Sept. 25—To borrow a tagline and flip it: what happens in Washington, doesn’t stay in Washington—far from it. Budget and policy decisions on Capitol Hill (and in state capitals across the country) have a big impact on even the smallest neighborhoods.

In terms of deadline, the most pressing of these may be the federal appropriations process, which sets the actual spending levels for government programs (the annual federal budget is a “roadmap” for this process). This year, debate and disagreement stalled the appropriations bills—but non-essential government services can’t operate past October 1 without funding, so the House passed a “continuing resolution” on Sept. 24 to maintain funding at current levels. It's a compromise bill that keep funding at last year’s levels through March 6, 2009, with increases for a few programs, including the Supplemental Nutrition for Women, Infants and Children (WIC) program, home energy assistance and Pell grants. (The Senate and Bush administration are expected to approve it.)

Follow the Money—What Money? The $700 billion financial rescue package/bailout is making headlines, but many child advocates are talking about the steady erosion in federal funding for children’s programs over the past five years. Only one penny of every new, non-defense dollar spent by the federal government goes to children, according to First Focus, a bipartisan advocacy organization.

But wait, there’s good news! Before we go much further, it’s worth mentioning that despite some high-profile stalemates and partisan showdowns, there were several national policy “wins” to celebrate and inspire our continued work. Few bills are perfect, but most child advocates agree that there has been real progress on several fronts in the past year.

First, concerning money: to determine that kids get one penny per dollar of non-defense spending, First Focus had to work pretty hard to collect and analyze the many funding streams that impact children. This work will get a whole lot easier if the Children’s Budget Act becomes law; it requires presidents to tally the real share of federal spending that goes to children and submit that with their budget proposals each year. The Act was introduced in the Senate in July and Rep. Danny K. Davis (D-IL) will introduce it in the House this week.

There are several other developments worth cheering. On September 22, Congress passed the most significant reform to the national child welfare and foster care system in more than a decade. Last spring, the Farm Bill made some long-awaited changes to the Food Stamp program (which we’re still getting used to calling SNAP). After years of advocating, July saw the creation of a National Housing Trust Fund to preserve affordable housing for low-income families. Funds for the Federal Youth Coordination Act, the GI Bill, Head Start and the Higher Education Act are other examples of successes over the past year.

Connect for Kids congratulates the tireless advocates and others who contact their elected officials, work diligently to inform policymakers and push for the policies, programs and funds every child needs!

And when we roll up our sleeves up again, here are a few things on the horizon that are likely to move in the next Congress and new Administration.

• A Second Stimulus Package—will it happen and what does it have to do with job training for teens? Will it include increases in Medicaid payments to help states avoid having to make cuts?No Child Left Behind—will it get back on schedule for reauthorization? Will there be changes to extended learning or supplemental education services?
• Runaway and Homeless Youth Act of 2008—a new bill very nearly made it, but didn’t quite.
• The Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention Act of 2008—it’s moving in the Senate, but what about the House?

There are plenty of others: the Workforce Investment Act, Safe Schools, the Child Care and Community Development Block Grant, State Children’s Health Insurance Program…

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