| | | | | | | |  | Advocates for Children and Youth has successfully advocated for increased funding for Judy Centers across the state in this year's Blueprint for Maryland's Future legislation. Judy Centers are part of elementary schools and provide services to families with children before they are school aged. The Blueprint for Maryland's Future increases the number of Judy Centers across the state, and now funds them sufficiently so each facility can better serve the community. | | | | | | April Webinar: Mark Your Calendars Join Nonso Umunna, our Research Director, on Tuesday, April 13th from 3PM-5PM for our third webinar, Creating Safe Spaces: Children and the Settings They Inhabit. Using data from the Annie E. Casey Foundation's KIDS COUNT Data Center, and speaking with experts Krystal Williams and Delegate Geraldine Valentino-Smith, we will dive deep into the status of Maryland's children and the steps we need to take in order to secure a better future for Maryland's children and youth. Click here to register. Until then, check out our February webinar, African American Families in Maryland: A Perspective Through Data. | | | | | |  | We salute all women of the past and present who have advocated for Maryland's young people and their families. We see your work and Maryland's children benefit from it. Thank you! | | | | | |  | | | This week, Melissa Rock, our Birth to Three Strategic Initiative Director, will support the following bills: HB1326-Maryland Healthy Working Families Act: ACY is proud to continue our long-term support for paid sick and safe leave by supporting expansions in times of public health emergencies. These pieces ensure that Maryland's Paid Sick and Safe Leave laws will continue to meet the needs of families even when we are in a public health emergency. We know that BIPOC Marylanders have been hardest hit by the COVID-19 pandemic and we need to ensure that Maryland's low wage workers do not have to choose between their health and meeting their family's financial needs. | | | | HB 1349-Maryland Prenatal and Infant Care Grant Program Fund: ACY is supporting HB 1349 which will ensure that all Medicaid recipients remain covered through the first year after giving birth, rather than for only sixty days. In Maryland, 44% of the maternal deaths in 2017 occurred 43-365 days after giving birth. HB 1349 also includes an important requirement that regulations be developed to ensure there is care coordination for these individuals as they near the end of their coverage and to ensure they know about what their other health insurance options are. For more information regarding our legislative agenda, click here. | | | | | |  | Advocates for Children and Youth is looking for leaders to join our Board of Directors. A unique leadership opportunity awaits if you seek to put your talent in strategic thinking, financial forecasting, organizational behavior, project management, policy, advocacy, or events in service to ensuring equity for all kids in Maryland. If you have any questions, please contact Mariama Boney, Interim Executive Director at mboney@acy.org. | | | | | | | |  | Over the past year, Advocates for Children and Youth's Board of Directors and Staff have been working on refining our approach to advocacy. We shared our mission statement, launched our campaign, Equity for All Kids during the 2020 legislative session, and continue to be responsive and preemptive to the new challenges that the pandemic has either magnified or exposed.
To give you further insight into our progress toward racial equity and inclusion both internally and externally, we are sharing our Strategic Framework, Theory of Change, and Values. With these tools in hand, we will work toward building a strong Maryland by advancing policies and programs to ensure children and families of every race, ethnicity, and place of birth achieve their full potential. | | | | | | | | | Advocates for Children and Youth One N. Charles Street | Suite 2400 | Baltimore, Maryland 21201 | | | | Advocates for Children and Youth is funded by: Abell Foundation | The Annie E. Casey Foundation | Arnold Ventures | Jacob and Hilda Blaustein Foundation | Clayton Baker | The Fund for Change | Fund for Families with Young Children | Greater Washington Community Foundation | Lockhart Vaughan Foundation | Meyer Foundation | OSI-Baltimore | Partnership for America's Children | | | You are subscribed to the Advocates for Children and Youth email list as . | | | | | | | |
