“Sometimes group homes are an environment where they feel disconnected from what they know,” said Leanne Murphy from Children's Action Alliance. “Sometimes it feels unsafe. Sometimes it can be a re-traumatizing experience.”

January Contreras, executive director for Children’s Action Alliance, told the crowd that times are tough already with the high cost of groceries and housing, and that the bill will make things even more difficult for families: “We will see hunger become a reality for more kids and families, and we will see more families not be able to go to a doctor,” she said. 

January Contreras, executive director of the Children’s Action Alliance, warned that the new eligibility requirements for SNAP and Medicaid are thinly veiled attempts to push people off the programs. “A parent who has two or three jobs will not be able to keep up with the paperwork requirements,” Contreras said. “It has a record of making eligible people lose their insurance. How do you look a child or a parent in the eye and tell them that they may lose health care insurance or help with buying groceries, just as economic uncertainty and the cost of raising a family are rising sky high?” Contreras said.

• “This bill ‘saves money’ by adding red tape that forces people off health care and SNAP,” said Burns. “But the health care and food needs of Arizonans won’t go away. Instead, all Arizonans will suffer.” - Jennifer Burns, Health Policy and Government Relations Director
• Geraldine Miranda, the Economic Policy Analyst with the Arizona Center for Economic Progress, worries that cuts to SNAP will impact Arizona children both at home and at school.

“Many children who would otherwise be uninsured find a lifeline through public health insurance. In Arizona, 40% of people enrolled in AHCCCS are children. AHCCCS coverage through Medicaid and KidsCare is especially crucial in the many small towns and rural areas of our state, where it provides health insurance to more than half of children. For example, 42% of all children in Cochise County have public health insurance coverage.” Op Ed by January Contreras, Executive Director of Children’s Action Alliance

January Contreras, executive director of the Children's Action Alliance of Arizona, said the uninsured numbers are worrisome and as costs go up, more families struggle. More than 542,000 Arizona children live in single-parent homes, which often face disproportionate challenges.

“Jennifer J. Burns, director of government relations for the Children's Action Alliance, said Medicaid is vital and warned if Congress passes the cuts, it will jeopardize Arizona's already strained rural health care system.”

CAA Executive Director, January Contreras, reminded attendees what’s at stake for families across Arizona, saying there are mothers working hard—sometimes at multiple jobs—who still don't have access to health care. Contreras pointed to the group’s Families First Forum last year, where experts across the state explained how public benefits prevent deeper problems like family separation, food insecurity and emergency room visits. Cuts to these benefits, she said, would only exacerbate these challenges.

"Fowler knows the foster and congregate care system well after spending time in a group home and later in a foster home in their middle teen years.

Fowler, 27, is a youth leader at Fostering Advocates Arizona, which is housed at and supported by Children’s Action Alliance to raise the voices of young adults who have experienced foster care.

"We know that youths that experience congregate care tend to have poorer outcomes in life," Fowler said. But, "If you place kiddos in a loving setting and put the work in to serve their needs, they will find success, they will find growth."