American Rescue Plan is a major victory for Arizona children and families
The American Rescue Plan passed by Congress and signed by President Biden this week is a major victory for Arizona children and families. According to data released by the Center on Budget and Policy Priorities, the expansion of the child tax credit alone will lift 112,000 Arizona children above the…
Pandemic reveals need for direct financial support of former foster youth
Last week, Arizona’s Department of Child Safety was awarded nearly $10.5M in federal funding to provide much needed and long-awaited pandemic relief to older and former foster youth up to age 27. These supplemental funds were provided by the Supporting Foster Youth and Families Through the…
Essential workers making poverty wages
While the state of Arizona is making strides toward increasing teacher pay, one group has been noticeably left behind, early childhood educators. A new report out by the Berkeley Center for the Study of Child Care Employment highlights that early childhood educators in Arizona are still lagging far…
Good ideas that didn't fit the bill
The Arizona legislature set a deadline that any bills that did not receive an initial committee hearing by the end of last week cannot advance this session. Committee chairs wield a lot of power in deciding which bills receive consideration or not and with 1,823 bills introduced this session, we understand…
Healthcare.gov will re-open for a special enrollment period
The Biden administration has announced that it will reopen the federal ACA Marketplace for a special enrollment period in response to the COVID-19 pandemic. From February 15 to May 15, Arizonans will be able to shop for affordable, comprehensive health insurance coverage at healthcare.gov. The…
Urge Senate Education Committee to support SB1376 for Youth Mental Health Programs
More and more states are requiring mental health education in schools as young people are increasingly vulnerable to depression, anxiety, and other forms of mental illness. Today, Arizona has an opportunity to join the movement with SB1376 and to help more students – students like Briana. Briana...
Governor Ducey’s proposed budget - The good, the bad and more tax cuts
Last spring when the COVID pandemic began, the legislature passed a basic “skinny budget” so they could rapidly end the legislative session and return home. At that time, with large portions of the economy shutting down and thousands of Arizonans losing their jobs, state budget experts were predicting…
Latest stimulus bill provides much-needed COVID relief for transition aged foster youth
Thanks to the advocacy of thousands of young leaders throughout the nation, including Fostering Advocates Arizona, the latest federal stimulus package, the Consolidated Appropriations Act, contains much-needed COVID relief for young people transitioning from foster care. Key provisions in the package include:…
State of the State
This week, the Arizona legislature begins its work for the year at a time when many Arizona children and families are struggling to meet their basic needs during this health and economic crisis. Recently released data by the U.S. Census Bureau shows 1 in 6 Arizona households with children (16%) said…