ANNUAL MEMBER SURVEY RESULTS HIGHLIGHT DEMAND TO SUPPORT BASIC NEEDS

Each year, Children’s Alliance sends members a survey to better understand policy issue priorities and collect thoughts on event planning and demographic information. It is one of the many tools we use to ensure we are advocating with, not for, the communities we serve.  This year, we opened and shared the survey from August through September. 

In total, 159 Children’s Alliance members shared their perspectives through our survey this year, including advocates, donors, and partners. While only a sample of the entire state, these voices offer vital insight into the priorities of some of our most engaged members and serve as one of several key inputs shaping our legislative agenda.  

As a part of the survey, we asked respondents to rank the top five children’s policy issues that concern them the most. Several of their top concerns mirror Children’s Alliance’s ongoing priorities, including access to Early Learning and Child Care and Economic Security for Families.   

For example, affordable housing and homelessness was once again one of the top concerns for survey respondents. This was also among the top five issues of concern reported by Children’s Alliance members in our 2024 survey. In addition, child welfare and health care rose as priority concerns, whereas last year survey respondents highlighted mental and behavioral health and racial equity as top priorities. We believe this shift may reflect concerns about the impending changes to Medicaid and other social services with the implementation of the federal reconciliation bill H.R.1.  

Our members’ concerns also match what we’re seeing in recent KIDS COUNT ® data. For example, Washington ranks 30th in the nation for economic well-being and 31% of Washington kids live in households with a high housing cost burden, compared to 30% of kids nationally. Our members’ concerns about early learning and child care also make sense based on state data, with Washington ranking 27th in education and 57% of children aged 3 and 4 not enrolled in preschool, compared to 54% nationally. We dig deeper into these issues and the KIDS COUNT® data in our recent issue briefs on early learning and economic justice. 

Next Steps 

While Children’s Alliance continues to advance policy solutions within our current areas of focus, we also recognize the need to grow and evolve as the needs of children and families change and develop. The results of our annual member survey have been shared with our staff, Public Policy Council, and Board as we create our legislative agenda, plan events and determine priorities for the upcoming year. We will continue meeting with partners and gathering feedback from community members to ensure we are centering community voices in our work.  

We extend our sincere thanks to everyone who shared their concerns and experiences with us via the survey this year. Your time and opinions are incredibly valuable to us, and we are grateful to have your insights and support as we prepare for powerful advocacy in 2026.   

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