Representatives Kim Schrier (D-WA), Don Young (R-AK) and Karen Bass (D-CA) of the U.S Congress are circulating a letter asking their colleagues to support emergency funding for the child abuse prevention and child welfare systems to help strengthen families and keep children and youth safe during the covid crisis. You can read the member letter HERE.

We need other Republican and Democratic members of the House to add their name to this letter by Tuesday, April 14th at noon. We urge organizations and individuals to immediately contact your House Representative to ask them to sign on to the Schrier/Young/Bass child welfare letter.   We hope you will reach out on behalf of your organization and encourage staff, supporters, and other individuals to do the same. Email templates for organizations and individuals are included below. 

Members of the House must sign the letter by Tuesday so please contact your Representative immediately!

House of Representatives contact information can be found at https://www.house.gov/representatives or through https://democracy.io. Email and social media are better than phone calls right now.

There are social media messages you can use to reach out to your House Representative at https://www.childwelfarecovid.org/federalsocialmedia. Twitter handles and Facebook pages of all House members can be found there as well.  It offers a variety of messages, including prevention, workforce support, relative caregiver support, and foster youth support.  Below are social images you can share. Choose what works for you.

EMAIL TEMPLATES

For National Orgs: 

Dear Representative [Name], 

I’m writing today on behalf of [organization name] to urge you to sign on to the Dear Colleague letter currently being circulated by Representative Kim Schrier (D-WA), Representative Don Young (R-AK), and Representative Karen Bass (D-CA) that asks leadership to act immediately to provide crucial support to families facing the stress and disruptions resulting from the COVID-19 pandemic, by equipping the child abuse prevention and child welfare systems with the tools they need to handle the crisis.

Without interventions to support families, the kinds of stress that the COVID-19 pandemic is creating contributes to increased risk of child abuse and neglect. Strengthening the system to face these challenges requires a comprehensive approach that addresses the entire child welfare continuum. While we are grateful for Congress’ bipartisan actions to respond to the pandemic so far, they have not yet addressed these specific challenges. That’s why [organization name] joined nearly 600 national, state, and local organizations in signing this letter urging Congress to act swiftly to support our children and families.

Families in [State or District] need help now. Please sign on to the Dear Colleague letter and prioritize child safety and well-being in your COVID response.

* * *

For State/Local Organizations:

Dear Representative [Name], 

I’m writing today on behalf of [organization name] to urge you to sign on to the Dear Colleague letter currently being circulated by Representative Kim Schrier, (D-WA), Representative Don Young (R-AK), and Representative Karen Bass (D-CA) that asks leadership to act immediately to provide crucial support to families facing the stress and disruptions resulting from the COVID-19 pandemic, by equipping the child abuse prevention and child welfare systems with the tools they need to handle the crisis.

Through our work with children and families in [State or District] we have seen that [Information about specifics to needs in the state or district]. While we are grateful for Congress’ bipartisan actions to respond to the pandemic so far, they have not yet addressed these specific challenges. That’s why [organization name] joined nearly 600 national, state, and local organizations in signing this letter urging Congress to act swiftly to support our children and families.

Families in [State or District] need help now. Please sign on to the Dear Colleague letter and prioritize child safety and well-being in your COVID response.

* * *

For Individuals:

Dear Representative [Name], 

I’m writing today to urge you to sign on to the Dear Colleague letter currently being circulated by Representative Kim Schrier, (D-WA), Representative Don Young (R-AK), and Representative Karen Bass (D-CA) that asks leadership to act immediately to provide crucial support to families facing the stress and disruptions resulting from the COVID-19 pandemic, by equipping the child abuse prevention and child welfare systems with the tools they need to handle the crisis.

Without interventions to support families, the kinds of stress that the COVID-19 pandemic is creating contribute to increased risk of child abuse and neglect. Strengthening the system to face these challenges requires a comprehensive approach that addresses the entire child welfare continuum. While we are grateful for Congress’ bipartisan actions to respond to the pandemic so far, they have not yet addressed these specific challenges. That’s why nearly 600 national, state, and local organizations signed on to this letter urging Congress to act swiftly to support our children and families.

Families in [State or city in Congressional district] need help now. Please sign on to the Dear Colleague letter and prioritize child safety and well-being in your COVID response.