In this edition, a dentist says a new type of dental health provider on his team will extend needed care to families in his clinic and throughout Washington. In Olympia, parents and advocates tell legislators why high-quality child care and rating standards are critical to kids' safety and success. In national news, the benefits of quality early learning are seen up to 30 years later, and researchers explain how hunger and obesity are intertwined.

In this edition, child advocates introduce an early learning bill in the State Legislature to increase quality and equity of learning before kindergarten, as families face cuts to Working Connections Child Care. In the national press, food stamps are as pro-equality as they are anti-hunger, and the marriage equality bill for Washington families is discussed across the country.

In this edition, Washington begins 2012 with millions in national recognition for Apple Health for Kids just after winning a competition from the Obama Administration to advance and extend quality early learning throughout our state. In other news, routine dental health care is out of reach and unaffordable for too many, so some states are looking to add a new provider to the dental workforce.

In this week's edition, Washington receives $60 million in federal funding to improve its early learning system — one of nine states in the nation to receive this grant. In national news, uninsured kids shrunk by one million, and food stamps saved families from going hungrier and getting poorer during a historic recession. 

In this edition, advocates ask Washington lawmakers to protect State Food Assistance, child care, Pre-K investments, and health coverage for all Washington children in hard times, prefacing a deal to make a $480 million down payment in budget cuts to close Special Session this week. In national news, food stamps are an invisible anti-hunger force, child nutrition programs need more investment, and the Affordable Care Act (ACA) could cut uninsured U.S. kids by 40 percent.

In this edition, reporters and commentators size up the consequences of another state budget shortfall, while one paper considers the idea of ending tax loopholes instead of basic services. A public safety leader urges a vote against Initiative 1183. A new agreement will curtail the number of times a foster child moves from home to home; and a Spokane organization starts an initiative to enroll thousands of uninsured teens in Apple Health for Kids.

In this week’s edition, an early learning leader asks state and federal lawmakers to take a balanced approach to the budget so kids won’t have to bear the burden of an economic crisis. Also, one firefighter argues that Initiative 1183 puts kids at risk, the Department of Early Learning seeks $60 million in federal funds to improve Washington’s pre-kindergarten programs, and a national columnist says that investing in early childhood education may be the key to addressing structural inequality.

In this week’s edition, lawmakers, parents and teachers mark the 25th year of the state’s Early Childhood Education and Assistance Program (ECEAP) while schools in King County observe National School Lunch Week – an event that illuminates child hunger across the country.

In this edition, the Children’s Alliance says that cuts won’t solve Washington’s growing hunger crisis, and school breakfast provides one solution to child hunger while priming students for success. Also, further cuts in response to the state’s revenue forecast would sacrifice jobs and hurt kids, and a new health policy threatens the lives of the most vulnerable Washington children. In national news, slashing public assistance programs and jobs will pull more families into poverty, and proposed changes to Head Start could mean more children will be better prepared for kindergarten.

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In this week’s edition, rising hunger among children in the Tri-Cities is the outcome of a long recession; Medicaid’s future is still uncertain with a known children’s champion leading federal debt limit conversations;  and the U.S. Census Bureau reports that poverty has risen to 46.2 million. Also in the nation, African American families account for one quarter of the hunger-afflicted, as grandparents advocate for food stamps and school meals for their grandkids.

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