Glimpse of social change is starting to take root in our country.  As Black Lives Matter protests continue to push for police brutality reform, last week’s Supreme Court decisions defended the rights and liberties of impacted communities in the state and across our country.

The Supreme Court held in a 6-3 ruling last week that LGBTQ employees are protected by federal law against workplace discrimination, expanding sex-based discrimination to include sexual orientation and transgender status. And, the Supreme Court ruled to block a plan to end the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals program, commonly known as DACA, allowing hundreds of thousands of Dreamers, including 24,700 in our state, to avoid deportation and remain in the United States.

Both decisions offer hope and opportunity for parents, children, and families to celebrate their diversity and to realize their full potential.  CAA celebrates these landmark decisions and recognizes the work is not done.  We remain committed to work with lawmakers, community leaders, organizations, and families to support real immigration reform; including citizenship for DACA recipients, eradicate systemic racism, and dismantle discriminatory laws and practices. Diversity, equity, and most importantly inclusion make our communities better.  It will take all of us working together to collectively make real, sustainable change.

Children’s Action Alliance (CAA) was formed over thirty years ago with a vision of an Arizona in which all children grow up healthy and safe and ready to succeed. As we reflect on the events of the past few days, we realize we are a far cry from that world. We mourn the tragic and unnecessary deaths of George Floyd and Dion Johnson and so many that have passed before them at the hands of police violence. We share in the anguish and pain of those that call for an end to racism and brutality towards black and brown communities.

Over the past week, our attention has been brought to the need for a police and public safety system that our children deserve. Everyone should be able to live, work, and travel with an expectation that their interactions with police will be fair and just. We call upon lawmakers to act swiftly on the long-standing and clearly articulated specific criminal justice and police reforms demanded by local faith leaders, advocates, and residents. We join our brave community leaders in asking for accountability and civilian oversight of police departments, for policies to reduce excessive use of force, and for comprehensive data reporting on police interactions with community.

As an organization, we continue to challenge ourselves to think creatively and critically to find new ways to support Arizona’s children and families. It will take the entire community – parents, teachers, residents, elected officials, community leaders and law enforcement - to build a society where no child has to fear or witness systemic violence and children can grow up celebrating their uniqueness. When children thrive, our communities thrive.

Siman Qaasim, CEO & President

Brint Milward, Board Chair

One of our heroes, the Honorable Jane Hull, along with her husband, Dr. Terry Hull, passed away over the weekend. Hull was Arizona’s first elected female governor and first woman to serve as the speaker of the Arizona House of Representatives. She was a champion for children and her legacy leaves an enduring impact on children and families in Arizona.

Through her leadership, Hull improved access to health care for children and created reliable funding sources for public education. In 1998, she worked with a broad coalition of community supporters to establish the Children’s Health Insurance Program in Arizona called KidsCare. In 2000, Hull championed Proposition 301, which provides millions of dollars annually in education funding through a 0.6-cent sales tax.

Champions like the Honorable Jane Hull remind us how leadership, tenacity, and courage can make a lasting impact in the lives of Arizona’s children and families. KidsCare remains the state’s insurance for kids with nearly 38,000 enrolled in the program today. We profoundly appreciate her service. She and her husband will be greatly missed.

We hope you are all healthy, safe, and at home whenever possible. CAA’s offices are closed for the time being. Our staff continues to work on Arizona children’s issues from home and other remote locations.

Normalcy, as we know it, is evolving rapidly as the nation and our state attempt to respond and mitigate COVID-19 spread. With schools closed across the state, we know children living in poverty will be highly impacted. CAA will continues to be a voice for policies and responses that help working families weather this difficult time.

At present, utilities will NOT be shut off due to non-payment. Efforts are underway in municipalities across the state to suspend evictions. There are calls for a moratorium on foreclosures, evictions, and the streamlining of unemployment and cash benefits for workers who are laid off during the pandemic.

The Capitol is now closed to the public and committee hearings have been cancelled for the week in both Houses. Leadership is reporting that they will pass a “skinny” budget this week along with two dozen “non-controversial” bills that have bipartisan support. It is unclear if they will sine die and end the legislative session or if they will recess and resume session later this year.

The bare-bones budget is likely to reflect the “baseline” budget and to increase funding for AHCCCS/Medicaid. It will also likely include increases to the Department of Education for enrollment changes and statutory formulas. It is unlikely to include new funding including the increase to the kinship foster care stipend.

 Check these websites for the latest official information about COVID-19:

• AHCCCS/Medicaid – FAQ document with information for health care providers, insurance companies, and patients.
• Department of Health Services – Coronavirus Recommendations and Resources
• Department of Child Safety – check the banners at the top of their website for ongoing updates to foster caregivers and parents.
• Department of Economic Security (DES) – Unemployment and other resources.
• Maricopa county school and community resources.
• US Customs and Immigration Services has announced that use of health services related to the treatment, testing, and prevention of COVID-19 will NOT impact a green card applicant’s public charge test. Here is their official statement.

Please join us in welcoming Molly Dunn (photo: top right) to the team. Molly is CAA’s new director of child welfare and juvenile justice. She has dedicated her career to improving outcomes of system-involved youth. As a provider of direct legal services, Molly has represented hundreds of children and youth in dependency, juvenile justice, education, immigration, family law and other proceedings. Prior to joining CAA last month, Molly directed FosterEd Arizona. Molly holds a B.A. from Macalester College and a J.D. from Stanford Law School.

We are also pleased to welcome back Damita Curry (photo: bottom right) as our vice president of development and engagement. Damita worked with CAA in this role previously with many key accomplishments including the launch of the Arizona Center for Economic Progress. Damita has managed fundraising and communications initiatives in senior leadership roles for children and family organizations in Ohio and Arizona. In doing so, she was responsible for raising millions for the most vulnerable children in our communities. Damita holds a B.B.A. from Kent State University.

We are so excited to have these high-caliber professionals join the CAA team!

Governor Ducey highlighted some bright spots for Arizona’s children in his State of the State address Monday, such as providing more support for foster children aging out of the system and doubling the stipend for kinship caregivers. He also said there are plans to restore district additional assistance to public schools, which pays for buses, textbooks, and other critical resources for classrooms – a move we commend and support.

We look forward to learning more about the Governor’s plans to support K-12 public schools in other ways, such as bringing up teacher salaries to stem the tide of the teacher exodus. We are more than halfway through the academic year and there are still 1,800 classrooms without a qualified teacher.

When the governor releases his budget, we hope to see funding for the child care subsidy program so low-income working families don’t have to choose between moving up the economic ladder and a safe, high-quality child care environment.

The Governor cautioned against the “spending lobby.” We firmly believe that children are not an expense, they are an investment. We encourage lawmakers to put the priorities of children and families first this session.