Yesterday I attended the 2014 Children and Youth Issues Briefing at the Crowne Plaza Hotel in St. Paul, MN. This briefing is held annually prior to the start of the Minnesota legislative session to discuss emerging legislative issues and initiatives that will impact children and youth in Minnesota.

The event was well attended (as usual) and featured (among others) Melvin Carter III, Director of the Office of Early Learning; Dr. Brenda Cassellius, Dr. Ed Ehlinger, and Cindy Jesson, the Commissioners of the Depts. of Education, Health, and Human Services, respectively, representing the Minnesota Children’s Cabinet; Barbara Milon, Director of the Phyllis Wheatley Community Center and member of the Executive Committee of the MinneMinds Coalition; and Senator Patricia Torres Ray. There was also a youth panel presentation featuring three youth providing their perspectives on youth issues; Dr. Eric Kaler, President of the University of Minnesota, moderated.

The Minimum Wage

One of the main focuses of this event was raising the minimum wage. Several of the speakers, including Commissioner Cassellius and Sen. Torres Ray, focused on this as a policy issue for the upcoming legislative session, saying that in order for parents to care for their children, they must make a living wage. By increasing a family’s income, child poverty can be reduced and child outcomes improved.

The legislature is expected to hear bills that would increase the minimum wage to $9.50/hour, which would benefit approximately 137,000 children, according to this Duluth News Tribune article. Senator Torres Ray had a different number in mind at the briefing: she argued that in order for a parent to take care of his or her children, he or she must make $14.32/hour. The current minimum wage is $7.25/hour, or $15,080/year for a full-time worker making minimum wage.

Early Learning Opportunities

Another focus of this briefing was on early learning opportunities for young children. Last year in its education omnibus bill, the legislature fully funded all-day kindergarten for all public school districts and set aside funding for early learning scholarships for children ages 3 and 4 to receive high quality care. It also expanded Parent Aware, Minnesota’s quality rating system for child care and early education.

One legislative goal of the MinneMinds Coalition is to increase funding for these early learning scholarships. According to Barbara Milon, there are still 18,000 3- and 4-year-olds who are eligible for these scholarships but have yet to be served. For FY2014, the MinneMinds Coalition is lobbying for $78,370,000 in funding. Sen. Melisa Franzen & Rep. Ryan Winkler will author bills to increase funding for these scholarships and increase the flexibility of the scholarships to make them parent-directed.

Intergenerational Poverty

One of the goals of the Minnesota Children’s Cabinet is to reduce intergenerational poverty in order to improve outcomes for children. Overall, the number of children living in poverty in Minnesota has increased since last year; in reducing child poverty rates today we can also reduce intergenerational poverty in the future. Several strategies for reducing intergenerational poverty were discussed, including:

  • reducing adverse childhood experiences (ACEs) among children;
  • improving access to stable and permanent housing for children and families; and
  • helping teen parents in school by providing access to affordable, high quality child care for their children.

On this note, Commissioner Cassellius invoked the late Senator Paul Wellstone with “We all do better when we all do better.”

Children’s Mental Health Services

During the last legislative session, Minnesota dedicated funds to mental health services in the schools. According to Commissioner Cindy Jesson, the Minnesota Department of Human Services is developing a statewide early childhood system of care to provide specialized services for children ages 0-3.
This is also one area that the Children’s Cabinet emphasized: collaboration. Commissioner Ed Ehlinger urged Minnesotans to “break down the silos” and collaborate among systems to create a positive impact for Minnesota and its children.

Infant Mortality

In addition to increasing early learning opportunities and providing access to mental health services for our children, the Children’s Cabinet is also focusing on reducing infant mortality rates in Minnesota. Currently Minnesota is experiencing an upward trend in this rate. Commissioner Ehlinger talked about the need to address social determinants of health in order to halt this trend.

After-School Care & Youth Interests

A brief presentation by Ignite Afterschool encouraged advocates and policymakers to focus on after-school care for children and youth. Since 2008 there has been a significant reduction in funding for after-school care, yet research has shown its effectiveness in reducing the achievement gap and risky behavior among youth while promoting good social/emotional skills and innovation.

Both Ignite Afterschool and the Minnesota Youth Council underscored the important role of caring and supportive adults in young people’s lives. The Minnesota Youth Council works to ensure that the voices of Minnesota youth are heard at the Capitol. The Minnesota Youth Council’s relationship to the legislature was formalized by law, and youth omnibus bills are now going to be a regular occurrence at the legislature.

Health Care

Finally, the Minnesota Budget Project discussed the Affordable Care Act (ACA) and its impact on children and youth in Minnesota. Minnesota children under 18 in families with incomes up to 275 percent of the federal poverty guidelines are now eligible for Medical Assistance (MA); 10,000 children now qualify for MA. However, according to this article from the Star Tribune, there are still more than 68,000 children without medical insurance in Minnesota.

For another review of yesterday’s event, see this blog post from Minnesota Council on Foundations.

What do you hope to see during the upcoming legislative session? What do you think about the legislative goals and issues highlighted in this post? Leave a comment below!