Check out this year's scorecard

Arizona legislators had a unique opportunity this legislative session. The pandemic did not result in the $1 billion deficit that was expected. Instead, analysts projected there was more than $1.5 billion in ongoing, unobligated revenues plus nearly $3 billion in one-time cash. These funds could have been used to invest in Arizona’s future. From public schools to health care to affordable housing, many opportunities existed to make improvements that would have long-lasting impacts on our state. Instead, the legislature squandered this opportunity and passed record-breaking tax cuts. As a result, the cuts will have a devastating impact on Arizona’s future by taking away revenue that future legislatures and Governors could use to make the types of investments in our children and families that enable all Arizona communities to thrive.

Not all legislators voted for these bad policies. There were some bright spots this legislative session when most lawmakers came together to pass legislation that will make a positive difference in the lives of Arizona children. Our legislative scorecard is a resource, to provide a glimpse at some of the key legislation introduced this year impacting children and how Arizona legislators voted on those bills. All legislators like to claim they are champions of children at the State Capitol. That is why we provide a scorecard to help you decipher who is for kids and who is just kidding.

As President and CEO of Children’s Action Alliance (CAA) and the founding director of the Arizona Center for Economic Progress (AZCenter), it is imperative that our organization is centered in the communities we seek to empower with trusted information based in data and facts. Our commitment to seeking transformative change in communities that have been the target of racist and discriminatory policies is very important to me and to the entire staff. To that end, I am excited to announce the next director of the AZCenter and other new staff members who have a strong understanding for our commitment to racial and gender equity and inclusion, and passion for the work we do.

Rachel Yanof joins our team as the new executive director for the AZCenter. As an educator and non-profit leader in Arizona for nearly 20 years, Rachel has witnessed how broken systems impact children as their parents or guardians lived in poverty, lacked affordable housing, food, and child care. She understands that all systems are interconnected and that changing a student’s trajectory with just education is not enough. Throughout her career, she has demonstrated a commitment to advancing racial and gender equity most recently as the founding executive director of Achieve60AZ, a statewide effort to increase postsecondary attainment across the state. After graduating from Georgetown University, Rachel positively impacted underprivileged student academic attainment through her work as an educator in the Roosevelt Elementary School District and administrator where she started Phoenix Collegiate Academy. Under her leadership, Phoenix Collegiate Academy grew to serve 600 students annually with three schools from grades K through 12. Rachel is excited to lead the AZCenter and its work to continue to be a strong and influential voice for improving the lives of all Arizonans because she is passionate that everyone should have access to quality housing, education, health care, and other basic needs with equitable pay and paid leave.

Kylie Barber is the Early Childhood Policy Director at Children’s Action Alliance. Prior to joining the CAA team, Kylie worked in Washington D.C. lobbying for federal health policies specifically related to children with rare diseases and their families. Kylie has completed work in early childhood education policy, early intervention program development, and international children’s rights. Additionally, Kylie has teaching experience working in both infant and preschool classroom settings. Kylie holds a Master of Jurisprudence in Children’s Law and Policy from Loyola University Chicago School of Law, as well as a Master of Science in Child Development with specializations in Infancy and New Language Learners. In effort to maximize the human capital and ensure the well-being of young children worldwide, Kylie is currently pursing her Master of Legal Studies in International Rule of Law and Security from Arizona State University Sandra Day O’Connor College of Law.

Calli Jones is the federal engagement coordinator, a new area of focus for both CAA and AZCenter. Her prior experience in community organizing specifically with advocating for student voting rights and expanding civic engagement opportunities throughout Arizona is an invaluable asset as she works on mobilizing communities across Arizona to advance policies at the federal level. Through her congressional work, most recently as the assistant to Senator Martin Quezada in LD 29, Calli understands why improving the lives of children and families is critical in Arizona as the state has some of the highest poverty levels and one of the lowest income thresholds in the country. Calli holds bachelors’ degrees in Political Science, Criminology, and Criminal Justice from Northern Arizona and is currently pursuing her Master's in Public Administration and Policy from American University.

Sarah Kader is the Senior Campaign Strategist at the Arizona Center for Economic Progress. In this role, Sarah manages People First Economy, a proactive revenue coalition campaign of the Arizona Center for Economic Progress, One Arizona, and the Arizona for Empowerment. This campaign seeks to uplift the needs of long-neglected communities in Arizona through policy change at the State Capitol. Prior to joining the AZCenter, Sarah worked as the Director of Operations at the Statewide Independent Living Council, and before that as an attorney at the Arizona Center for Disability Law for eight years. As an attorney, Sarah represented individuals with disabilities in cases related to health care, special education, employment, accessibility, and discrimination in jails and prisons. Sarah holds a B.A from the University of Arizona and a Juris Doctor from Syracuse University.

Lane Santa Cruz is the Southern Arizona Organizer with the Arizona Center for Economic Progress working on the People First Economy for Arizona. They have spent over 15 years working on issues related to co-governing, sexual/gender violence prevention, food justice, migrant rights, and mobility justice. Lane’s goal is to make sure that state policies are informed and developed from community-based experiences and that investments put the needs of people first. Lane holds a Ph.D. in Teaching, Learning, and Sociocultural Studies from the University of Arizona. Their multi-modal dissertation examined the historical hegemonic making of U.S. education, and how compulsory schooling framed acceptable notions of culture, language/literacy, and knowledge production.

Cora Tso is the inaugural Tribal Policy Fellow at the Arizona Center for Economic Progress. Her work aims to promote new economic opportunity through progressive advocacy and policymaking, as well as, to inform policymakers on how smart state tax and budget policies can strengthen Arizona by strengthening Arizona's 22 Tribal nations. Her deep commitment to serving Tribal communities derives from her upbringing on the Navajo reservation and her identity as a Navajo woman. Cora has extensive experience working with Tribal governments at the local and federal levels in Arizona, California, and Washington D.C. She is a proud member of the Navajo Nation and is originally from Shonto, Arizona. Recently, Cora earned her Juris Doctor degree with a Certificate in Indian Law from the Sandra Day O’Connor College of Law at Arizona State University, and she is currently working toward becoming licensed to practice law in Arizona and the Navajo Nation.

Meet the CAA and AZCenter teams

Since 2019, more Arizona children are living in high poverty areas, and more children in the state are without health insurance, according to the 2021 KIDS COUNT® Data Book, a 50-state report of recent household data developed by the Annie E. Casey Foundation analyzing how families have fared between the Great Recession and the COVID-19 crisis. In Arizona, 15% of children live in high poverty areas compared with the national average of 9%, and in 2019, 9% of Arizona children are without health insurance compared with the national average of 6%.

More Arizona Stats Here

This year’s Data Book shows the COVID-19 pandemic could erase nearly a decade of progress unless policymakers act boldly to sustain the beginnings of a recovery from the coronavirus crisis. The Data Book also shows simply returning to a pre-pandemic level of support for children and families would shortchange millions of kids and fail to address persistent racial and ethnic disparities.

Sixteen indicators measuring four domains — economic well-being, education, health, and family and community context — are used by the Annie E. Casey Foundation in each year’s Data Book to assess child well-being. The annual KIDS COUNT data and rankings represent the most recent information available but do not capture the impact of the past year:

• ECONOMIC WELL-BEING: In 2019, one in four children in Arizona lived in families where no parent has full-time, year-round employment (27%).
• EDUCATION: In 2019, one in five Arizona high school students did not graduate on time, and more than half (61%) of young children, ages 3 and 4, did not attend school.
• AFFORDABLE HEALTH CARE: In 2019, Arizona ranked 46th in the nation as 161,000 children (9%) did not have health insurance.
• FAMILY AND COMMUNITY CONTEXT: In 2015-19, 239,000 Arizona children (15%) lived in high poverty areas as defined by census tracts with poverty rates equal or greater to 30%.

Investing in children, families, and communities is a priority to ensure an equitable and expansive recovery. Several of the Annie E. Casey Foundation’s suggestions have already been enacted in the American Rescue Plan, and additional recommendations include:

• Congress should make the expansion of the child tax credit permanent. The child tax credit has long had bipartisan support, so lawmakers should find a common cause and ensure the largest one-year drop ever in child poverty is not followed by a surge.
• State and local governments should prioritize the recovery of hard-hit communities of color.  
• States should expand income support that helps families care for their children. Permanently extending unemployment insurance eligibility to contract, gig and other workers and expanding state tax credits would benefit parents and children.
• States that have not done so should expand Medicaid under the Affordable Care Act. The American Rescue Plan offers incentives to do so.
• States should strengthen public schools and pathways to post-secondary education and training.

Review The 2021 KIDS COUNT Data Book

On behalf of the board of directors, I am pleased to announce David Lujan as President and CEO of Children’s Action Alliance. Since January, David has led CAA through the development of a new three-year strategic plan, and a theory of change that focuses on equity as the foundation on which CAA will help build an Arizona where all children and families thrive.

David joined CAA in 2016, as the inaugural director of The Arizona Center for Economic Progress to advance policies that create fairer tax codes that raise the revenue needed for an economy that puts people first, builds thriving communities, and better economic opportunities for all Arizonans. Before joining CAA, David has worked in public policy in Arizona for over 20 years in several roles including a former member of the state Senate and House of Representatives, as an attorney for a nonprofit assisting abused and neglected children, and as an assistant attorney general advising the School Facilities Board.

Most recently, David has been an outspoken proponent for Proposition 208. His influence to mobilize coalitions, and his ability to increase awareness through the media urged voters to support the proposition which will now bring hundreds of millions of new dollars in K-12 public education funding to address Arizona’s teacher shortage, reduce class sizes, hire more aides and counselors, and expand career and technical education.

With David’s leadership, we are confident CAA will continue to identify and eliminate barriers to the well-being of children and families and create opportunities through partnerships and policy solutions.

In the coming months, we will look to fill the director position for the AZ Center, and we will share more details about the strategic plan for CAA.

Until then, please join me in congratulating David on his new role.

Brint Milward, PhD

Board Chair