United Ways of Washington
February 12, 2010

Contents
+ Week in Olympia
+ Early Learning Take-Aways for Week
+ Bill Status
+ United Ways of WA Lobby Day
+ Subscription Information

WEEK IN OLYMPIA

• The focus on the state budget is intensifying and pressure is mounting . The Senate is anticipated to release their budget proposal next week. After the Senate releases its budget, the House will release a separate proposal. Those two proposals, along with the Governor’s proposal, will be considered by lawmakers and advocates who will be weighing-in on which parts of the three proposals they support most. Ultimately, a supplemental budget in the form of a bill will be approved by the Senate and House through a vote and signed into law by the Governor. State law requires the legislature to balance the budget so the final bill will need to mend the deficit which is now estimated at $2.8 billion.
• Information to inform why the deficit is now estimated at $2.8 billion is available.
• The new revenue forecast was released today, Friday, 2/12, by the Washington State Economic and  Revenue Forecast Council.  Although revenue was up by $31.5 million, the forecast reduces the revenue by $149.7 million due to “non-economic” factors, including the DOT Foods Supreme Court decision, increasing the state’s budget gap by $118.2 million.
• On Wednesday, 2/10, caseload projections were released showing an additional estimated $95.8 million increase in program costs. The Caseload Forecast Council estimated a $26.8 million increase in cost due to projected caseload increases and the Office of Financial Management released estimated program increases of $69 million. To see further information see Schmudget, a blog hosted by the Washington State Budget and Policy Center.
• Policymakers are exploring options to deal with the gaping budget deficit. Typically conversations about mending the deficit focus on program cuts, revenue increases, or a mix of the two. Pressure is mounting and policymakers, stakeholders, and constituents must speak up for what options they support and oppose. Currently, in order for legislators to increase taxes they must reach a super-majority, or two-thirds approval, due to I-960 which was passed by voters in 2007 by a 51% vote of the public vote. Prior to I-960 a simple-majority was required. Lawmakers can amend such laws after they are two years old. Thus, 2ESB 6843 has been introduced to temporarily remove the super-majority hurdle until July 2011. 2ESB 6843 has cleared the Senate and is now scheduled for a public hearing and vote in the House Committee on Finance at 9:00am on Saturday, 2/13.
• Local town hall meetings with legislators are being held across the state. Contact your elected official to learn when and where their local meetings are being held. Now is the time to speak up for the policy and funding issues you most support.
• The focus is now on full chamber activity in the House and Senate. Thus policymakers are now considering bills of wide ranging topics. The fiscal committee cutoff was Tuesday, 2/9. Bills that made the cutoff are in the Rules Committee of the House or Senate and are eligible to receive full chamber debate and vote. They must be voted off the floor of the House or Senate by 5:00pm, Tuesday, 2/16. Now is a good time to contact your elected officials, members of the Senate Rules Committee, and House Rules Committee and let them know where you stand on bills that are currently in Rules.

EARLY LEARNING TAKE-AWAYS FOR WEEK

• It is promising that so many early childhood issues are still under legislative consideration. Yet it is important to note that given the state budget deficit, policymakers are striving to show how the pieces in their bills can be implemented using existing funding and infrastructure. On more than one occasion, bill sponsors have questioned in public hearings whether fiscal notes prepared by staff to show implementation cost estimates have been inflated to make the bill less attractive to other policymakers.
• In the next week or two when the House and Senate budget proposals are released, difficult, intense conversations will focus on what is fiscally feasible.
• Early learning bills that have been reported on in the UWWA legislative updates that are still alive address issues of: including preschool for vulnerable students in the definition of basic education (HB 2731 and SB 6759); elevating birth to three services (HB 2867); creating a home visitation fund to attract and leverage private dollars (HB 2687); streamlining the child care eligibility process with Working Connections Child Care (HB 3141); transferring the Infant Toddler Early Intervention Program to the Department of Early Learning, or DEL (HB 2741 and SB 6593); and restructuring the Department of Social and Health Services, or DSHS (HB 2197).
• The next big step for bills will be to be considered before the full chamber in the Senate or House. Thus, it is a good time to contact your elected officials and tell them where you stand on early childhood issues. Legislators will be considering massive amounts of legislation of wide-ranging topics and can benefit from hearing what merits of bills their constituents support or oppose.
• February is National Children’s Dental Health Month. According to the US Department of Health and Human Services, tooth decay is the most common chronic disease of childhood. The American Dental Association website has lesson plans and activities for children, the American Academy of Pediatrics Oral Health Initiative also has activities for children, and the National Maternal and Child Oral Health Center has oral health tip sheets.

BILL STATUS
Overview of legislative process
To date, there have been two significant cutoff dates in the legislative process – one cutoff for clearing policy committees and a second cutoff to clear fiscal committees. Bills must be voted off the floor of the House or Senate to continue advancing in the process.
Bills are assigned to the Rules Committee in the house of origin (i.e. HB 1234 is assigned to the House Rules Committee) before they can be considered on the floor of the House or Senate. Rules Committee members decide whether, and in what order, bills may be considered on the floor of the full chamber (i.e. before all members of the House or Senate).
Thus legislators are now contacting Rules Committee members to advocate that their prime sponsored bills be “pulled” and be scheduled for full chamber debate and then a vote. Because policymakers are debating and voting on bills of wide ranging topics, it is a good time to speak up for the issues you support most so they can be informed about where their constituents stand.
When a bill is before the full chamber the merits of the bill are discussed and debated, amendments may be offered on the bill, and then the amendments receive a full chamber vote. Thus the bill may be modified one last time before heading to the opposite chamber (i.e. a House bill heads to the Senate; a Senate bill heads to the House). Once a bill is voted off the floor of the House or Senate, it is assigned to a committee in the opposite chamber where it will be subject to further cutoff dates.

Helpful links about the legislative process:

• Cutoff calendar
• Overview of legislative process
• “How a Bill Becomes a Law” simple text  and simple cartoon for young students
• Other educational and instructional material from the Legislative Information Center

Preschool for vulnerable students included in basic education
In the House

HB 2731, “Creating an early learning program for educationally at-risk children,” sponsored by Rep. Roger Goodman. HB 2731 is still alive and needs to be voted off the House floor by the 5pm, Tuesday, 2/16 cutoff. This a robust bill that has the strong support of advocates.

HB 2731 was amended in the House Ways & Means committee. As currently written the bill would:

• Be implemented starting September 1, 2011, and be phased-in through the 2017-18 school year, when full implementation is to be completed.
• For school years 2011-12 and 2012-13, use Early Childhood Education Assistance Program (ECEAP) standards for program standards and use ECEAP eligibility for eligibility standards.
• For school years 2013-14 through 2017-18 the program standards would be determined by the Legislature. During these years, program eligibility criteria could be established in three ways: (1) poverty plus one or more risk factors (TBD by Legislature after receiving recommendations November 15, 2010, from the DEL & OSPI); (2) One or more risk factors (TBD by Legislature after receiving recommendations November 15, 2010, from the DEL & the Superintendent  of Public Instruction, or SPI); or (3) individual evaluation conducted by school district indicates child is at risk of being unprepared for kindergarten.
• Appropriate funding for the program to SPI, and allocated on basis of pre
  eligible child enrolled.
• In the initial phase, the Legislature will appropriate to SPI funding for the program equivalent to what would be appropriate for ECEAP to the DEL.
• For more details about proposed implementation, see second substitute bill language at: http://apps.leg.wa.gov/documents/billdocs/2009-10/Pdf/Bills/House%20Bills/2731-S2.pdf.
  

In the Senate

SB 6759, per 1st substitute version of bill SB 6759 is renamed, “Requiring a plan for a voluntary program of early learning,” sponsored by Sen. Claudia Kauffman. This bill is alive and must be voted off the Senate floor by the 5pm, Tuesday, 2/16 cutoff.

This bill is softer than HB 2731 but advocates support it since it is the vehicle to advance this discussion topic in the Senate where the discussion on whether to include preschool for vulnerable students in the definition of basic education has not gotten as deep or detailed as the discussion in the House. 

SB 6759 was amended in the House Early Learning and K-12 Education Committee on Thursday, 2/4. The current version of the bill calls for a technical working group convened by OSPI and DEL beginning April 1, 2010, to examine the separate recommendations by (a) the Quality Education Council and (b) DEL, OSPI, and Thrive by Five Washington that a program of early learning be included in the definition of basic education along with the Attorney General’s opinion on the topic. This language was not amended when SB 6759 was before the Senate Ways and Means Committee thus it is the current language included in the bill.

Elevating birth-three services

HB 2867, “Promoting Early Learning,” sponsored by Rep. Ruth Kagi. HB 2867 is still alive and needs to be voted off the House floor by the 5pm, Tuesday, 2/16 cutoff.

This bill has gone through quite a transformation. It was gutted in the House Early Learning and Children’s Service Committee and then voted out of the Committee. All of the original provisions outlined in the bill were stripped (e.g. All Start, intent to make preschool universally available, and authorizing DEL to revise income-eligibility of ECEAP) and replaced with new language focused on supporting services, programs for children in the birth to three age range.

Since being voted out of the House Early Learning and Children’s Services Committee, HB 2867 was amended again in the House Ways and Means Committee before being voted out of Ways and Means on Monday, 2/8. The changes included specification that any costs related to the bill will be handled within existing resources. Rep. Kagi noted that DEL has a birth to three “think tank” and Dir. Hyde indicated she believes the items outlined in the bill can be done in current staff capacity.  

It is now close to floor action in the House.

Home visitation
HB 2687, “Creating the home visiting services account,” sponsored by Rep. Ruth Kagi. HB 2687 is alive and needs to be voted off the House floor by the 5pm, Tuesday, 2/16 cutoff.

This bill continues to receive positive support due to the focus on leveraging private dollars into a public-private fund to support home visitation services which can enhance child development and alleviate the impacts of poverty and other risk factors, reduce the incidence of child abuse and neglect, and promote school readiness. With a significant budget deficit, options that draw in additional private funds are appealing to policymakers.

On Monday, 2/8, the House Ways and Means Committee amended the bill to specify that revenues in the account shall consist of appropriations from the legislature which means that the fiscal note can be removed and the fund as currently specified in the bill language would not require any new revenue to create.

Working Connections Child Care (WCCC)
HB 3141, “Redesigning the delivery of temporary assistance for needy families,” sponsored by Rep. Ruth Kagi. HB 3141 is alive and must be voted off the House floor by 5pm, Tuesday, 2/16.

This bill makes a number of changes to the state’s Temporary Assistance to Needy Families (TANF) program.  A large component within TANF is WCCC which subsidies child care for low-income families. With regard to WCCC the bill seeks to streamline the child care eligibility process. 

On Tuesday, 2/9, the House Ways and Means Committee amended the bill. Changes include:

• Beginning July 1, 2010, authorizations in the Working Connections Child Care Program (WCCC) shall be effective for 12 months for families with children enrolled in a Head Start (HS), Early Head Start (EHS), or ECEAP, unless a change in circumstances necessitates reauthorization sooner.
• DEL shall consult with the Department of Social and Health Services (DSHS), and report to the Legislature by January 10, 2011, regarding: (a) An analysis of the impact of the twelve month authorization period on the stability of child care; program costs; and administrative savings; and (b) Recommendations to expand the application of the twelve month authorization period to additional populations of children in care.
• The intention is this bill will not cost new money.

As amended, the bill was voted out of Ways and Means and now awaits action on the House floor.

Administrative changes
The positive conversation around the proposed transfer of ITEIP from DSHS to DEL demonstrates the willingness of DSHS Sec. Dreyfus and DEL Dir. Hyde to work collaboratively. DSHS Sec. Dreyfus has expressed her awareness of the areas in DSHS that need improvement and has shown willingness to find efficiencies as shown with HB 2741 and SB 6593.

Transfer of ITEIP to DEL

• HB 2741, “Transferring the administration of the infant and toddler early intervention program from the department of social and health services [DSHS] to the department of early learning [DEL],” sponsored by Rep. Mary Lou Dickerson. This bill has consistently received positive support from advocates and DEL staff for being a common sense move based on good partnership work between DSHS and DEL.
• SB 6593, “Transferring the administration of the infant and toddler early intervention program from the department of social and health services to the department of early learning,” sponsored by Sen. Randy Gordon. This is the companion bill for HB 2741 and thus far through the process the bills still look very similar.
• Both HB 2741 and SB 6593 are alive, progressing through the legislative process nicely, and are eligible for action by the full chambers. The bills are in their respective Rules Committees and must be voted off the floor of the House and Senate by the 5pm, Tuesday, 2/16 cutoff.

Restructuring DSHS

• HB 2197, per the 1st substitute version of the bill HB 2197 is renamed “Restructuring the department of social and health services,” sponsored by Rep. Mike Armstrong.  HB 2197 is alive and needs to be voted off the House floor by the 5pm, Tuesday, 2/16 cutoff.

On Monday, 2/8, Gov. Gregoire was asked during a press conference about her thoughts on this bill. She expressed her goal is to protect vulnerable Washingtonians and this bill is not the way to achieve that. She worries it will create further silos and will replicate, not diminish, administrative costs. DSHS Secretary Dreyfus, the governor said, is working hard to address key issues at DSHS.

Also on Monday, 2/8, the House Ways and Means Committee held a public hearing on HB 2197. Rep. Armstrong, HB 2197’s prime sponsor, says the bill is intended to increase the efficiency of DSHS. He is concerned about the growth management of DSHS, a large state agency, and the turnover of the agency secretary since the average tenure he said is 22 months. Rep. Armstrong went on to say that 16 children per year die under DSHS watch, which leads to lawsuits. He expressed concern about the fiscal note attached to this bill about whether it accurately reflected implementation costs.

Rep. Kagi raised the point that families often need more than one service such as TANF, mental health services, etc. She shared concern over how different services would be integrated if DSHS was restructured and the current services they manage under one agency would go to different places. While it is true the services would be spread across three new agencies under the direction of HB 2197, proponents of restructuring say that DSHS is functioning in a fractured manner and that staff use a "How to Navigate DSHS" because the internal structure is complicated.

Kari Burrell of Governor's Policy Office shared the governor’s concern that this bill is not the right answer. But the administration shares the goals of finding administrative efficiencies, reducing costs, and providing quality services as outlined in the intent section of the bill.  Burrell highlighted government reform proposals as an example of efforts to reduce unnecessary duplication of functions. Yet HB 2197 goes against that direction. Burrell said there is a need to serve the whole person and whole family in the most integrated way possible and does not see how this proposal would protect vulnerable citizens or minimize tort liability.

DSHS Secretary Dreyfus testified and shared the ways DSHS is transforming, including serving clients in cross-over departments and working to develop person-centric culture at the agency.  There is awareness of the public frustrations with the child welfare system and they are working on improving quality and developing consistency and accountability for every child, every time. She asked policymakers not to shift this momentum and said the problems will not be fixed with the administrative structure changes the bill proposes.
On Tuesday, 2/9, the House Ways and Means Committee amended the bill and voted it out of Committee. The effects of the amendments are as follows

• DSHS is restructured so that it provides common administrative functions to the new departments created in the bill.
• A realignment team, rather than a transition team, is formed to submit a plan and implementing legislation to the legislature by December 1, 2010.
• The Department of Children's Services will be operational by July 1, 2011, and the departments of Economic Services, Medical Assistance, and Health and Rehabilitative Services shall be operational by July 1, 2012.
• The realignment team shall consist of representatives appointed by the governor representing the Office of Financial Management and the divisions of the Department of Social and Health Services.
• The leadership of the two largest caucuses in the House of Representatives and the Senate shall appoint a member to the realignment team. The realignment team must work with stakeholders and the appropriate fiscal and policy committees of the legislature.

UWWA LOBBY DAY
On Thursday, 2/11, 75 United Way board members, staff members and community leaders visited the Capitol to communicate their support of early learning to their local representatives.  The group heard from Reps. Goodman, Kagi and Sullivan about efforts to expand the definition of basic education to include vulnerable children and also heard from the Governor’s Senior Policy Adviser Leslie Goldstein about the Governor’s differing approach.  Goldstein emphasized the discussion right now in the Capitol is over the “how” of early learning, rather than the “what” or the “why.”

Despite the Senate coming off a late night debating 2ESB 6843 and the House concluding marathon fiscal committee review and both bodies engaged in caucus meetings to hash out strategy on approaching issues, representatives from 14 United Ways still made contact with most of their legislators, emphasizing support for HB 2731, SB 6759, HB 2687, HB 3141 and HB 2867, along with preservation of funding for ECEAP for three-year olds and Working Connections Child Care

SUBSCRIPTION INFORMATION
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