Blog Category: State Advocacy

For the nearly 500 youth who age out of Virginia’ Foster Care system, only 2% of them will graduate with a degree from a four year university. In fact, currently…

In 2018, Voices and our partners worked to raise awareness of issues children and their families encountered in foster care. We successfully helped pass the Kinship Guardianship Assistance program, which…

We are now past the halfway point of the 2019 legislative session. We are pleased to report progress on our Unified Agenda for the Campaign for a Trauma-Informed Virginia. On…

The House and Senate released their versions of the State budget on Sunday, February 3rd. Between the House and Senate budget recommendations, all mental health budget requests advocated for were…

Last year we called for some big ideas for early childhood education in Virginia. During the 2019 General Assembly session we are seeing those ideas take shape in the form…

The Governor’s budget proposal included funding to sustain VPI+ classrooms in 13 school divisions. Additionally, the Governor requested funding for new quality initiatives targeted at Virginia Preschool Initiative classrooms, included required…

Every year, Voices for Virginia’s Children monitors all legislation introduced to the Virginia General Assembly and advocates for public policies that improve the lives of Virginia’s children. Our children’s mental…

Learning to drive in the teen years is a rite of passage to young adulthood for millions of youth. It brings new levels of independence and opportunities, enabling young people…

Like the Governor, one of the primary responsibilities of the General Assembly is to craft the state budget. Last week, members from the House and Senate purposed budget amendments to the Governor’s…

It was a bitterly cold MLK Day, January 21, 2019, when hundreds of people bundled up, braving the elements to have just a few minutes with their legislator to make…