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Giving Children Help and Hope

by Naomi Post, Executive Director

April 6, 2020

Like you, our priority remains the health and well-being of our loved ones and our families. We all want them to be safe and stable, and we’re working hard to make that a little easier for all families. We have continued our state and local efforts while also redirecting resources to support advocacy to make sure that children and families get what they need to survive this crisis. We added a COVID-19 resource page to our website and are updating it regularly.

We are pleased that the COVID-19 relief package recently passed has several provisions that provide relief for children and families, including:

  • Making cash payments to low and middle income families with one time cash payments of $1,200 per adult and $500 per child.
  • Offering protections against evictions, increasing funding to support low income renters and providing grants for homelessness assistance.
  • Making sure that families that experience food insecurity can access SNAP benefits to they don’t go hungry.
  • Extending the benefits of unemployment insurance to help the millions of people whose jobs have been impacted.
  • Supporting childcare for essential workers and supporting local school systems and higher education institutions.

These provisions represent a step in the right direction, but our work is far from over. The bill falls short of meeting the needs of all children and families in a sustainable way. It offers critically important assistance to families and businesses, but it is less than what is needed and it blatantly neglects to address the serious budget impacts in our state.  The blanket exclusion of immigrant families is unconscionable, placing thousands of children at risk during this pandemic. We have to make sure that there is relief and access to all families, regardless of their immigration status. And we need to advocate for resolution of other gaps, including but not limited to, financial support for state Medicaid programs, direct cash payments to families with low or no income, more support for renters and homeowners who face eviction or foreclosure, expanded emergency paid sick days, and emergency financial aid for college students in need of food, housing and healthcare faced after abrupt school closures. In partnership with you, we will continue fighting for the relief that every family needs and deserves.

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