Children's Action Alliance

Join Us for the 2024 Champions for Children Luncheon! 🌟

📅 Date: October 31
🕚 Time: 11:00 AM - 1:00 PM
📍 Location: Arizona Heritage Center, Tempe

Celebrate and honor Arizona's leaders who are making a difference for children and families at our signature annual fundraiser!

What to Expect:
✨ Celebrate 2024 Champion Honorees
🤝 Networking Opportunities
🎤 Inspiring Youth Performances
📊 Learn About Our Impact

🎟️ Get Your Tickets Here: https://azchildren.org/news-and-events/champions-for-children-2024/

Thank you for being a part of our community and supporting our champions for children. See you there!

💫 Thank you to Mercy Care for sponsoring our Champions for Children event! Your support fuels our mission.

Find out how you can join in—get your tickets and event details at https://azchildren.org/news-and-events/champions-for-children-2024/

🎉 💫 Thank you to one of our incredible sponsors, Pinnacle Public Affairs, for their commitment to supporting our annual event, Champions for Children! Discover how you can join us and make a difference. Purchase your tickets and find more details at https://azchildren.org/news-and-events/champions-for-children-2024/

🎉 A huge congratulations to our CEO, January Contreras, whose exceptional leadership was honored with the Pete Garcia Hispanic Heritage Leadership Award by Los D’Backs and the Arizona Diamondbacks! 🏆 Not only did she receive this incredible honor, but she also had the privilege of throwing out the first pitch at the game! ⚾

Grateful for Southwest Human Development and their amazing support for our annual event, Champions for Children. Have you registered yet? Don’t miss out on an opportunity to connect with child advocates and supporters! 🌟 Check out more information here: https://azchildren.org/news-and-events/champions-for-children-2024/

Family Resource Centers are community hubs that provide info, resources, and safe spaces for children and families in one convenient place. Thank you to the Family Resource Center at Sahuarita for inviting CAA CEO, January Contreras, and Southern Arizona Director, Michelle Crow, to learn more about your impact on families and also to visit the Sahuarita Food Bank. These incredible community alliances - including First Things First and United Way of Tucson and Southern Arizona - make a difference.

Despite losing electricity and WiFi during our candidate training, we’re still smiling! Come rain, wind, or monsoons, we are here to work with partners to make Arizona work for kids and families. Thank you to every candidate who joined us because you share that commitment, too!

A big thank you to our Presenting Sponsor, Blue Cross Blue Shield of Arizona, for supporting our upcoming annual event, Champions for Children Awards, on October 31st! Tickets are now on sale 🎟️ 🎉 Get yours here:

Champions for Children Annual Event - Children's Action Alliance Presented by Thursday, October 31, 2024 11:00 AM - 1:00 PM Arizona Heritage Center 1300 N College Ave, Tempe, AZ 85288 Join child advocates and supporters at CAA's annual event to honor champions who work tirelessly to build an Arizona where all children and families thrive. We will recognize unsung...

Arizona is positioned at 44th place overall when it comes to women's health and reproductive care. The data tells us we have a crisis to address. Read more: https://bit.ly/3LV7OR0

2024 State Scorecard on Women’s Health and Reproductive Care This scorecard assesses how well the health system works for women, measuring performance in outcomes, quality, prevention, coverage, access, and affordability.

🎉 🚨 Our 2024 Legislative Scorecard is now live! Learn how your elected representatives voted on important issues impacting families and children, and let them know you know who’s for kids and who’s just kidding.

Legislative Scorecard - Children's Action Alliance

👀 🧐 Who is a champion in your community?
Help us celebrate the incredible efforts of child advocates by nominating outstanding individuals and unsung heroes who make a significant impact on the lives of children and their families. More information:

Champions for Children Annual Event - Children's Action Alliance Thursday, October 31, 2024 11:00 AM - 1:00 PM Arizona Heritage Center 1300 N College Ave, Tempe, AZ 85288 Join child advocates and supporters at CAA's annual event to honor champions who work tirelessly to build an Arizona where all children and families thrive. We will recognize unsung heroes, chil...

A waitlist has been implemented effective 8/1/2024 for Arizona families seeking child care assistance. We know the struggles families already face, and how this makes it tougher for many. Find more information and check out some resources here: https://des.az.gov/services/child-and-family/child-care/how-apply-for-child-care-assistance

We're thrilled to announce our Champions for Children Annual event on Oct 31! Join us in celebrating those who advocate tirelessly for AZ's kids. Nominate a champion in your community by Aug 16. For more information:https://azchildren.org/news-and-events/champions-for-children-2024/

Last Saturday, our Back-to-school event at Pendergast Elementary School District was a success. Thank you, Governor Katie Hobbs, for coming to support! Thank you, Cover Arizona, Vitalyst Health Foundation AZ, Arizona Alliance for Community Health Centers - AACHC, and Pendergast School District, for your collaboration!

Our Director of Health Policy, Matt Jewett, took some time to discuss accessibility to KidsCare and how families can get the resources they need. Check it out:

E134: AHCCCS and KidsCare | Vitalyst Spark In March, the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services approved AHCCCS's expansion of KidsCare eligibility to 225% of the federal poverty level, up from the earlier 200% cap. KidsCare will now allow kids whose parents make too much to qualify for Medicaid but less than 225% of the poverty line,....

Ready to reshape the future of family care? 🤔💬 If you're in Flagstaff, join us next Thursday, July 18, at the Tell Me More Town Hall. Your story matters in shaping a community that supports all. Rural Arizona Engagement
RSVP Here:

Tell Me More Townhall: A Community Conversation on Family Care · Rural Arizona Engagement We are delighted to invite you to the Tell Me More Town hall: A Community Conversation on Family Care. This engaging event will be held at the Downtown Flagstaff Library, located at 300 W. Aspen, Flagstaff, AZ 86001, on Thursday, July 18th, from 5 to 7 PM. Join us for an open and meaningful conversa...

Schools can bill Medicaid for student health services and get reimbursed, yet many aren't. So why aren't more schools doing it? Check out our findings in this report: https://azchildren.org/news-and-events/helping-kids-get-care-in-school/

Helping Kids Get Care in School - Children's Action Alliance Schools have long had an interest in children’s health – from vision and hearing screenings to school nurses seeing sick children. However, they could only bill Medicaid for health services if a student had an Individualized Education Plan (IEP). Then, in 2021, Arizona became a leader in allowin...

Did you miss our Elevate Her event? Check out some key data highlights discussed at the event about paid family leave and child care. Read more here:
https://lnkd.in/gEPHkrR8

Thank you to everyone who shared this gathering today! We’re grateful to U.S. Department of Labor Women's Bureau and U.S. Department of Labor Regional Administrator Kelly Jenkins-Pultz for joining CAA and the AZ Center for Economic Progress for a data-filled conversation about women in the labor market and the costs that come with the lack of child care and paid family medical leave to them, their families, and our economy.

Special thanks also to our slate of inspirational guest speakers:
Representative Junelle Cavero
Whitney Daniels, Office of the Governor
Alejandra Gomez, ACE & LUCHA
LaSetta Hogans, City of Phoenix Workforce Development

📢 Join us for a Back to School Fair on July 13 at the Pendergast Community Center! 🎒📝 We are teaming up with Cover Arizona, Arizona Alliance for Community Health Centers - AACHC & Vitalyst Health Foundation AZ to bring essential resources and services, such as medical exams and school supplies, to the community!
As kids return to school, health insurance is essential to ensure all children are healthy enough to excel! Come check out more resources and learn more.
See you there ✏️

While more investments are needed to allow all children in Arizona to thrive in the face of rising costs, we shine a light on key investments that Governor Hobbs and the Arizona Legislature delivered and protected. These are critical supports that will make a difference for Arizona’s children and families.

Children who are not proficient in reading by fourth grade are less likely to finish high school or enroll in college, yet updated data shows that fewer than one-third of fourth graders in the U.S. are proficient in reading. It’s critical that we continue working to ensure all kids have the opportunity to develop the high-level math, reading and digital problem-solving skills necessary to succeed in the workforce. Download the 2024 KIDS COUNT Data Book to learn more. https://bit.ly/3Xf9GuQ

Children in Arizona and their Well-Being - Children's Action Alliance Read Report - 2024 KIDS COUNT® Data Book Children’s Action Alliance works in partnership with people like you every day to improve the well-being of children. Now, the annual data is out to help us know how their well-being has improved - and how it hasn’t. This year, Arizona ranks 42nd in chil...

We’re proud to partner with Annie E. Casey Foundation on its 2024 KIDS COUNT Data Book release! In addition to providing the latest data on child well-being and a detailed analysis of well-being trends, this year’s report takes an in-depth look at the academic setbacks children have faced since the COVID-19 pandemic and proposes solutions to better support the educational performance of all U.S. kids. Visit the link below to download the full report and learn how we can join together to build a brighter future for our nation’s kids. https://bit.ly/3Xf9GuQ

Children in Arizona and their Well-Being - Children's Action Alliance Read Report - 2024 KIDS COUNT® Data Book Children’s Action Alliance works in partnership with people like you every day to improve the well-being of children. Now, the annual data is out to help us know how their well-being has improved - and how it hasn’t. This year, Arizona ranks 42nd in chil...

What is Arizona doing to improve child well-being? Download the 2024 KIDS COUNT Data Book from Annie E. Casey Foundation, a report that uses national and state data across four domains — economic well-being, education, health and family and community — to learn more about how your state is working for kids.

2024 KIDS COUNT Data Book Read the 2024 KIDS COUNT Data Book reports on child well-being data across four domains — economic well-being, education, health and family and community.

In Memory of Joshua Oehler

We honor the memory of Joshua Oehler, whose unwavering dedication to fostering an inclusive and just world left an indelible mark on the Children’s Action Alliance (CAA). For eight years, Joshua was a public policy analyst steadfastly committed to excellence. His contributions were pivotal in ensuring that CAA’s research was fortified with relevant and timely data, effectively shaping the narrative surrounding the well-being of the children in Arizona.

Joshua’s readiness to undertake assignments, meticulous attention to detail, and profound understanding of public policy greatly enhanced our advocacy efforts. His passion for the work was evident in every project he embraced, and his legacy will continue to inspire those who had the privilege of working alongside him.
Our thoughts are with his wife, Sara, and their three beautiful children. Joshua’s spirit of generosity, kindness, and compassion will be dearly missed but never forgotten.

🎉 We are pleased to announce Joseph Palomino as our new Director! In this role, Joseph will lead the strategic and visionary direction for the AZ Center, building upon its mission to advance budget, tax, and economic policies that create economic opportunity for all Arizonans.

Our CEO, January Contreras, recently shared some of the reasons that HCR2060 is bad for Arizona’s children. We share this editorial with you as supporters who also value the potential of every child in our state. Children’s Action Alliance remains in opposition to HCR2060, and we urge members of the legislature to vote against it.

- Children's Action Alliance Just six years ago, our country grieved alongside parents and children who were forcibly separated at the border, with a full two-thirds of Americans across political parties opposed to the barbaric actions. HCR2060 opens the door to repeating this shameful chapter.” -January Contreras, Children.....

This month, we listened and learned in Yuma County to better inform our advocacy for better resources for all Arizonans. Thank you to First Things First, Regional Center for Border Health, Inc., Northern Arizona University, Arizona Department of Health Services, Rural Arizona Engagement, and community members for sharing their experiences and continuing conversations about the lack of child care resources. Thank you, Yuman County!