Blog Category: State Advocacy

Federal Policy Update: American Rescue Plan, American Jobs Plan & American Families Plan

President Biden’s first 100 days in office have been busy! The federal response packages keep coming and it is a challenge to keep track (for us too!). Below are some…

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2021 General Assembly Results: Early Childhood

We are pleased to have so many partners around the state concerned with the well-being of young children and families. The 2021 General Assembly Session and 2020 Special Session produced…

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2021 GA Session: Conference Budget Report

The 2021 General Assembly is coming to a close with good news for children and families. While the last year has produced tremendous disruptions and up and downs for families,…

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2021 Legislative Session: Advocating for Kids in Child Welfare (Updated 2/26/2021)

In the 2020 legislative session, a number of key advancements were made for children and families in foster care, however these investments were almost all put on hold due to…

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Bill Explainer: Expanding Access to Child Care Assistance HB2206 (Filler-Corn)

The Speaker of the House Eileen Filler-Corn has introduced HB2206 to create a new short-term eligibility category for parents seeking financial assistance to afford child care. This legislation passed the…

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Trauma-Informed Care & Equity In The House & Senate Budget

In Virginia, 20 percent of children experience two or more adverse childhood experiences. However, the pandemic as a trauma layered with economic trauma and social injustices creates complex traumas that…

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Child Welfare in the House and Senate Budgets

In a year with extraordinary budgetary challenges, the House and Senate “money committees” released their recommended changes to the Governor’s proposed budget on February 10. In good news, they retained…

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2021 Legislative Session: Children’s Mental Health

The pandemic has greatly impacted children’s mental health and well-being and there will not be easy policy solutions. However, we are pleased to see the following measures moving forward during…

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Virginia Must Declare Racism as a Public Health Crisis

The following is an op-ed by Voices’ Chloe Edwards and Michael Royster from the Institute for Public Health Innovation. Virginia’s Constitution states: “That all men are by nature equally free and independent and…

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Recap: Foster & Kinship Care Youth Advocacy Day

On January 27th, Voices hosted its second annual “Uplifting Young Voices: Foster & Kinship Care Youth Advocacy Day”. Due to the pandemic, we shifted our efforts to meet the virtual…

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