Send a letter to your local newspaper, your local legislator or to Gov. Jennifer Granholm.
Take action! Speak up!
Do kids count in Michigan? It's hard to tell if you judge by the current proposals to balance the state budget on the backs of vulnerable children and families.
Already this decade, more than $4 billion has been cut in state spending - much of it in services for children and families. In return we have more families struggling to feed and clothe their children and receiving less help from the state. More children are being abused and neglected. More children are entering school ill-prepared to learn. More children are sinking deeper into poverty and despair.
And yet lawmakers are considering even more cuts to early childhood education, child abuse and neglect prevention, family support programs, dropout recovery and retention, medical and mental health services for families, and the annual clothing allowance for poor children.
You can help protect our youngest and most vulnerable citizens.
Tell Governor Granholm, Senate Majority Leader Bishop, House Speaker Dillon and other leaders in the budget discussion to do the right thing and find the money to make Michigan a state where children thrive.
Copy and paste one of the following messages into the email you send our leaders and your legislator
Dear (fill in recipient's name):
Maria Herrera is a REAL PERSON who will be affected by your
decisions on the state budget. I am a REAL PERSON who will be affected by your decisions on
the state budget.
I share Maria’s concerns about the state of Michigan’s
economy and what more budget cuts will do to my family and the future of Michigan.
Please listen to Maria’s story and keep in mind the concerns
she shares with thousands of other parents like us throughout Michigan as you deliberate.
Thank you for taking time from your busy
schedule to listen to Maria and me.
Sincerely, (Your Name)
Dear (fill in recipient's name):
I am extremely concerned about the proposed cuts and eliminations of programs serving vulnerable children and families in Michigan.
Since 2001, services to children and families have been gutted as a result of Michigan's ongoing structural budget deficit. At the same time, the number of at-risk children is rising as child abuse and neglect cases increase, poverty deepens, and families struggle to meet their children's physical and emotional needs.
Children and families need help! Now is not the time to be cutting support for them. I ask you to please preserve vital children and family programming, including early education programs, child abuse and neglect prevention services, educational support programs for dropouts and adult education, teen parent counseling, Family Independence Program grants, Child and Adolescent Health Centers, and many, many important services being considered for cuts.
Balancing the state's budget on the backs of vulnerable children - yet again - will make our state poorer in the long run and puts our kids' futures at risk.
Our children deserve strong leadership in difficult times.
Department of Human Services Appropriations Subcommittee Chairs
Senate:
Sen. Bill Hardiman (Chair):
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Sen. Roger Kahn (Vice Chair):
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Sen. Martha Scott (Minority Vice Chair):
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House:
Rep. Dudley Spade (Chair):
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Rep. Rashida Tlaib (Vice Chair):
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Rep. Dave Agema (Minority Vice Chair):
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Department of Community Health Appropriations Subcommittee Chairs
Senate:
Sen. Roger Kahn (Chair):
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Sen. John Pappageorge (Vice Chair):
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Sen. Deb Cherry (Minority Vice Chair):
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House:
Rep. Gary McDowell (Chair):
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Rep. Shanelle Jackson (Vice Chair):
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Rep. Kevin Green (Minority Vice Chair):
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K-12 School Aid Appropriations Subcommittee Chairs
Senate:
Sen. Ron Jelinek (Chair):
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Sen. Cameron Brown (Vice Chair):
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Sen. Michael Switalski (Minority Vice Chair):
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House:
Rep. Terry Brown (Chair):
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Rep. Richard Hammel (Vice Chair):
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Rep. Gail Haines (Minority Vice Chair):
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Don't forget to contact YOUR legislator! Not sure who represents you? click here.
Custom Letter:
Click below to see samples of letters you can customize and send to your legislator.
Click here to view a letter from a parent perspective.
Click here to view a letter from a service provider perspective.
Click here to view a letter from a community member perspective.
Find your legislator's contact information by clicking here.
Write Your Newspaper:
Use the following message in a letter to your newspaper's editor. Guidelines and contact information for select newspapers can be found below.
Dear Editor:
Michigan is facing an unprecedented fiscal crisis--the result of more than a decade of job losses, continued erosion of the state's economy, and the failure by policymakers to tailor the state's tax system to new economic realities.
These actions have led to an ongoing structural budget deficit from too few revenues being generated to cover basic services. Now state revenue estimates are well below 1971 levels. Without action to shore up state revenues, we face the possibility of significant cuts--and even elimination--to early childhood programs, abuse and neglect prevention programs, child and adolescent health centers, and many other programs and services affecting our children. At a more basic level, major cuts in local services and revenue sharing threaten basic policy and firefighting services to protect vulnerable children.
The Michigan budget is the clearest expression of the state's priorities, and now more than ever is the time for our lawmakers to be real leaders to find solutions that protect children and families and do not balance the state budget on their backs.
Each newspaper has its own guidelines regarding word count and required information to publish a letter to the editor. You should check your local newspaper’s guidelines before submitting a letter. You can find contact information for your local newspaper by clicking here.
• General guidelines about submitting letters to the editor:
◦ Include your first name, middle initial and last name. Letters without names are not used.
◦ Include the township, city or village you live in as well as a complete mailing address and day and evening telephone numbers for verification purposes. Only your name and community you live in are published. Newspapers are more likely to use letters from residents within their circulation area.
◦ When responding to something published in a particular newspaper, include date the item was published, headline, and page number.
◦ Most newspapers limit writers to one published letter per month.
◦ Letters are subject to editing.
• Sending your letter:
Detroit Free Press
E-mail:
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Detroit News
Letters must be 250 words or fewer. Direct rebuttals to editorials may be up to 300 words.
E-mail:
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Fax: (313) 222-6417
Mail: The Detroit News, Letters, Editorial Page, 615 W. Lafayette, Detroit, MI 48226
Lansing State Journal
Letters must be 150 words or fewer.
Fax: (517) 377-1298
Mail: Letters to the Editor, Lansing State Journal, 120 E. Lenawee St., Lansing, MI 48919
Email:
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Email:
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Send a letter to your legislator
• Sending your letter:
To find out which state senator or representative covers your district, click here.
Mail to any representative can be sent to State Capitol, P.O. Box 30014, Lansing, MI, 48909-7514.
Mail to any senator can be sent to State Capitol, P.O. Box 30036, Lansing, MI, 48909-7536.
Send a letter to Gov. Granholm
• Sending your letter:
Letters to Gov. Granholm can be mailed to State Capitol, P.O. Box 30013, Lansing, MI, 48909.
Michigan's Children is a statewide, independent
voice for children and their families. We work with lawmakers, business
leaders, and communities to make Michigan a place where all children
have the opportunity to thrive.
Our Priorities
Michigan's Children, through our Board of Directors, annually establishes priorities that guide our administrative and legislative advocacy. We use those priorities in our work directly with policy makers and to assist community leaders, parents, youth and others to advocate on their own behalf. View or download the Michigan's Children's 2010 Policy Agenda
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