A lot of discussions went into what to call this … thing. It is not a blog. It isn’t a white paper or even a legislative update, like our Policy Post.
Phillip Cease, senior director of policy and advocacy at Children’s Trust
So, what is it?
This is a place for us – me, you or someone else – to explore opportunities and decisions that can help families and their children. At all levels, policies affect children, and the work we do here in Columbia at the Statehouse, at our state agencies, and organizations can have a substantial impact on a family in your hometown.
I hope we can use this space to cut through the jargon and acronyms and show what different policies mean for families.
This isn’t going to be the place to publish research or papers, which Children’s Trust has plenty of, but a place to discuss what the research says and what we can do about it.
There is a lot to talk about. Clearly, education policy impacts children but does a tax credit really help families? How do adverse childhood experiences (ACEs) impact a child’s future? What are positive childhood experiences (PCEs)? We can also explore what well-being means: how we define it, how we measure it and how we can build it.
However, this isn’t just a microphone for me. As the name says, this is a forum—a space for discussion. To achieve this, we need your voice. We need your ideas. If you are a social worker, public health professional, academic expert, policymaker, community organization, community non-profit or more, please share how you see policies playing out in the lives of families and their children.
Most importantly, we would like to hear from families as there is no better expert than those with lived experiences. Help us raise those voices that should be heard before all others.
Every two weeks during the legislative session, look for a post in the Newsroom section of our website. We hope to keep it lively and to the point. If you have something to contribute or an idea to share, I am an email away at pcease@scchildren.org
We will continue to post our weekly Policy Post newsletter, where you can keep up with the latest news related to children’s issues, and we welcome you to this deeper discussion.
If you have gotten this far, chances are you have something to contribute, that policy or idea that could help the children and families you know. Welcome to the Children’s Policy Forum. I look forward to hearing from you.
You can sign up to receive the Policy Forum in your inbox here.
