This year, there are 24 new legislators in the General Assembly representing localities across Virginia. We wanted to introduce the new legislators to the work of Voices for Virginia’s Children and jumpstart conversations about how they can use Voices as a resource for both policy and data. In addition, we also wanted to give them a snapshot about how the health and well-being of children in their areas, so they can be better informed about how to support them in their communities.
Voices staff members scheduled meetings with each new member and their staff to deliver the profiles and discuss our work. In these meetings legislators have commented, “I didn’t know this information about some of the communities I represent.” And new members pressed for more information, “What does it mean when children are born low-birth weight?”; “Who are some of the organizations working on these topics in my community?”
Take a look at each new members’ profile here:
Use these profiles to start conversations with your elected officials. The front of the profiles include contact information about each of the legislators, including their picture, so you can get to know them! The front also includes data specific to Virginia and details the number of children who are economically disadvantaged and by race.
The back includes a snapshot of data for each of the geographies the legislator represents. The table includes data on the total child population, race breakdowns, percentage of babies born low birth weight, the rate of children entering foster care, and the percentage of children without health insurance. The tables also include data for Virginia overall, for reference, and contain highlighted cells based on the performance being better or worse than the Virginia average.
Use these as a conversation starter with groups and organizations about child health and well-being in your area. Interested in learning more about child health and well-being? We are home to the Kids Count data center and have hundreds of indicators and data points to explore. Check out our website or contact Research Director, Lauren Snellings to learn more.
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