our state carries TVW for free. TVW is not a state agency.

More from Renee
Renee also provided this great picture. It is of her in 1995 taking a committee vote on the funding strategy for the major league baseball stadium that eventually became Safeco Field and is now T-Mobile Park. This vote happened the same week that the House voted to turn on TVW’s cameras in hearing rooms and the House Floor.

I asked Renee how they prepared for this year virtual year and she acknowledged they are operating with the good graces of human beings and technology, and both can fail. She said the legislative interim with the frequent press conferences by Governor Inslee allowed them to build the muscle and identify work arounds.

Additionally, TVW accessed CARES dollars which allowed them to increase their bandwidth (think servers and encoders) as well as to secure equipment to provide closed captioning. Finally, she said close coordination with legislative staff has also been key.

Renee highlighted that eyes on their product have skyrocketed with virtual session. They went from 10,000 regular viewers to one million viewers overnight and they have maintained those high numbers throughout session.

Two final points – Renee emphasized TVW’s original programming and encouraged people to check out shows like “Inside Olympia”. She’s right to be proud of that work. And she said the Floor sessions with part Zoom, part in-person are less chaotic than they thought they would be.

A huge thanks to Renee for not only being generous with her time and sharing these great stories and pictures, but to her and her entire team for their work to allow us all to safely stay engaged in the legislative process.

During the first webinar in our “Building Resilience” series, experts across policy, program, and system levels shared their successes, challenges, and opportunities with Early Head Start-Child Care Partnerships (Partnerships). The discussion touched on many relevant and timely themes within the early childhood education sector, including the impact of the ongoing COVID-19 crisis on the child care industry.

One panelist, an early childhood education teacher from Southwest Child Development Center in Oklahoma City, shared this call to action: “The [federal] administration should acknowledge child care workers. We are on the same guidelines as school teachers, we just make less money than them. Child care workers should get the same benefits that school teachers receive.”

While the pandemic has revealed the fragility of our under-resourced child care workforce, it has illuminated the strength and visibility of the Partnerships model. A recent qualitative policy analysis from Start Early, found that Partnerships support continuity of care for infants and toddlers and raise the level of quality for child care.

Participants came away from the discussion with a deeper understanding of Partnerships and their benefits, particularly during the pandemic, as well as ideas on how to support and sustain Partnerships and professional development resources for themselves and their staff.

Thank you to our wonderful panelists:

• Melinda George-LeCote, Director, Child Care Assistance Program in Louisiana
• Amanda Guarino, Policy Director, First Five Years Fund
• Charlina Tirso, Teacher, Southwest Child Development Center
• Sujey M. Venegas, Sr. Director Family, Community Engagement, Early Head Start-Child Care Partnership, United Way of Miami-Dade County
• Moderator: Kristin Bernhard, SVP Advocacy and Policy, Start Early

Trivia Answers

Regardless of their current location or their boss’ party affiliation, the legislative assistant’s answers had a similar theme.

What do they miss about in-person session?

• People! The first answer from each of them was that they missed people. They miss the buzz and energy of the Capitol campus. They talked about the comradery they feel with fellow legislative staff and even lobbyists, particularly on the long days and late nights. Legislative session is an emotional roller coaster, and that support helps everyone get through the fast-paced days.
• Constituent Visits. They talked about how they miss constituents coming to visit. These constituent visits recharge their legislators (and them!) and remind them of why they do this work. These connections revitalize the legislator and staff alike.
• Socializing. For the few who are on the Capitol campus right now, it is QUIET. They miss coffees and lunches with colleagues. They miss the evening receptions that for many young legislative staff serve as a great place to get dinner. One staff made a point of saying the Shellfish Growers Reception is the best annual event – hands down. Not only is the food amazing, but I was told the shellfish growers are fascinating to talk with. A number noted the impact the lack of activity in Olympia has had on Olympia area restaurants, hotels and catering companies. It has been devastating.
• Dome Deli Coffee Cart. Most people on the campus have an affection for the Dome Deli. We know the people who work there and hear about their families. The Dome Deli has been shuttered for nearly a year and there’s limited food available on campus (think vending machines in the Pritchard Library). It’s not the same.
• Governor’s Inaugural Ball. Due to COVID, there was not an inaugural ball this year which is always a huge highlight for the entire Capitol community.
• Picking up the “vibe.” It is hard to pick up the unspoken vibe virtually. Are people tense, who is not talking to whom? All of those unspoken interactions are harder to get virtually.

(Writer’s note – I was surprised none of them mentioned missing potato, beef or dairy day. That would be at the top of my list).

What do they like better?

• Fewer interruptions. Because they do not have people constantly streaming by their desks, they can finish tasks.
• Constituent Engagement. Constituents are able to engage much easier without having to take a day off of work, find child care, etc.  That’s a positive.
• House slippers. For those working at home or in the district office, dress is more casual.
• More parking, less traffic. For the staff on campus, the ability to get to work on time (no I-5 freeway jams around 8:00 or 5:00) and an abundance of parking are a plus.
• Virtual connections with their colleagues. Many legislative assistants face isolation during interim as they return to their districts.  They have been a lot more connected to each other as they navigate this new reality, sharing tips and establishing protocols.

What do their days look like now?

• Screen Time! Like most of us, they are spending their days staring at multiple monitors.
• “Nothing is on the fly.” During in-person session, lobbyists can grab legislators in the halls, pull them off the Floor, etc. Without these options, everything has to be scheduled – every short conversation is a meeting request.  This puts a tremendous pressure on the legislative assistants as they manage increased scheduling requests and they have to build in breaks for their legislators – and for themselves. (A good reminder to give them grace as we all try to schedule meetings).
• Snacks are key! Like during in-person session, an ample supply of snacks helps with the long days.
• Where’s my legislator? One of the first lessons legislative assistants are taught is to know where their legislator is at all times.  This is more complicated in virtual session and each legislative assistant described the communication tools they have put in place with their legislator.
• Floor Time. I thought this was an interesting factoid.  For the Senate floor sessions, 8 Democrats, 7 Republicans, rostrum staff and 2 caucus staff are allowed on the floor or in the wings and they are unable to swap out members during floor sessions on a single day due to sanitation concerns.

Thanks to all of the wonderful legislative assistants.  They are key to the success of the Capitol community!  I know I miss streaming by their desks and interrupting their work.

Quality early learning and care can help our country address so many of the issues raised during this week’s confirmation hearing for President Biden’s nominee for education secretary, Miguel Cardona, including addressing the opportunity gap, providing social and emotional supports, and providing learning opportunities that are culturally and linguistically responsive and honor students’ unique needs and abilities.

Learning begins at birth and our education system should begin then as well. We can’t expect the K-12 system to remediate opportunity gaps that open before a child’s first birthday.

Cardona shared a desire to not only meet the immediate needs of students and their families amidst the pandemic, but to think beyond the present to design for building back better. This will require new ways of thinking and working. While today’s hearing focused on K-12 and higher education, we hope Cardona will address our education system as a single, interconnected journey that begins at birth (and before) and that must provide equitably and adequately for our students at every step. Of course, this will require aligning and coordinating early childhood work across the federal government, as strengthening early childhood programs and supports won’t be the work of the Education Department (ED) alone. We hope Cardona will champion these investments, even if they might happen outside of the Education Department, and partner closely with his peer leaders at other federal agencies that deeply impact young children, particularly the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. Additionally, the collaboration between ED and HHS departments would send a message to system leaders at all levels to do the same — creating an opportunity to use ED’s bully pulpit to drive radical collaboration that benefits all children.

We appreciate the focus on diversity, equity, and inclusion and addressing the opportunity gap in the vision that Cardona has laid out. Additionally, we appreciate his commitment to examining school discipline issues and inequities, which have serious implications for all children, including our youngest learners and children of color.

Sens. Kaine and Cassidy also raised issues around supports for learners who have disabilities. Appropriate screening and early intervention are critical to ensuring their success, as is increasing funding the Individuals with Disabilities in Education Act. We agree with Cardona that this would be a “game-changer” for learners.

Finally, it is important that all educators be offered the opportunity to be vaccinated as quickly as possible, a task that is so much harder in early childhood given the fragmentation of programs and providers. Given the vaccine roll out has varied at the local level, we encourage federal guidance that all educators be prioritized—whether they teach toddlers or 12th graders.

We encourage Commissioner Cardona, as well as the President and Congress, to continue to move quickly on delivering COVID-19 relief to children, families, and those who serve them, including ensuring that educators — beginning with those who teach our youngest learners — are included in priority groups for vaccine access.

Trivia!

During the first week of the legislative session, the Senate Health Care and Long-Term Committee held a fascinating work session “Pandemic: Past, Present and Future.”  I particularly recommend the speaker from the University of Washington’s Alliance for Pandemic Preparedness who started at minute 14 and the speaker from the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation who started at minute 53.

That work session prompted me to do some more late-night Internet deep dives about Washington state’s response to the 1918 pandemic, leading to this week’s trivia:

1. What sector was the epicenter of the 1918 pandemic?
2. What was the first statewide mandate to stem the spread?

Highlights of the Week

“Early Action Bill” Advances.  The Legislature spent its first two weeks working to develop an “Early Action Bill” that directs $2.2 billion in federal money to help families and businesses most impacted by the pandemic. This press release from the House Democrats provides an overview of the broad distribution of the funds.

For child care, the package directs $50 million of the $167 million Washington received in additional Child Care and Development Block Grant funds at the end of 2020.  The state has three years to spend down the entire amount. The $50 million in child care funds are to be distributed as follows (with DCYF having the authority to redistribute based on underutilization or overutilization in a particular area):

• $28.8 million in grants to licensed child care providers serving children birth to 13. Providers would receive a base grant of $6,500 with an additional $100 for additional each licensed slot over 65;
• $6 million for $6500 grants to licensed providers who do not accept subsidy;
• $10.6 million to reimburse school-age providers at the regional preschool age Working Connections Child Care subsidy rate through April 2021;
• $4 million for the Department of Children, Youth and Families to incentivize providers to take new subsidized slots; and
• Finally, $600,000 to provide $250 incentives to Family, Friend and Neighbor providers.

As the name denotes, this is on a fast track. The House version (HB 1368) was approved by House Appropriations on January 28th, is expected to be before the full House of Representatives on January 29th, and is tentatively scheduled for a public hearing in the Senate Ways and Means Committee on February 2nd. The Senate version (SB 5344) is also scheduled for a public hearing in the Senate Ways and Means Committee on February 2nd. The hope is to get these funds out to impacted parties as soon as possible.

Senate Ways and Means Committee briefed on existing federal COVID expenditures. As the Legislature is preparing to move on an Early Action bill meant to provide additional pandemic related relief, this week the Senate Ways and Means Committee received briefings from their staff and state agencies on how previous federal stimulus dollars were utilized.

Senate staff provided a high-level overview of the investments as well as explanation around the state’s existing procedures for handling Unanticipated Receipts (UARs), allocations outside of the legislative budget writing window. In most years, UARs are typically grants received by state agencies, and were an exception.

Obviously the multi-billion in COVID related funding was unprecedented, creating Unanticipated Receipts in the multi-billion-dollar range.  It is important to note that decisions related to the federal dollars received since the legislature adjourned last March were made in consultation with leadership from the Senate and House Democrats and Republicans. Because of the experiences over the past year, Senate Ways and Means Chair Christine Rolfes has introduced SB 5162 to revise the process for Unanticipated Receipts, adding a requirement for an Oversight Board to review plans for expenditures exceeding $5 million.

Following the high-level overview, a variety of state agencies reported out on how they spent federal stimulus dollars.  DCYF’s Allison Krutsinger presented this Powerpoint that explained the agency’s guiding principles in their decision making and broke down the $163.2 million DCYF distributed to support the child care industry. Krutsinger concluded by identifying additional needs for consideration as the Legislature starts to prepare the 2021-23 budget.  These recommendations included fixing the co-pay cliff, increasing subsidy reimbursement and expanding eligibility for more working families to access subsidized child care.

TVW Delivers! Our state’s CSPAN, TVW, has proven invaluable during this virtual legislative session. Their team is working doggedly to ensure not one second of legislative activity is missed. In addition to their coverage of legislative floor sessions, committee meetings and availability with legislative leadership, they also produce their own original content.

I wanted to flag the January 21st Inside Olympia with Austin Jenkins. This edition was split into two sections. The first included an interview with the bipartisan authors of the Senate’s Select Committee on Economic Recovery’s COVID recovery plan, Senator David Frockt and Senator Shelly Short. Senators Frockt and Short highlighted common agreement about the top priorities for the state’s recovery included in the report, including the importance of investing in child care. While there were many areas of agreement, the conversation surfaced several differing approaches between the Democratic and Republican caucuses. Specifically related to child care, Senator Short emphasized the importance of parent choice and Senator Frockt discussed the “mismatch” of supply and demand, a problem present prior to the pandemic.

Bill Action This Week

With the February 15th cutoff for bills to be moved out of policy committees approaching, we are seeing the introduction of new bills slowing and more brisk activity in policy committees. As a reminder, bills first receive a “public hearing” where the sponsoring legislator makes a case for their bill and then members of the public are able to weigh in with their thoughts. The virtual session has greatly expanded access to the public comment process, a silver lining to a virtual session.

Following the public hearing, bills can be scheduled for an “executive session” where committee members vote to advance the bill to the next step in the process. Amendments can be taken during this executive session process, so it is important to track the version of the bill as approved. It is also important to note that not every bill that receives a public hearing will receive an executive session or vote. It is also not uncommon for scheduled executive sessions to be rescheduled if amendments are still in the process of being negotiated. This happened this week with Rep. Senn’s Fair Start Act (HB 1213) as that executive session was moved from January 27th to either February 3rd or 4th. Bills we are tracking include:

• HB 1278 by Representatives Dent and Eslick. This bill was heard in the House Children, Youth and Families on January 28^th and would suspend certain professional development and higher education requirements until Sept. 30, 2025.  There was robust debate about striking the right balance of education and professional development requirements and appropriate regulatory oversight.  The question was also raised if the bill in its current form could put the state’s federal Child Care and Development Fund dollars in jeopardy if elements of quality, such as education and professional development requirements, were eased to the degree proposed.
• SB 5023 by Senator Claire Wilson was approved by the Senate Early Learning and K-12 Committee on January 27^th and now moves to Senate Ways and Means. The bill aims to ensure that certain unemployment benefits do not render families ineligible for Working Connections Child Care.
• Amended and approved by the Senate Health Care Committee on January 27th, SB 5052 by Senator Karen Keiser would create health equity zones. The social determinant of health focus of this legislation could weave in early childhood strategies.  Amendments include the ability for communities to self-identify potential health equity zones.  The bill now moves to the Senate Ways and Means Committee.
• Amended and approved by the Senate Early Learning and K-12, SB 5136 by Senator Claire Wilson would waive licensing fees for child care providers. Amendments taken in the committee sunset the fee waiver on June 30, 2023 (as introduced, licensing fees would have been permanently waived).  The bill now moves to Senate Ways and Means.
• SB 5151 is the Department of Children, Youth and Families licensing bill. Sponsored by legislative early learning champion Claire Wilson, the bill includes a provision to move the outdoor preschool effort from pilot to a permanent option for families.  It was approved by the Senate Early Learning and K-12 Committee this week and moves to Senate Ways and Means.

What’s on Deck for Next Week

Fair Start Act.  As mentioned above, the Executive Session in the House Children, Youth and Families Committee for HB 1213 will be on either February 3^rd or 4^th.  The Committee will consider a number of amendments which we will recap in next week’s newsletter.  An Executive Session on the Senate version (SB 5237) will be held on February 3^rd.

Another reminder that Start Early WA’s webpage contains a resource page that includes a summary of the Fair Start Act, as introduced.

Early Learning Facilities.  The Early Learning Facilities Fund and the Washington Early Learning Loan Fund provide capital funding to support needed early learning facilities.  On Tuesday, February 2^nd, the House Capital Budget Committee will hold a work session to educate committee members on this program.

At that same meeting, the House Capital Budget Committee will hold a hearing on Representative Callan’s HB 1370 which would increase allowable grant levels for the Early Learning Facilities Fund and also would include technical assistance as an allowable expense.  This inclusion of technical assistance is important as many early learning professionals could benefit from technical expertise when navigating construction issues and real estate loans.

Trivia Answers

* Information Source: historylink.org, “Flu in Washington: The 1918 ‘Spanish Flu’ Pandemic,” published March 23, 2017

Answer 1: The epicenter(s) of the 1918 pandemic were our military bases with a particularly high number of cases at Camp Lewis and the University of Washington Naval Training Center.

Why our military bases? World War I was in its final months during the height of the pandemic. This accelerated the spread as service members 1) traveled around the world and then returned stateside (bringing the flu) and 2) lived in close quarters. A perfect storm.

Answer 2:The first statewide directive was a mask mandate issued on November 3, 1918. The mandate specified that masks must “entirely cover the nose and mouth.” (Of course, that reminder was again needed 102 years later.)

The state’s action for a mask mandate came after a number of cities had closed all public places.

With all of the legislative discussion underway about the configuration of local public health boards and funding of public health generally, it was interesting to learn that in 1918 – aside from larger cities like Seattle, Tacoma, Spokane and Yakima – all local public health officials were part-time men (of course!) who were paid nothing or maybe $5 a month. These public health officials were subject to political whims and were often abruptly replaced, themes we have seen play out in our recent pandemic experience.

I, of course, wondered how the pandemic stopped in 1918. Did the state set up massive vaccination sites? Nope. This article said the pandemic eventually ebbed because it “ran out of vulnerable victims.” (Gulp).