Michigan’s 54 Great Start Collaboratives (GSCs) serve all counties in the state, and bring together parent leaders and community decision-makers from diverse sectors, including education, business, clergy, law enforcement, service providers and parents; to create and implement school readiness plans. Each collaborative partners with a local Great Start Parent Coalition (GSPC), comprised of parents of children under the age of 12, who provide a parent voice as they educate community and state leaders about the importance of investing in young children.

The Legislature is back to work this week and appropriations subcommittees will be making decions on the K-12 School Aid budget. With GSC funding at-risk, read this Action Alert Take Action to Preserve Great Start Collaboratives in Michigan to find out what you can do THIS WEEK!

Every year, Congress and the President must agree on a federal budget that sets general funding levels for government programs. This year’s process is complicated by the staggering deficit, a divided Congress and the fact that the battle is happening on two fronts:

• Funding levels for the remainder of fiscal year 2011 (FY11), which covers March 18 through Sep. 30, 2011, andM
• Fiscal year 2012 (FY12) budget; President Obama released his FY12 budget proposal on Feb. 14, 2011.

Currently, funding for FY11 continues to be debated. Congress has voted on another stopgap measure to keep the government running through April 8th, also known as a Continuing Resolution, though funding the government for weeks at a time is no way to operate. In the meantime, Congress must decide on the budget for the remainder of the current fiscal year before they can move to the FY12 budget. Unfortunately, the House-passed measure – H.R. 1 – that would fund the remainder of the current fiscal year, cuts at least $7 billion in non-security discretionary spending on children, a decrease of 8.2 percent compared to FY10 (9.7 percent cut in inflation adjusted terms).

Read this Action Alert Federal Budget Advocacy Opportunity - Visit Your Senators Next Week! on what you can do NEXT WEEK when Michigan's Congressional delegation are back in the district.

 2/16/2011 - Save Youth Employment!

On February 11, 2011, the U.S. House of Representatives Appropriations Committee released a comprehensive list of spending cuts included in the Continuing Resolution (CR) bill (H.R. 1).  

If the spending reductions and terminations are enacted, all funding for the Workforce Investment Act (youth, adult and dislocated worker) would be eliminated for Program Year 2011. We are urging you to contact Your Members of Congress to highlight the value and the need for youth programs and to urge them to maintain funding for youth employment, education, and training.

For more information on the cuts, download our February 16, 2011 Action Alert.

View information on how to contact your members of Congress

Tell Congress to act now on "kid-fix" legislation by passing an extension of increased funding for Medicaid (FMAP). Without the extension, Michigan faces a $560 million shortfall in the state budget and lawmakers will be forced to make further deep cuts to programs and services for children and families.

These reductions will come on top of $4 billion of cuts since 2001 to programs serving children and families. And, they will continue to come through not only cuts to health care access in Medicaid and MIChild, but the loss of increased FMAP funding would have far reaching effects beyond health, impacting state revenue for other critical programs such as funding to communities for critical local services, higher education and safety net programs--all of which are essential to Michigan's well-being.

Both chambers of Congress have passed this legislation in separate bills previously, however, under pressure not to add to the federal deficit. These actions led states to believe the funding would be provided and the majority assumed these levels in their budgets. Congress has failed to act and now states are left to make difficult decisions.

Send a letter to your Representative and Senators Carl Levin and Debbie Stabenow.

Sign-on your organization to the letter below to the Michigan Congressional delegation by emailing Alicia Guevara at Michigan's Children.

Dear (Representative/Senator):

As Michigan's economy continues to lag and families suffer as a result, the undersigned organizations are writing to strongly urge you to pass a temporary extension of the increased federal funding for Medicaid (FMAP) originally provided under the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (ARRA).

Without the passage of an extension, Michigan will face a state budget shortfall of $560 million in the fiscal year beginning October 1, creating even more hardship for children and families when programs and services they rely on are cut even deeper. These cuts would come on top of $4 billion in reductions to services for children and families since 2001, and severe cuts made in the current fiscal year budget. They will continue to come through cuts not only to health insurance access through the Medicaid and MIChild programs, but the loss of FMAP funding would have far reaching effects beyond health, impacting state revenue for other critical programs such as funding to communities for critical local services, higher education and safety net programs--all of which are essential to Michigan's well-being.

Since Congress signaled early on that it would pass an extension of the increased federal Medicaid assistance, at least 30 states across the country built their budgets assuming this funding--8 of the 20 states that did not include the additional funding, didn't do so because they passed their budgets well before discussions of an extension began. Congress failed to follow through and this inaction will force state leaders across the country to make additional deep cuts.

Additional federal assistance remains essential for state economies for other reasons as well. The chief economist of Moody's Economy.com, Mark Zandi, estimated that the decisions states would need to make in the absence of additional federal help, like FMAP, could result in the loss of 900,000 jobs nationwide. Avoiding more job losses in Michigan should be a top priority. Plus, more jobs now will mean less debt later.

During one of the worse recessions in our nation's history, Congress was willing to bail-out "too-big-fail" financial institutions and critical industries, and has taken up several bills recently to extend provisions of the ARRA. At the same time, you have failed to take up perhaps the most important one: extending an essential funding stream for countless American children and families hurt by this continued recession. It's not too late for "kid-fix" legislation, but we cannot wait much longer.

Michigan's economic recovery and future depend on putting our kids first. We urge you to ensure that Michigan is a place where people want to live, work, play and retire by extending the enhanced FMAP provided under ARRA. Thank you for your time and attention to this matter.

Sincerely,

(insert your name here)

Since 1986, the Michigan Great Start Readiness Program (GSRP) has helped prepare educationally disadvantaged preschoolers for kindergarten and a lifetime of learning that sets them on a path toward success.  The state-funded preschool program for at-risk and low-income four-year-olds serves more than 25,000 students each year.  But almost 5,000 youngers were turned away this year after lawmakers cut $7.6 million in GSRP funding from the current fiscal year budget and allowed school districts to redirect $8.1 million for other purposes.

Your help is needed to convince lawmakers to restore this crucial funding and preserve GSRP funds for their intended purpose!

Please cut and past the following email to your legislator:

Get contact info

Download a printable version and read more in our June 10 Action Alert

Read more about how GSRP works in Kalamazoo, and get a Q&A about GSRP in our Issues for Michigan's Children - Investing In Early Childhood: Failing Our Four-Year-Olds

See GSRP in action at www.youtube.com/MichigansChildren

As Michigan faces an estimated shortfall in its fiscal year 2011 budget of $1.8 billion, further deep cuts in health services will be inevitable if lawmakers fail to address the need for new revenue by modernizing the state's tax system to match our current economic realities. In the current state budget, lawmakers relied heavily on federal  stimulus dollars under the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (ARRA) to prevent deeper cuts than those ultimately adopted.

ARRA included an increased federal contribution to state Medicaid programs (FMAP), which is scheduled to end on December 31, 2010. Since Congress has signaled its intent to extend the increased FMAP by six months, state budgets across the country have been built on the assumption that Congress would extend it, including Governor Granholm's proposed budget.

Both chambers have passed the American Workers, State, and Business Relief Act of 2010, which includes the FMAP extension, but movement has stalled as differences are worked out between the Senate and House.

Contact YOUR U.S. Representative and Senators Carl Levin and Debbie Stabenow and URGE them to call on Congressional leaders to move quickly to extend the temporary increase in the FMAP and finish the job before the Memorial Day recess. Find out more in our May 4 Action Alert