The Braam lawsuit is a class-action lawsuit brought on behalf of children in WA's foster care system. In 2004 DSHS and the plaintiffs reached a settlement agreement that includes major reforms to the foster care system. On June 30th the court found that DSHS has failed to comply with the agreement in four key areas and ordered the Department to change their practices as well as provide accurate data regarding foster children, or face ongoing court monitoring.

You can read the Columbia Legal Services press release about the decision on our website. Children's Alliance Executive Director, Paola Maranan was quoted in an article on the court action in The Olympian. For more links to press coverage and details on the court decision visit www.braamkids.org.

The report found that African American, Native American and Latino children are impacted disproportionately at each decision point as they move through the child welfare system. This finding held true even when researchers compared the experiences of white children and children of color who come from families with similar economic status and family structures.

In 2007, the Children's Alliance and other partners successfully lobbied the legislature to pass Substitute House Bill 1472. The legislation created the Disproportionality Advisory Committee and tasked the members to determine to what degree disproportionality exists in Washington's child welfare system, and to come up with a plan to reduce disproportionality.

In a press release on 6/26/08 the Children's Alliance Executive Director Paola Maranan, who serves on the Committee, said the results of the new report are not surprising, but that it provides critical data that can be used to fuel changes in policy and practice that will make the system work for all kids.

"We have hard work ahead of us to hone in on the strategies, the programs and the actions needed to fix the child welfare system in this state—particularly as it affects children of color. The Children’s Alliance firmly believes that if we can fix the child welfare system for children of color we’ll go a long ways towards fixing the system for all children."

Articles or editorials in the Seattle P-I, the Bellingham Herald, the Seattle Times and other media have covered the findings in the report. If you'd like to receive a twice a week review of media coverage of kids issues in Washington, subscribe now to the Children's Alliance Media Digest.

The Children’s Alliance 25th anniversary celebration was a phenomenal success. It was a warm, heartening gathering of committed advocates for kids. It was a joyful celebration of 25 years of hard-won victories. And it was an inspiring call to action to recommit ourselves to the struggle for justice until every child is free from want, every child is safe and protected and every child has a real chance for success. And lastly, it was a generous outpouring of support that brought in more than $90,000 in donations for the Children’s Alliance’s work.

The Governor flew in directly from Spokane to share the evening with the Children’s Alliance. In her speech she honored the persistent and powerful work of the Children’s Alliance to put kids first in Washington.

Bill Bentley, CEO of the national VOICES for America’s Children organization painted a compelling picture of the urgent need for action for justice for all children, especially children of color and low-income children nationwide.

Great youth performers from the Northwest Girls Choir, Roosevelt Highschool Drumline and the Garfield High School Jazz Lab all contributed their talents to make the evening full of music.

A dozen students from the acclaimed Leschi Elementary School Choir brought down the house with their soulful rendition of “Who Will Speak for the Children?”, led by Choir Director Debbie Cavitt.

Dr. Ben Danielson, Medical Director of Odessa Brown Children’s Clinic and Board member of the Children’s Alliance, took the stage after the choir sang, but soon realized that the stage truly belonged to the little girl in the front row of the choir, who had discovered she could see herself on the giant video screen on the opposite wall of the ballroom. Her sly glances and dramatic poses rocked the house with laughter. Dr. Ben took it all with grace and his remarks still went straight to the heart of the work of the Children’s Alliance and appealed to each one present to give generously. And they did.

Many thanks are due to many people who made this event, and the organization it celebrated, possible. You’ll be thanked in many ways, but for now you know who you are, and we are grateful to you.

Visit the Children’s Alliance website to see pictures and videos from the event.  More are being posted daily. Share your story from the event! Just click the comments button which is just after the date, directly below this post.

"Washington State cannot ensure a basic education for all, let alone reach a higher goal, without ensuring that children gain the intellectual and social skills required for success in school prior to entering the K-12 system."

The statement details four shared principles developed by the stakeholders and includes a compelling, clear analysis of the role of early learning in creating an effective statewide system of basic education.

The state's Joint Task Force on Basic Education Finance is meeting in Olympia today and tomorrow to consider this input as they work to develop a new definition of basic education and a financing proposal.

For more information you can read the Stakeholder Statement Regarding Early Learning and Basic Education or contact Leslie Dozono, Children's Alliance Early Learning Policy Coordinator.

This report gives you the power to know exactly what legislative action your Senators and Representatives took for kids this year and you can even compare your legislators' performance in 2007 to this year. 

If you're not sure who your state legislators are, you can look up your district now.

Download and read the report the way you want to read it:

Full Report
Senate Voting Record
House of Representatives Voting Record
Voting Record by District

"Children of color are being harmed by the system; focusing on those children is the way to understand and resolve this."

We know that African American and Native American kids are more likely to be removed from their families than children in white families in similar situations. We also know that once kids are placed in the state's care, African American and Native children don't get what they need to succeed and thrive.

The editorial is a call to action to the people at the highest levels of our child welfare system to take proactive action to solve the problems that lead to racial disparities.

In 2007 the Children’s Alliance helped to pass legislation establishing a Racial Disproportionality Advisory Committee to review disparities in Washington State’s child welfare system and develop recommendations to create an equitable system that serves all communities. Executive Director of the Children’s Alliance Paola Maranan is serving on the committee. The Committee will release it's report before the next legislative session.

Read the full editorial to learn more. Get involved with the Children's Alliance today and help make the child welfare system work for all kids.

"The Cynthia F. Shurtleff award honors an individual who has shown leadership and  significantly contributed to the health and well-being of women, children and families in Washington State.  This award honors an individual who has shared a vision to improve his/her community, has taken initiative to bring this vision into reality, has created innovative ways to make an impact or difference in their community, understands partnerships and is continually building them to sustain the effort and realize the vision."

Anyone who has worked with Linda has been amazed by her breadth of knowledge of policy, her commitment to make sure all kids can eat three nutritious meals a day, her tenacity, her vision and her accomplishments. Please join the Children's Alliance in congratulating Linda and expressing our gratitude for her continuing work. Linda will recieve the award at the Within Reach Luncheon on May 14th in Seattle. You can read a recent article in the Spokesman Review about Linda's work, or send her a congratulatory note.

Kids in foster care saw long-awaited promises finally kept (in part), the legislature made a commitment to start connecting farms to schools and legislators opened the door for 23,000 families to get food stamps.

Meanwhile kids are still waiting for the legislature to cut out the co-pay on school meals for kids grades 4-12 and early learning investments for home visiting were put off for another year.

The Children's Alliance 2008 Legislative Session Review contains an understandable explanation of what happened this session and an easy to read list of bills and budget items impacting kids and families

Read the full report, the Executive Summary or quick issue pullout sections.

Invited by child advocates in California, Jon discussed the harmful effects on children’s health of Washington State’s budget cuts five years ago. At that time Washington instituted the same burdensome six month eligibility reviews that California is considering. Jon told the story of how advocates and policymakers worked to restore those cuts in 2005 and begin working on coverage for every child. He ended his testimony by saying:

“We learned the hard way about the harmful affects of shortening eligibility review cycles. I don’t want children in California to suffer from the same mistakes we made.”