Using Our Votes to Prioritize Kids
On November 20, we celebrated World Children’s Day on the heels of the U.S. general election. World Children’s Day promotes “international togetherness, awareness among children worldwide, and improving children’s welfare,” and recognizes the adoption of the Declaration of the Rights of the Child and the Convention on Children’s Rights by the United Nations General Assembly. In an earlier blog, I shared the ways in which we can act in the spirit of the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child, despite the fact that the U.S. is the only United Nations member country that has not ratified the Convention.
The health and well-being of children are not partisan issues. We all want our children to thrive. We say that we put kids first, even if our actions sometimes tell a different story, and I was heartened this Election Day to see the many ways that so many individuals used their votes to prioritize kids.
Voters in counties and cities across the United States made tangible an aptly named “children’s wave” of investments in children and young people. While we wait to hear more from President-elect Biden and Vice President-elect Harris on their plans to support the welfare of children, the Children’s Funding Project highlighted seven ballot initiatives that passed locally and will bring in more than $500 million to fund child and youth services, including:
Multnomah County, Oregon Measure 26-214: Touted as being a model for a national universal preschool program, Multnomah County’s “Preschool for All” promises high-quality, tuition-free preschool for all 3- and 4-year olds. The measure also provides fair wages for teachers, and high-quality, culturally responsive opportunities for students. Passage of this measure is important in two key ways: first, by ensuring that all children have access to education, and second, by viewing the investment in teachers through the lens of what is best for kids.
Escambia County, Florida and Leon County, Florida: Voters in these counties approved tax initiatives that will establish the Escambia Children’s Trust and Leon County Children’s Services Council, respectively. Florida is unique in its ability to create a special government entity at the county level whose sole purpose is to invest in the well-being of children and families; there are now ten Children’s Services Councils in the state. It’s important to note that the councils are not service providers, but instead, they provide funding for and strive to hold accountable the agencies that serve kids. What might it be like if all counties across all states had independent councils whose role it was to look out for the welfare of children and young people?
Voters also passed several state-level initiatives that will benefit children and young people, including:
Colorado Proposition 118: eligible employees are protected under the Federal Family and Medical Leave Act, which allows up to 12 weeks of unpaid leave; Colorado became only the tenth state with paid family and medical leave. The impact of this plan on children cannot be overstated. Again, when viewed through the lens of child well-being, guaranteeing up to 12 weeks of paid time off (up to 16 weeks for mothers with childbirth or pregnancy complications) for parents to care for their newborns, sick relatives, or for personal health emergencies is critical, not only for the parent—but for their child/ren. It must be our goal as a society to enact policies that keep the best interests of the child in mind and at the forefront of such decisions.
Arizona Proposition 208: Arizona voters enacted a tax measure whose funds will support K-12 education through raising teacher salaries, as well as the those of certified personnel such as school nurses and support staff, and funding teacher training and education. Similar to the Multnomah County measure, supporting teachers and school staff is correlated with the quality of the school system, and ultimately serves as an investment in and the protection of children’s rights to a safe environment and to education.
A key tenet of the Convention on the Rights of the Child is ensuring that young people are provided meaningful opportunities to share their ideas and opinions, and for their views to be respected and heard. However, the news from our election day on public support of this issue is mixed. California Proposition 18, which would have allowed 17-year-olds who will be 18 at the time of the next general election to vote in primary and special elections, was soundly defeated. San Francisco’s Proposition G—which sought to lower the voting age from 18- to 16-years for local candidates and ballot measures—also failed.
There was more positive news from Oakland, CA, with the passage of Measure QQ: 16- and 17-year olds now have the right to vote in local school board elections. School boards make decisions that impact students, and approval of this measure is critical recognition that young people must have a voice in the areas and issues that affect them.
Election day is a good time to remember that many, if not all, of our voting decisions affect children and young people in some way. Climate change is an issue that impacts kids. Public health decisions—such as the ones surrounding the COVID-19 pandemic—are absolutely affecting children (just look at our school reopening situation). Tax initiatives that show up on local ballots impact the resources and funding available for kids’ education, social services, and other key programs.
Days like World Children’s Day provide a reason to celebrate children. Let’s continue to honor them every day of the year by centering them in our discussions as we make policy decisions, by including them in conversations and listening to what they say, and holding our elected officials and service providers accountable for prioritizing kids. In this way, we will slowly and surely build a better world for children and young people!