Latest news with #Children'sAlliance
Yahoo
3 days ago
- Politics
- Yahoo
Washington stuck mid-pack in national education ranking
(Photo by) Washington's K-12 education system slipped slightly in national rankings released Monday. The state ranks 27th, down one spot from last year, according to an analysis from the Annie E. Casey Foundation. Ten years ago, Washington was 20th. Superintendent of Public Instruction Chris Reykdal's office took issue with the rankings, arguing that the National Assessment of Educational Progress data the report is based on shouldn't be used to construct such lists. More than two-thirds of the state's 4th graders failed to meet reading standards, and 70% of 8th graders weren't proficient in math last year, right around the national average — and where Washington pupils stood in 2022. For two decades, reading proficiency has remained largely unchanged in Washington. In 2005, 64% of the state's 4th graders failed to meet reading standards. The number improved, falling to just 60% in 2013 and 2015, but last year climbed to a new high of 68%. Math proficiency among 8th graders dropped over the past decade, from 58% not meeting standards in 2013, to 70% last year, largely driven by the COVID-19 pandemic and its toll on student learning and a rise in chronic absenteeism nationally. A spokesperson for Reykdal pointed to state data showing 'robust' improvement since the pandemic. The percentage of students on track in reading and math was up in the 2023-24 school year from the pandemic era, according to state data. 'Our performance in reading is strong, and OSPI and Superintendent Reykdal understand the need for increased focus on and funding for mathematics, particularly in late elementary and middle school,' spokesperson Katie Hannig said in an email Monday. 'This is one of the Superintendent's top priorities moving forward.' One worrisome data point shows Washington's youngest learners are missing out on school. Of 3- and 4-year-old children, 57% weren't enrolled in school from 2019 to 2023, slightly worse than the national average. Stephan Blanford, executive director of the Children's Alliance based in Seattle, said this lays the groundwork for below-average on-time graduation rates. The alliance is the foundation's partner in Washington on the report known as the Kids Count Data Book. Sixteen percent of Washington students didn't graduate on time in 2021 and 2022, the report says, below the 13% national average. 'The fact that our state has made such significant cuts in early education as a result of the last legislative session means it's pretty easy to predict that these numbers are on the way downward,' said Blanford, speaking broadly about education trends. 'There was so much work that was done in order to get them to their current level.' 'Our slide is going to be precipitous,' he added. State lawmakers agreed this year to delay previously approved expansions to state-paid early learning in the face of a hefty budget shortfall. And the Trump administration has put the federal Head Start early learning program for low-income families in its crosshairs. These programs help students learn to manage their feelings, and kids who participate are more likely to go on to college and earn more money as adults. Blanford voiced disappointment that state leaders, particularly Gov. Bob Ferguson, couldn't reach agreement this year on new revenue options to better fund education. Ferguson's office didn't respond to a request for comment Monday. Meanwhile, school districts are grappling with tough budget decisions of their own as federal aid provided during the pandemic has dried up, and as enrollment is down in many places. State funding is linked to student headcounts. Hannig, from the Office of Superintendent of Public Instruction, said the state budget cuts 'cause OSPI concern, and we are exploring options to keep our preschool-age learners learning, despite these reductions in funding.' Still, she noted state data shows 53.6% of Washington's students entered kindergarten ready this school year, a figure that has risen consistently in recent years. The Kids Count Data Book also tracks family, health and economic data trends. For example, in 2023, just 3% of Washington children lacked health insurance, better than the national average of 5%. And only 12% were impoverished, also better than the average. As for child well-being, Washington ranks 16th, down from 14th last year. The state's Healthy Youth Survey, however, has indicated improving mental health and decreased substance use among Washington's young people in recent years.
Yahoo
03-04-2025
- Health
- Yahoo
Push for social media safeguards to protect children derails in Washington House
(Photo by SDI Productions via Getty Images) A bill that gained bipartisan support in the Washington state Senate to strengthen online safety for children has failed to move forward in the House. Senate Bill 5708 came at the request of Attorney General Nick Brown's office and would have prevented social media companies from pushing addictive feeds and sending notification alerts during certain hours to children under age 18. Gov. Bob Ferguson also backed the bill. It passed the Senate with bipartisan support, with eight Republicans joining Democrats, but failed to receive a hearing in the House Consumer Protection and Business Committee. The bill's sponsor, Sen. Noel Frame, D-Seattle, said she knew the bill needed more work, but was disappointed it didn't receive a public hearing in the House. 'It felt like a pretty abrupt end,' she said, adding that supporters had 'already compromised quite a bit' on the bill. Likewise, Brown said he was disappointed the bill didn't get a House hearing, calling the proposal a 'commonsense' step to improve youth mental health. 'Compulsive social media use has demonstrably harmful impacts on young people. It's disappointing not everyone is treating this crisis with the urgency it deserves,' he said. The bill was also backed by the Washington Children's Alliance, an advocacy organization, after conversations with educators and health officials raised alarm about how social media can negatively affect children. Since the pandemic, there's been an increase in depression and anxiety among children. In a 2023 advisory, the U.S. Surgeon General recommended that policymakers pursue policies to limit children's access to social media to reduce the risk of harm. 'The root cause of so much of the depression and anxiety that we see all across the nation for kids is because they all have access to phones and are getting pumped with all of these really harmful feeds that are coming at all hours of the day and night,' said Stephan Blanford, executive director of the Children's Alliance. The lack of federal legislation has led to states taking action to address online safety for children and the behavioral problems it poses. California approved laws along these lines in 2022 and 2024 that industry-backed lawsuits have tied up in court. Frame's bill contains similar provisions to the California legislation. However, she said that many of the criticisms around the bill were distractions and that the attorney general was aware of the lawsuits and that the bill was designed to avoid traps seen in other states. 'It's a complicated bill,' she said, adding it was easy for the tech industry to highlight the flaws the bill initially had. Blanford said the Children's Alliance worked with the attorney general's office to draft the legislation and ensure it was constitutional and that the bill was designed to address some of the patterns that can leave children addicted to social media feeds. 'Technology companies have a huge incentive, financial incentive, to addict our children to their products,' Blanford said. Rep. Amy Walen, D-Kirkland, the chair of the Consumer Protection and Business Committee, said concerns about the constitutionality of the bill and privacy violations for youth led to her decision not to hear it this session. 'It felt like it wasn't ready and that's what I kept hearing from people,' Walen said. Walen rejected suggestions that her decision had to do with Microsoft being located in her district. 'I work for the people,' Walen said. 'The 48th legislative district, that's who I work for.' Instead, Walen said she hoped to explore the issue further and work with technology companies to see how to refine the bill ahead of the next session. Sen. Keith Wagoner, R-Sedro Wooley, one of the cosponsors, said he supported the intent of the bill but still thinks it needs more work and that lawmakers need to engage further on it with tech companies and wait until the California litigation is resolved. Sen. Manka Dhingra, D-Redmond, was the only Democrat who voted against the bill when it passed the Senate. She said Tuesday that regulating technology can be a challenge. 'I actually think it needs to wait a year or wait until some of those other states have resolved it so we have more clear direction on where we need to go,' Dhingra said.
Yahoo
20-03-2025
- General
- Yahoo
Children's Alliance of Kansas to support SOUL Family foster care program with advisory group
Gov. Laura Kelly, during a May 14, 2024, celebration of SOUL Family legislation in Topeka, talks about her efforts to work with lawmakers to improve the state's child welfare system. (Sherman Smith/Kansas Reflector) TOPEKA — The Children's Alliance of Kansas will provide support for a new foster care program that expands placement options for teens by letting them stay with a family member or close friend. The SOUL Family program, which was created through legislation last year, provides teens 16 and older in foster care the opportunity to choose a non-family member to be their guardian, while still benefiting from foster care benefits. SOUL stands for Support, Opportunity, Unity, Legal Relationships. 'It gives youths the opportunity to define family in their own terms and create a route to permanency,' said KVC education and transition specialists supervisor Kim Duncan. 'SOUL is an opportunity for that to happen.' KVC is one of the agencies that contracts with the state to provide foster care services. The Annie E. Casey Foundation will provide a grant to the Children's Alliance to fund a SOUL Family advisory group with the Department for Children and Families and other child welfare organizations. The funds will help pay advisory group members with lived experience in foster care. 'We'll be focusing on how we assess progress that we're making, any insights that we have with youths who are navigating toward a SOUL family and just helping support the ongoing implementation and success of this project,' said Children's Alliance CEO Kristalle Hedrick. Gov. Laura Kelly made Kansas the first state to add the SOUL program to the options for permanency after signing the bill into law in April. According to data from DCF, seven teenagers in foster care have reached permanency through the program, from July to December of last year. Eight other case plans have been changed to SOUL and are in the process of being finalized. Foster teens who participate in SOUL are likely to spend less time in the foster care system. 'The Children's Alliance was a strong proponent of that legislation,' Hedrick said. 'One of the things that we're pretty proud of in the project is that we did raise the voices of young people and help them share what it's like for people who have left foster care.' Along with giving foster teens a choice in guardian, they also receive permanency benefits such as health care, educational support and an adult to help with what Hedrick calls 'day-to-day things' of life. 'A SOUL family relationship is designed to last throughout the kid's entire life, and it's recognized by the court for their whole life, so it doesn't have to stop at age 18, like custodianship does,' Hedrick said. 'Things are just really difficult to navigate adulthood. How do I pay my phone bill? How do I pay rent? This is an idea where several different adults from different households can step in and support youth.' Saint Francis Ministries, a foster care organization in Kansas, recorded the first official SOUL Family case in the state and the nation. 'Far too many young people leave foster care without a legal, supportive family,' said Holly Dean-Osborne, vice president of permanency at Saint Francis. 'By providing a permanency pathway that honors their identity and relationships, SOUL Family Legal Permanency ensures that every young person has the healing and hope they need to transition successfully into adulthood.'
