This morning, nearly 1,000 influential advocates gathered at the 2015 Children & Youth Issues Briefing in Saint Paul.
The event kicked off with an address from Governor Mark Dayton who announced that his upcoming budget proposal (reviewed next Tuesday) will allocate $372 million to “children and education.” Acknowledging that many Minnesota families have critical unmet needs, Gov. Dayton noted that often times, what 4-5 year olds have already endured is what is truly driving inequality.
Recognizing and emphasizing the holistic approach necessary to improve education outcomes, topics of discussion included:
- Prenatal care and health education
- Access to quality early education
- Homelessness and socio-economic challenges
- Stabilizing Minnesota families
- Improving and ensuring the quality of our teachers
- Increasing support for targeted home visiting
- Equality in after-school programming
- Affordability of higher education
Today is a day to be reminded that we all have the power to be the agents of change in our community. The issues affecting the lives of our youth are not only being heard, but are being discussed and we invite you to join the conversation! Write, call, tweet or post to your legislator today and let them know that the issues above affecting Minnesota’s youngest citizens, matter to you!