United Way of King County is working to ensure Washington’s Legislature passes legislation that will:

• increase participation in school breakfast,
• expand public support for home visiting services,
• enable supportive housing providers to receive Medicaid payments for health coordination services, and
• ensure homeless youth have the supports they need to thrive.

Check out our entire agenda and—see below how you can join us in Olympia to advocate for it on Feb. 12. Two pieces that we’re particularly focused on, given our on-the-ground involvement, are:

Breakfast After The Bell For High-Poverty Schools

This legislation to give kids in high-poverty schools easy access to breakfast so they are ready to learn is already getting bipartisan support.

United Way, in partnership with Share Our Strength and the Food Research and Action Center, is supporting demonstration projects in 15 schools across Washington. The goal is to provide teachers and administrators a chance to become familiar with the program. The response has been positive—with the stigma removed, kids are participating at an impressive rate.

With our partners, Children’s Alliance, Washington Appleseed and Within Reach, we’re taking what we’ve learned locally and combining it with lessons learned around the country to let legislators know that Breakfast After The Bell Is ffective in reducing hunger, preparing kids to succeed in school and integrating nutrition support seamlessly into the school day.

Expanding Home Visiting Services Account

We’re working with a coalition of advocates to expand home visiting programs through the state’s Home Visiting Services Account. The success of our Parent-Child Home Program fuels our passion for reaching kids early. With our partners, we’re serving 1,000 low-income families with 2- and 3-year-olds to close the opportunity gap. We’ve been successful getting individuals and companies excited about the program and we want legislators to share that enthusiasm.

We’re partnering with Thrive Washington and others to expand access to home visiting programs, including the Parent-Child Home Program, through the state’s Department of Early Learning. Providing parents the support to give their children a successful start in life is central to our mission.

Join Us In Olympia On Feb. 12!

If you don’t have a Lobby Day of your own planned, we’d love you to join us on Feb. 12 for United Way of King County Lobby Day. We’ll host a pre-Lobby Day briefing, provide supporting materials and accompany you to talk with House and Senate members in small groups. We’ll make a bigger impact together—we hope you can join us! Write to Vera Njuguna to sign up.