Friends and neighbors,
Thank you to everyone who joined Rep. Ramos and me for our telephone town hall on Monday. We were joined by Celia Jackson with the King County Executive’s office. We took questions on the state and county’s response to the COVID-19 crisis. The audio is available if you were unable to join us. Just click on the graphic below.
If you didn’t get to ask a question and still want to, please email me at Lisa.Callan@leg.wa.gov, and my team and I will work to get you an answer. If you’re in need of assistance during this challenging time, here’s a link to my last e-newsletter with several resources.
Rep. Callan’s Healthy Kids, Healthy Families Agenda
As your voice in Olympia, the health and wellbeing of our kids and families have been my top priority. We’ve been heavily impacted by tragedy in the last few years; from teen overdoses and suicide to the COVID-19 emergency. It is clear to me that the mental and physical health of our friends, family, and neighbors, is as important now as it has ever been. I believe we need to focus our efforts to help our kids overcome the challenges they face growing up and help ensure that our loved ones can get the behavioral health and medical help they need when they need it. These issues have always been at the top of my priority list in Olympia and are the reasons I advocated for the Healthy Kids, Healthy Families agenda last session. I championed these issues last session by successfully passing legislation that:
- Extends and adds school-based needs to the Children and Youth Behavioral Health Work Group to develop better behavioral health policies for our kids. (HB 2737)
- Helps schools and colleges respond to suicide and substance use crises by requiring the national crisis hotline on the back of school IDs. (HB 2589)
- Supports families experiencing homelessness seeking stability by extending the grace period for the Working Connections Childcare Program to 12 months. (HB 2456)
- Reduces trauma for kids and helps families in the foster care system find permanency by encouraging mentorships between caretakers and parents. (HB 2525)
- Removes barriers for youth experiencing homelessness to get state ID cards so they can find jobs, apply for housing, and more. (HB 2607)
- Consolidates the infants and toddlers program into one agency to more effectively provide early support for our littlest learners. (HB 2787)
- Improves education for children in the juvenile justice system, leading to better outcomes for kids and communities. (HB 2116)
In addition to the bills I sponsored, I also supported legislation to prioritize the health care of our seniors and other family members. This included legislation that:
- Lowers the cost of prescription drugs for our seniors and families (House Bill 1224 and Senate Bill 6088)
- Reduces the cost of insulin, a life-saving drug needed by many in our community (House Bill 2662)
I also supported a 2020 supplemental budget that prioritized supporting families and communities by investing in our healthcare systems. This budget:
- Increases provider and nursing home Medicaid rates
- Helps to support both rural healthcare providers and nursing homes in our district.
- Boosts funding for rural health clinics and foundational public health.
While the effects of the COVID-19 crisis on our economy may impact these investments, I am committed to making sure that our families, kids, and seniors have the resources they need to be healthy and thrive.
There’s no question the next year will be a challenging one, but we are in this together, we can overcome this together, and we are stronger together. I see this every day – I see neighbors helping neighbors. I see leaders working for those who are hit hardest; fighting to keep them from being left behind. In such a fast-moving situation, I am grateful for these efforts and appreciate that you, your family, or your business have been impacted in a multitude of ways and may still be struggling to get the resources you need.
It doesn’t matter who you are, where you live, or where you come from, we are all affected by this. Though I’m proud of what we have accomplished responding to this event, there is still much work to do. My job is to fight for the communities in my district and those who need help getting through this crisis and I’m here to support you both here and in Olympia.
As always, if you have any questions, thoughts, ideas, or concerns. Please reach out to me.
Thank you, stay healthy, and stay safe.
Rep. Lisa Callan
Lisa.Callan@leg.wa.gov