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NEWS & UPDATES:
Bridge to Benefits Launched in South Dakota
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| CDF-Minnesota Director Jim Koppel was in Sioux Falls to help launch the South Dakota Bridge to Benefits web tool. South Dakota Voices For Children is partnering with CDF-Minnesota on the effort.
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Children’s Defense Fund-Minnesota’s unique web tool, Bridge to Benefits, has been launched in South Dakota to link struggling families in that state to important benefits that can lift them out of poverty and help them gain economic stability.
Since the free web-based tool was first launched in Minnesota in late 2007 and in Montana in 2008, it has connected tens of thousands of people to important state benefits such as energy assistance, health care, child care assistance, food support, school meals, and tax credits. The initiative uses the Internet to quickly and anonymously help families determine if they are eligible for assistance and then helps with the application process. It is free to anyone with access to the Internet. Families who have used the site have an average yearly income of less than $20,000.
"Bridge to Benefits has already helped thousands of people get important benefits that they otherwise wouldn’t know they’re eligible for,” said CDF-Minnesota Director Jim Koppel. “Many times these benefits are critical to creating economic stability for struggling families.”
A North Dakota site will be launched in July.
> See all the Bridge to Benefits sites
> Listen to a radio story about the South Dakota launch
Governor Pawlenty Announces Further Cuts that Harm Children and Families
Minnesota Governor Tim Pawlenty recently announced that he will make further budget cuts that will seriously compromise the overall health and well-being of
children, families and communities across the state.
The governor intends to cut another $236 million from Health and Human Services — in addition to nearly $900 million made during the state
legislative session. The governor chose to unallot funds on his own to balance the budget instead of calling a special legislative session (which
only the governor can call) to resolve the current budget impasse with the state legislature.
The HHS cuts, among other things, would:
- Cut outreach funding to community organizations to help them enroll eligible children and adults in public health care programs
- Reduce access to dental care for low-income Minnesotans
- Reduce access to health care coverage for low-income parents by reducing the amount of assets parents can have to enroll on Medical Assistance
- Reduce funding to counties for child protection and disabled adult services
- Accelerate the governor’s line-item veto of General Assistance Medical Care (GAMC); elimination of GAMC will result in 35,000 of the poorest adults in the state losing their health care coverage
- Cut or delay payments to hospitals and other health care providers
In addition to those cuts, the Governor intends to cut the property tax credits to low income renters by $51 million, cut aid to cities, towns and counties by $300 million, delay payments to schools, and cut $100 million from Minnesota’s public colleges and universities.
The majority of the cuts will not go into effect until sometime in 2010. Children’s Defense Fund-Minnesota will continue to monitor the impact of
these budget decisions, and let supporters know about future advocacy opportunities to help preserve Minnesota communities.
CDF Offers Summer, Fall Opportunities for Faith Community to Advocate for Children
Children’s Defense Fund offers several opportunities for the people of all ages in the faith community to engage in child advocacy:
- The 15th Annual Samuel DeWitt Proctor Institute for Child Advocacy Ministry
This event
will draw hundreds of Christian leaders from all denominations and across the nation, July 20-24 at the beautiful, historic Alex Haley Farm in Clinton, Tennessee to explore how their faith calls them into ministries of child advocacy. Meditations, sermons, music, practical workshops and plenary sessions led by renown leaders work to make this a time of spiritual renewal and challenge.
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Register online
- New Leaders: The Joshua & Deborah Generation
Young adult leaders (ages 18-25) are invited to register for the Joshua & Deborah track within the Proctor Institute. This track affirms the important role that the newest generation of religious leaders has to play in the movement for children.
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More information and registration
- National Observance of Children's Sabbaths Celebration
This observance is a way for the inter-faith community to celebrate children as sacred gifts of the Divine, and provide the opportunity to renew and live out their moral responsibility to care, protect and advocate for all children. To assist communities with planning and implementing their Children's Sabbaths Celebration, CDF produces an annual National Observance of Children's Sabbaths Manual: A Multi-faith Resource for Year Round Child Advocacy. Though the National Observance of Children's Sabbaths Weekend is traditionally held the third weekend of October, the worship resources and prayers found in this year's Children's Sabbaths manual are intended for use throughout the year.
> Download the 2009 manual
Successful Spring Forums Outline How Children Are Faring Across the State
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| CDF-Minnesota Research Director Kara Arzamendia tells more than 60 attendees about the latest trends in child well-being at a forum in Duluth. |
CDF-Minnesota staff completed a successful round of forums that shared the latest data on how Minnesota and North Dakota children are faring. The forums in Rochester, Moorhead, Duluth, Worthington, and Grand Forks outlined how children are doing in every county, and gave attendees the tools to keep up-to-date on the latest data. They also let people know what lawmakers in St. Paul and Bismarck are doing that affects children and their families.
The events also showed people to learn about CDF-Minnesota’s Bridge to Benefits tool, an easy-to-use online resource that is improving the economic stability of families by linking them to public work support programs.
The Child Defender
CDF-Minnesota's latest newsletter discusses our efforts to advocate on behalf of Minnesota children under the weight of huge state budget deficits, our successful Beat the Odds Awards Dinner, and the child well-being forums that CDF-Minnesota is holding around the state. Find out about our regional work in Montana and the Dakotas, and learn about a new database that shows how children in your area are doing. Also, meet our new research director!
Read a PDF version of the latest Child Defender
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