In the initial House and Senate budget plans, this paring of Working Connections Child Care totals more than a half-billion dollars over the coming years. The largest portion of proposed spending reductions for the program deal with how child care providers are reimbursed by the state and federal governments based on when children attend day care.

The aid is available to working Washington families earning below 60% of the state median income. As of last February, the program had an active caseload of over 33,000 families.

Currently, providers can receive a full month of subsidies even when a child who qualifies for the subsidies only attends one day that month. The budgets would make this policy more restrictive.

In total, the Senate calls for $168 million in reductions for the program in the current biennium that started last July, and $857 million over the next two budget cycles. The House proposes roughly $112 million in the current budget and $601 million over the next four years.

The competing plans would make changes to the two-year budget lawmakers passed last year.

Grappling with another shortfall, Democrats in both chambers of the Legislature are proposing a range of cuts to deal with rising caseloads in state-funded social services and mandatory spending due to federal changes to Medicaid and food stamps.

Lawmakers have two weeks to hatch compromises to pass a supplemental budget before the legislative session adjourns March 12. Overall spending in the plans they’ve proposed is around $79 billion over two years.

Under the Senate plan for Working Connections Child Care, providers would be able to claim reimbursement worth 15 days if a child attends at least one day per month, and further payments for each day beyond 15.

The House handles this a bit differently. Under its framework, families are eligible for a full-month subsidy if their child is absent up to 10 days, while 11 days or more of absences qualifies for half a month of reimbursement. Under the current practice, a month of attendance is 21-23 days, according to the Department of Children, Youth and Families.

“This is a cut to child care providers, because child care providers who have a child in a classroom for 10 days or fewer out of the month will get half of the payment they would have otherwise gotten,” said House Majority Leader Joe Fitzgibbon, D-Seattle. “That’s a challenge for providers, because they’re not necessarily able to enroll more kids just because they know that some of them aren’t there every day.”

The Senate proposal is outlined in Senate Bill 6353, sponsored by lead budget writer Sen. June Robinson, D-Everett. The reimbursement changes would take effect Oct. 1 for child care centers, and July 1 for family home providers who care for up to a dozen children in their homes. The legislation also changes the scope of collective bargaining for family home providers with the state.

Budget writers are also assuming $45 million in savings in this budget from a federal rule axed by the Trump administration requiring states pay child care centers prospectively based on enrollment and not specifically how many days the child attended. There’s also $15 million in reductions in both budgets from eliminating longstanding enhanced subsidy rates in a few counties.

Democratic Gov. Bob Ferguson also floated cutting from Working Connections to help balance the budget. He took a different approach, proposing to cap enrollment to save an estimated $217 million in this biennium.

Neither the House nor Senate budget frameworks use the governor’s idea.

“We heard from many people, people who use Working Connections Child Care, people who provide those services, advocates in the larger community, that that is a policy that many people believe really destabilizes the child care workforce,” Robinson said.

Robinson added that her proposal “should have less of an impact on families” than the governor’s plan.

“There’s certainly a conversation that we’ll have in the remaining days of session about the impact on providers and trying to mitigate that impact,” Robinson said. “We want to keep a robust provider network.”

Republicans could support the proposed attendance policy changes on their own, said state Rep. Travis Couture, R-Allyn. But alongside other cuts and without reforms to improve accountability with state child care spending, he said Republicans aren’t on board.

“We have to look at everything at once and how that affects our communities and the things that they’ve put together are devastating,” said Couture, the leading budget voice for House Republicans.

Robinson wasn’t sure why lawmakers hadn’t made the proposed changes sooner to the attendance policy. “The Legislature is slow to react sometimes,” she said.

This would be the second year in a row that state lawmakers have scaled back child care and early learning funding to make ends meet.

Last year, they delayed expansions to the 2021 Fair Start for Kids Act and Working Connections that would have opened programs to more families. Robinson’s legislation eliminates entirely expansions for Working Connections, set for 2029 and 2031.

This year, both the House and Senate are also proposing reductions to the Transition to Kindergarten program.

The post Why WA child care program could bear brunt of budget cuts appeared first on Seattle's Child.

Ben Shuldiner, Superintendent of Seattle Public Schools. (Image: SPS)

A difficult moment met with a strong message

On Jan. 30, two Rainier Beach High School students were shot and killed at a bus stop near South Shore PreK-8 School and the high school. Seattle Public Schools’ (SPS) new Superintendent Ben Shuldiner was sworn into office Feb. 2, but he set the tone of his leadership even before taking his oath. In a heartfelt email to the SPS community on Feb. 1, he acknowledged and joined in the community’s grief and anger. Then he challenged the community to stand up:

“Tomorrow must be the day for us all to come together and act,” Shuldiner wrote. “Gun violence is a scourge on our community and our country. Youth homicide is a terrible action, but its occurrence is holistic in nature. It happens because we, collectively, have not stopped it. Thus, I ask that each and every one of us think critically about what we can do to address this issue. How can we make our streets safer and our children free from harm?”

Shuldiner noted the organizations and individuals working to stop gun violence: “I know there are already amazing and wonderful people working on this…I know the School Board is doing everything they can to help. But, as the superintendent, I am asking that we all — all 50,000 students, all the families, and all the denizens of Seattle — rally together.”

The new superintendent made it clear that community input will be a cornerstone of his stewardship of Seattle Public Schools:

“How can we help to address this issue?” Shuldiner wrote. “I am open to ideas. I am open to conversation. I am open to anything we can do to stop one more child from dying. Please feel free to email me. I know that together, we will be able to move forward.”

TAKE ACTION: Take SPS Superintendent Ben Shuldiner at his word. Email him directly with your thoughts and concerns about gun violence and any other school concerns at boshuldiner@seattleschools.org.

Black Lives Matter in Schools launched in 2016 (Image: iamaneducator.com)

Seattle-born Black Lives Matter in Schools celebrates a decade

When members of Equitable Educations in Seattle worked with staff at John Muir Elementary in South Seattle to organize the first districtwide Black Lives Matter at School Day in 2016, they had no idea how far the event would reach. That day, nearly 3,000 educators across Seattle wore specially-designed shirts to school celebrating black lives and, alongside parents, the NAACP, and community members, they taught lessons on the Black freedom struggle. 

Last week, the national Black Lives Matter in Schools movement that was born here celebrated its 10th year—and welcomed the city proclamation of Feb. 2, 2026 of Black Lives Matter at School Day.

Don’t miss Jesse Hagopian’s reflections on the importance of that day in 2016, and the movement it launched, in the South Seattle Emerald. Hagopian, a Seattle-based educator and author of “Teach Truth: The Struggle for Antiracist Education,” was there and serves on the national steering committee of Black Lives Matter at School. Read his comments at South Seattle Emerald.

Seattle’s Screentime Consultant testifies in Congress

Anti-Ed Tech advocate Emily Cherkin testifies in Washington D.C. Jan. 14, 2026.

Emily Cherkin, a Seattle mom, former teacher, and author who helps families and schools navigate the digital age under the moniker “The Screentime Consultant,” recently took her fight against overuse of technology in education (Ed Tech) to Congress.

During an impassioned presentation to the U.S. Senate Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation, Cherkin described technology business models as fundamentally “at odds” with healthy child development.

“Nearly 90% of American public schools provide children with internet-connected devices [and] 26% percent of 13- to 17-year-olds use ChatGPT to do their schoolwork,” Cherkin pointed out, among other statistics regarding digital use by kids.

Cherkin was in Washington, D.C., to voice her support for the proposed Kids Off Social Media Act, which aims to protect children by banning social media accounts for those under 13. The proposal is co-sponsored by Washington Sen. Patty Murray (D-Bothell) and would, among other things, prohibit companies from using algorithms to push content to users under 17 and require schools to block social media on their networks in order to receive cost-discounted telecommunications, internet access, and internal network connections.

She then used an attention-getting analogy to make her point in her testimony: “The juxtaposition of childhood innocence and technology’s overreach can be seen in this anecdote: Middle schoolers, still losing their baby teeth, think it’s funny to imitate the sex noises they hear from watching online content.” Watch Cherkin’s testimony here.

TAKE ACTION: Have an opinion on the use of technology in the classroom or the Kids Off Social Media Act? Reach out to your members through congress.gov.

Lawmakers grapple with a child welfare system 

The numbers stopped lawmakers in their tracks last week. In 2025, 22 Washington children connected to the child welfare system died, and 35 more suffered near-fatal injuries, the highest total the state has recorded. About half involved opioids, and babies and toddlers under age 3 were the most vulnerable. All of the 57 deaths or injuries have been involved in previous child welfare cases, a detail that underscores how hard it can be to keep very young children safe even if concerns have already been flagged.

In response, lawmakers are narrowing their focus after a broad proposal to improve the Washington child welfare system stalled in the current legislative session. That sweeping legislation would have expanded access to legal counsel for at-risk mothers and embedded nurses in families with open Child Protective Services cases. Lawmakers will realize such actions through state budget negotiations.

Legislation still in play is more targeted, including House Bill 2660, which would give courts greater oversight in cases involving children under age 5 who stay at home rather than entering foster care. A separate proposal in the Senate, Senate Bill 6319, would keep some Washington Child Protective Services (CPS) investigations open longer when young children and high-potency opioids are involved.

For parents, this moment is about trade-offs—and trust. The state is grappling with how to protect its youngest children without crossing constitutional lines or overwhelming families already under scrutiny. Supporters say the measures could identify potential danger early, especially for infants and toddlers not yet in child care or school. Critics worry about maintaining a reasonable balance between expanded surveillance and family privacy. What’s clear is this: the current system is not preventing the most devastating outcomes. Read the full story by Washington State Standard.

TAKE ACTION: To make your voice heard on HB 2660 or SB 6319, reach out to your representatives in the state House and Senate.

The Good Read: Baby Giggle Brilliance

(Image: iStock.com)

If you have been the parent of a newborn, you know the unfettered joy of hearing your child’s first belly laugh — that uninhibited hiccuping chortle escaping through a drooly, wide-open mouth. It’s the sound of pure happiness. And possibly something else, as this wonderful story in the New York Times reports. This feel-good read (and listen) will bring you right back to that moment. Listen, laugh, and learn.

Not this year: Several kid-focused bills fail in 2026 Legislature

Washington lawmakers have come at protecting kids online from a number of directions during the current session of the state legislature, which ends March 12. But last week, some of those efforts were left on the cutting room floor:

House Bill 2400, a proposal meant to protect children whose lives are broadcast for profit online—often by their own families. The bill would have given young adults the right to request the removal of videos they appeared in as children and require platforms to set up trust accounts so kids could eventually share in the money earned from their likeness. It was a no-go for lawmakers who gave parents a familiar message: the risks are well documented, the solutions are complicated, and for now, the responsibility still sits squarely at home.

Same story with Senate Bill 6111, which would have required parental consent before minors under 17 could open social media accounts. The bill fizzled out after tech industry groups argued it crossed constitutional lines by restricting free speech. Lawmakers didn’t move it forward.

And a third miss: House Bill 2112 would have required websites to verify that a user is age 18 or older, if one-third of the site content is sexual material harmful to minors. I wrote in an op-ed here last week, failed to pass out of committee on time, even with bipartisan support and painful and moving testimony from parents.

TAKE ACTION: How do you feel about lawmakers’ decision (or lack of decision) on bills that seek to protect kids from online harm? Whatever your position, reach out to your representatives in the state House and Senate.

The Art of Reflection

Kent-Meridian High School memorial mural. (Image: Kent School District)

Most adults can look back and remember a peer who died—for too many of us, it was a fellow student who passed away during our time in high school. For me, it was a boy named Paul who died in a car crash near Governor John R. Rogers High School way back in the 80s.

Like so many kids who experience the death of a peer, I didn’t know what to do with my grief, which may be why I still get teary when I think about Paul. I’m sure that memory is why I was moved by the recently unveiled mural created by students at Kent-Meridian High School.  Response to the mural speaks to what kids need to navigate grief and confusion: a place to pause, reflect, and grapple with the uncomfortable truth that death often comes unexpectedly and too soon.  Check out their story in The Seattle Times.

Doulas Helping Moms Who’ve Struggled with Addiction

(Image: C. Murfin)

A story last week in the Washington State Standard offers hope to pregnant parents with histories of addiction. The article told the stories of women determined to beat addiction and the birth and postpartum doulas committed to helping them avoid pain relief drugs during labor and delivery.

Many of those doulas, former addicts themselves, personally understand what the laboring moms are going through. They understand that exposure to pain medication, especially opiates, in labor can mean the difference between remaining a drug-free parent and a painful return to drug abuse. The story is a great read and a good resource for expectant parents.

It should be noted that the number of infants born with Neonatal Abstinence Syndrome (NAS)—a condition indicating withdrawal from drug exposure—has been rising in Washington state, according to a report published by Washington State University Health Sciences. In 2022, the rate in Washington was 11.2 per 1,000 babies born or 1.2% of babies: “The Washington rate increased year-over-year from 2019 to 2022 while the national rate of NAS has remained stable,” the report said.

As of January 2025, Washington’s Medicaid program covers doula services, offering one of the nation’s highest reimbursement rates at $3,500 for certified doulas. Billing is handled through the Washington Health Care Authority.

Gun found at Phantom Lake Elementary (Image: Bellevue Police Department)

Too-slow reveal of gun found at Bellevue elementary school

Over winter break, when Phantom Lake Elementary was quiet and classrooms sat empty, a janitor discovered something that doesn’t belong in any school building: a loaded Glock pistol left behind in a boys’ bathroom. The gun, discovered Dec. 21, 2025, was linked to a Sunday church service that’s been held in the building for years, according to a report on KUOW.

The fact that a firearm sat unnoticed in the Bellevue elementary school and that parents, staff, and police were not notified until a month after the discovery has rattled the school community. The owner of the weapon told Bellevue Police he forgot it while using the restroom. He’s now been barred from Phantom Lake Elementary School property. But parents still have questions: how a weapon ended up in an elementary school, why law enforcement wasn’t contacted immediately, and what safeguards are in place to make sure it never happens again.

Seattle student ICE Out protest (Seattle Gay News TikTok)

Just before mid-morning Monday, hundreds of high school students stepped out of class and into the rain, turning school hallways into a staging ground for protest. At Highline High School in Burien, the front doors swung open and roughly 500 students — more than a third of the campus — walked out together, calling for an end to federal immigration enforcement they say is tearing families apart. The demonstration, organized under the banner “ICE Out,” echoed across the Highline and Renton districts, with students from Evergreen, Mount Rainier, Raisbeck Aviation, Lindbergh, and Big Picture high schools joining in.

The walkouts weren’t isolated occurrences. Students in West Seattle, Auburn, and other communities had done the same just days earlier as part of a nationally coordinated day of action. And then on Thursday, hundreds more students gathered at Seattle City Hall to continue the student protest over U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s aggressive and deadly tactics across the country.

For many of these teens, the issue isn’t abstract or political — it’s personal, tied to classmates, neighbors, and family members living with very real uncertainty and fear of detainment. By walking out of their classrooms and their right to a day of education, they have been offering us all a different kind of lesson: That civic action is a right of each of us, that it sometimes is a necessity when your voice needs to be heard, and that it is a responsibility young people take seriously. Even when the rain is cold, and the consequences are unclear. Check out The Seattle Times’ coverage of the walkout. 

TAKE ACTION: If you, your teens, or your family are interested in peaceful gatherings to protest U.S. Customs and Immigration tactics in cities across the country, the grassroots organization Seattle Indivisible offers a calendar of protest dates, times, and locations. Several are planned for Valentine’s Day, Feb. 14. Event organizers stress: “This is a peaceful protest movement. We oppose violence, vandalism, and destruction of property.”

Governor rejects first attempt at income tax, child advocates say yes

Washington Gov. Bob Ferguson said he wanted lawmakers to give him a “millionaire’s tax” to equitize the state’s tax income. Last week, he told them their first attempt to do just that, Senate Bill 6346, wasn’t good enough to receive his signature.

That’s not stopping Children’s Alliance, the statewide child advocacy organization, from pushing for its passage. In an email last week, the Alliance asked supporters to flood the Senate Committee on Ways & Means with PRO positions when the proposal was heard on Feb. 6. The committee is scheduled to take action on the bill in executive session on Feb. 9.

“Senate Bill 6346 would enact a 9.9% tax on earnings above $1 million, ensuring that the wealthiest Washingtonians pay what they owe to support programs and services that benefit us all,” the nonprofit wrote. “In a state as prosperous as ours, working families should be able to build a future without being weighed down by an inequitable tax system.

“Washington,” the group added, “has the second most regressive state and local tax system in the country, relying heavily on sales and property taxes that hit households with low and middle incomes the hardest. This bill represents an opportunity to rebalance our upside-down tax code.” Read the story on Gov. Bob Ferguson’s stance at Washington State Standard. Follow coverage of the opening legislative debate on the tax on the Standard’s website. 

Also check out this recent article: Washington schools superintendent pitch: Spend income tax on education.

TAKE ACTION: The idea of a wealth tax has been controversial in Washington. Where do you stand? Whatever your position, speak out to representatives in the state House and Senate.

The post This Hits Home: News that impacts Washington families appeared first on Seattle's Child.

I don’t reach for it. That pause still surprises me.

Before he was born, this was the hour I would have optimized. I would have answered messages. Cleared my inbox. Felt the small, sharp satisfaction of being useful. I measured my days by what I produced, how quickly I moved, how much I could hold. Productivity was how I steadied myself. How I proved I was capable when stopping felt dangerous.

Producing felt like safety.

I was trained for it. To be reliable. To keep things moving, even when I was tired. I learned early that being good meant being useful, and being useful meant output. I thought of it as adulthood. I had never been asked to slow down this completely.

Then my body did something I couldn’t rush. It made a child. It made milk. It generated warmth and nourishment without asking what I intended to do next. My nervous system reorganized around a small person with no interest in my calendar. Time collapsed into feeding cycles and naps that might last 12 minutes or two hours if I was lucky.

This was generation, warm and bodily and ongoing.

Early postpartum life at home. (Image: Paula Davis / Seattle’s Child)

My son is not an outcome. He is not something I can finish. He is a being, alive and responsive, unfinished. Being with him dismantled the structures I had lived inside for years. The timelines. The expectation that effort should always lead to results.

Babies do not move like that. They do not resolve. They do not complete. They pull you into a kind of time that resists progress altogether. I tried to keep my old pace anyway.

I felt it when my to-do list stayed untouched. When whole days passed, and I could not name a single finished thing. Beneath the frustration was a quieter fear. That without evidence of productivity, I might disappear. That nothing visible might mean nothing held.

Postpartum, my body refused to cooperate with that fear.

When my son cried, my chest tightened before I could think. Milk let down. My whole system shifted toward him without consultation. I could not override that response. I could not make it efficient. I could not turn it into a task without losing something essential.

Care pulled me out of urgency. Attention took the place of speed.

My son is not an outcome. (Image: Paula Davis / Seattle’s Child)

This kind of labor leaves little behind. It asks for presence without promising recognition. Letting go was not gentle. I could not perform competence here. I could not outrun uncertainty. I stayed inside the repetition, the holding, the unfinishedness. The work was constant, and most of it disappeared as soon as it was done.

And slowly, without my permission, something loosened.

I stopped asking what the day amounted to. I stopped searching for confirmation that I was doing enough. My body no longer agreed to that exchange.

This is where I am now. Here. In a life that does not ask me to justify itself. In a body that knows how to respond without needing to be seen. In a relationship held together by response, over and over.

Work is still part of me. The desire to make and contribute didn’t disappear. Motherhood ended my belief that worth has to be earned through constant motion.

And in the quiet that followed, I’m learning how to stay without tallying what I’ve given.

The post I stopped measuring my worth after becoming a parent appeared first on Seattle's Child.

Pregnancy-related deaths up in WA

A report released by the state health department shows the number of mothers who died of pregnancy-related causes jumped up in both 2021 and 2022 compared with previous years. A death is called pregnancy-related if it’s caused by a health condition contracted during pregnancy or from a previous condition exacerbated by pregnancy.

The report, issued by Washington’s Maternal Mortality Review Panel, found that 51 people died of pregnancy-related causes in those two years — either during pregnancy or within a year of giving birth. That accounts for 0.03% percent (30 of 100,000) live births in the state in those years. They also found that a majority of the deaths — 80% — could have been prevented.

The report is more evidence that better access to prenatal care, culturally competent care, doula care, home visits, and housing and food assistance plays an important role in preventing pregnancy-related death by identifying symptoms and conditions that can be treated successfully. Check out KUOW’s coverage of this important story.

2026 legislative session 

Washington’s colleges and universities saw their budgets cut, their tuition hiked, and financial aid programs impacted during the 2025 legislative session as lawmakers tried to deal with a multi-billion-dollar deficit. During the 2026 session, which begins Jan. 12, Rep. Julia Reed, D-Seattle, hopes to improve all that.

Last week, Reed prefiled House Bill 2098 in preparation for the upcoming session. The bill’s title, “Adjusting higher education funding,” would include a 10% a year tuition reduction for three school years beginning Fall of 2027. It would also expand student eligibility for the Washington College Grant.

How does Reed propose the state pay for the adjustment? Reed wants to erase the cap on the advanced computing surcharge paid to the state by firms with global revenue above $25 billion. The legislation is likely to get a lot of pushback, but with the cost of higher education making it harder and harder for families to send their kids to college, it’s certainly worth a try. Read about this and other pre-session bill filings on the Washington State Standard website.

Protecting kids from online platforms

As I wrote in last week’s Roundup column, two state lawmakers from King County plan to reintroduce mirror bills in the state Senate and House of Representatives to protect kids by forcing companies to mitigate the impacts of their addictive online platforms. The bills would require companies to change their designs as well as the way in which they gather data on users, especially children, while at the same time encouraging users to engage in healthier relationships with the platforms. You can read the full story on the proposed legislation.

In the meantime …

Take action: To better understand this major issue impacting kids’ mental health, check out our story on the documentary film “Can’t Look Away: The Case Against Social Media.” The film is available to view online at Jolt.Film. Then reach out to your state legislative representatives to share your thoughts on SB5708 and HB1834. Contact members of the Washington State House of Representatives and Washington State Senate.

Should WA ban police from wearing face coverings?

You’ve seen the photos and videos of masked immigration agents, federal agents, and, in some cases, even local police when confronting people across the country. A masked police authority is terrifying for the people and kids confronted by them, and, since September, banned in California, the first state to enact a face-mask ban for law enforcement officers.

Despite the Trump administration filing a lawsuit against the California mask prohibition in November, two Washington lawmakers hope they can get a similar ban through the upcoming 2026 state legislative session.

Sen. Javier Valdez, D-Seattle, and Rep. Julio Cortes, D-Everett, plan to introduce a bill that resembles California’s law and is consistent with Washington’s existing law requiring officers to be “reasonably identifiable.” Under current law in this state, officers’ uniforms are required to display names and other identifying details. The ban they propose would include exemptions — for example, face-covering protective gear like motorcycle helmets, or for officers who need them in undercover operations.

In a Washington State Standard article posted last week, Cortes said this of the effort:

“Trust is essential for crime reporting. When folks trust their local law enforcement, they are going to be reporting more crime. When we see ICE out there, when those masked agents are out in communities, they create fear and intimidation, and that discourages community members from interacting with any law enforcement, even when they need help themselves.”

While California grapples with the lawsuit against its ban, Cortes and Valdez are thinking ahead. If courts void California’s law,  a law passed in Washington would stay on the books in this state and apply only to local and state law enforcement.

Is a ban on non-medically necessary, identity-obscuring masks really an issue of importance to families? Absolutely, and not only if your family belongs to any of the immigrant or racial groups targeted by the Trump administration’s policies. As a city, as a community, and as parents, we want and need our kids to trust that law enforcement officials are there to protect us, not terrorize or target us. Toward that end, all of us, adults and kids, must be able to identify authority figures who carry weapons in the name of protecting the community. Check out the full story in the Washington State Standard.

Take action: Make your voice heard on matters important to you and your family. Reach out to your state legislative representatives to share your thoughts on the use of identity-obscuring face masks by law enforcement. Contact members of the Washington State House of Representatives and Washington State Senate.

Birthright citizenship will be heard by the Supreme Court

Last week, the U.S. Supreme Court agreed to hear a watershed case disputing the constitutionality of President Donald Trump’s executive order to end birthright citizenship — a 14th Amendment right that has given children born to undocumented immigrants or other foreign residents automatic U.S. citizenship. Trump signed the order on his first day in office.

According to an article in the Washington State Standard, the court will likely hear the case sometime in early 2026. Other news sources say a ruling would then be expected by summer 2026.

In the meantime, a four-state, Washington-led case against Trump’s executive order ending birthright citizenship for children born to non-citizen immigrants in the U.S. remains in play. Washington, Oregon, Arizona, and Illinois filed that lawsuit on Jan. 21.

On Feb. 6, a U.S. District Court judge in the U.S. District Court for the Western District of Washington granted a preliminary injunction blocking the enforcement of President Trump’s executive order. That injunction was affirmed by a panel of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit.

While the lower court injunctions and blocks in “Washington v. Trump” remain in effect, the court’s decision to hear the landmark constitutionality case could end up deciding the states’ case as well.

“Trump Accounts” 

You may have heard about the new “Trump Accounts,” a newly created type of tax-advantaged savings and investment account designed to help American kids start building long-term financial assets. Established by President Donald Trump’s “One Big Beautiful Bill Act,” the accounts are intended to give children a financial leg up on the future, starting at birth. 

Under the law, children born in the U.S. between January 1, 2025, and December 31, 2028, will receive a one-time $1,000 contribution from the federal government deposited into their account. Following that, parents, employers, and others can add up to $5,000 in contributions per year to the account. Access will be given when a child turns 18. To be eligible, kids must be under age 18, have a social security number, and be U.S. citizens. 

Unfortunately, according to a piece in The New York Times, current planning for the accounts could result in many kids being left out. The biggest concern? Currently, the Treasury Department has the authority to automatically enroll children, but it isn’t planning to exercise this authority. Instead, parents will need to opt their kids into the program.

“That’s a very serious policy design concern,” Professor Huang said to Times reporters. “It’s highly likely we’re going to miss millions of children.” Read the full story in the New York Times.

Take action: Online enrollment should be open to parents starting in mid-2026, with seed contributions starting in July. To enroll your children, keep checking at TrumpAccounts.gov.​

The Good Read: Where art is the community​

What does it take to create a mural that truly represents the community? Input from the community. And gathering that is just what artists did as they began to envision ‘Beacon of Community,’ the new mural that graces the Rainier Valley Food Bank building. According to the South Seattle Emerald, the mural met its goal of capturing life in Seattle’s southend neighborhood. Read the story about art as a community connector in the South Seattle Emerald.

The post The Roundup: News that impacts Washington families appeared first on Seattle's Child.

• Overlake Medical Center and Clinics, Bellevue
• Providence Regional Medical Center Everett
• Providence St. Peter Hospital, Olympia 
• St. Anne Hospital, Burien 
• St. Francis Hospital, Federal Way 
• St. Joseph Medical Center, Tacoma 
• St. Michael Medical Center, Silverdale 
• Swedish Issaquah, Issaquah

The results place Seattle among the 20 metropolitan areas with the greatest number of Best Hospitals for Maternity Care for uncomplicated pregnancy in the U.S. The annual list aims to provide new parents with transparent information to help them make informed decisions about where to seek maternity care.

“Choosing where to welcome a new baby is one of the most personal health care decisions a family makes. U.S. News’ Best Hospitals for Maternity Care [compares] key outcomes and support services at maternity hospitals in their area,” said Jennifer Winston, Ph.D., health data scientist at U.S. News. 

Three eastern Washington hospitals were recognized for providing maternity care in areas that could become care deserts if they were to close down: St. Michael Medical Center in Silverdale, Providence Centralia Hospital in Centralia, and Samaritan Healthcare in Moses Lake.

U.S. News is world-renowned for its hospital rankings and ratings, and high performing hospitals wear the acknowlegement with pride. The organization began evaluating maternity care hospitals in 2021, and this year, 901 hospitals submitted maternity data for evaluation, a record participation. 

The organization stresses that its unbiased analysis and ratings methodology is based on objective measures of quality, such as C-section rates in lower-risk pregnancies, exclusive breast milk feeding rates, hospital services to underserved communities, and other data points.

Measures are weighted to create a composite score.

• NTSV C-section rates and VBAC rates: 35% weight
• Severe UNC rates: 25% weight
• Commitment to exclusive breast milk feeding: 15% weight
• Transparency on racial/ethnic disparities: 10% weight
• Birthing-friendly practice: 10% weight
• Episiotomy rates: 5% weight

Learn more about U.S. News hospital rankings and ratings on the media company’s website.

The post 8 Puget Sound hospitals named 2026 ‘Best Hospitals for Maternity Care’  appeared first on Seattle's Child.

The court agreed to hear a case, before it is decided in a lower court, that deals with the Constitution’s 14th Amendment, which grants citizenship to almost everyone born in the United States. The amendment’s birthright citizenship clause has been used to give citizenship to the children of immigrants in the country without legal authorization or on a temporary basis.

While a schedule for arguments has not yet been released by the court, it’s likely the case would be heard sometime in early 2026.

The Trump administration argued in its petition to the court that the amendment, which was adopted in 1868, was meant to apply to newly freed slaves. It was not meant to provide citizenship to the children of immigrants without legal status, Solicitor General D. John Sauer wrote.

“Long after the Clause’s adoption, the mistaken view that birth on U.S. territory confers citizenship on anyone subject to the regulatory reach of U.S. law became pervasive, with destructive consequences,” Sauer wrote in the September petition.

The petition also sought Supreme Court review of a related challenge to the order by the states of Washington, Arizona, Illinois and Oregon. Friday’s court order did not grant a hearing on that case.

Trump signed an executive order on Jan. 20 seeking to redefine the birthright citizenship clause to exclude the children of immigrants in the country without legal authority or only temporarily. Democratic-led states and advocacy groups swiftly sued.

Courts have largely blocked enforcement of the order, although the Supreme Court in June allowed it to go into effect in the states that had not sued to preserve the right.

In a Friday afternoon statement, the American Civil Liberties Union, a leading civil rights group, noted that several federal judges had blocked enforcement and predicted the Supreme Court would preserve birthright citizenship.

“No president can change the 14th Amendment’s fundamental promise of citizenship,” Cecillia Wang, ACLU’s national legal director, said. “For over 150 years, it has been the law and our national tradition that everyone born on U.S. soil is a citizen from birth. The federal courts have unanimously held that President Trump’s executive order is contrary to the Constitution, a Supreme Court decision from 1898, and a law enacted by Congress. We look forward to putting this issue to rest once and for all in the Supreme Court this term.”

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This week, a Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) committee voted to end the CDC’s recommendation that all babies in the U.S. receive their first hepatitis B vaccine within 24 hours of birth. The decision all but ends a 34-year-old policy that has reduced the incidence of an incurable liver disease in infants by 99%.

While a change in the recommended vaccine schedule, as proposed by the CDC Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices, must be approved by the CDC’s interim director, the committee’s vote to change the three-dose series for hepatitis B recommendation has local public health leaders and medical providers concerned. Not only are they worried about potential exposure to the disease among babies and the broader community, but also about increasing parent confusion about the safety and efficacy of vaccination in general.

Washington state and local health departments, part of the new West Coast Health Alliance, are clear where they stand on the advisory committee’s vote. They “strongly support that hepatitis B vaccination continue to be routinely offered to all newborns, with the first dose of the vaccine given within 24 hours of birth for newborns weighing at least 4 pounds, 7 ounces, followed by completion of the vaccine series.”​

Confused by conflicting vaccine news? We asked Dr. Sandra Valenciano, Public Health-Seattle & King County’s (PHSKC) new health officer, to explain the CDC committee’s suggested hepatitis B vaccination changes, to lay out the potential consequences of such changes,  and to advise parents on where to turn for evidence-based information when making decisions about vaccination. Following is that converssation:

Q: What is hepatitis B?

Dr. Sandra Valenciano: Hepatitis B is an incurable disease caused by a virus, and it can affect your liver. Some people might get exposed to it and only be sick for a few weeks. But others can go on to develop a chronic illness and experience serious complications, such as liver cancer, liver failure, and chronic liver disease.

Q: But isn’t hepatitis B a sexually transmitted disease? Why not wait until a child is older or becomes sexually active to vaccinate?

​Dr. Valenciano: It is a misconception that hepatitis B is only transmitted sexually. The virus is transmitted through body fluids, including blood, and even a microscopic amount of blood can infect an infant.  It can be transmitted through the mother at birth. Caregivers and family members can also transmit it. It can be on household items. That’s why vaccination is so critical.

What’s more,  unvaccinated babies can become infected but not show symptoms for a long time. That means they’re not receiving treatment for hepatitis B but the virus could be damaging their livers without anyone knowing.

Q: What was the former recommendation that the committee decided to change?

​Dr. Valenciano: Since 1991, the CDC has recommended that all infants receive the hepatitis B vaccine within 24 hours of birth. It is actually a three-dose series, so infants would then receive a second dose (at one to two months) and a third dose (between six and 18 months).

The reason for that universal recommendation to start vaccines at birth is really important: pregnant individuals can pass hepatitis B on to their infants if they’re infected and don’t know that they’re infected. We do screen for Hepatitis B during pregnancy, but some women go undetected for a variety of reasons—they didn’t have access to prenatal care, they were exposed after they had already been screened, the test didn’t detect it correctly. It can be passed on to a baby from the mother during birth.

Infants and children can also be exposed to Hepatitis B by family members and caregivers who have the infection and don’t know that they’re infected. We have millions of people living in the United States with chronic hepatitis B.

Q: What difference, if any, has the recommendation of the 3-dose hepatitis B vaccine made since 1991?

​Dr. Valenciano: Prior to the universal recommendation, the United States was seeing anywhere between 16,000 and 20,000 Hepatitis B infections among children a year. The vaccine has been so successful that those numbers have been reduced by 99%. Since the recommendation to give all infants the hepatitis B vaccine at birth was implemented, we’ve had fewer than 20 cases of hepatitis B in infants per year in the United States. Here in King County, we’ve only had two cases in infants over the past decade. That is just remarkable and a huge success for a vaccine.

What we also know, since this vaccine has been used for over three decades, is that it is incredibly safe, and given the reduction in infections, very effective. In terms of side effects, it most commonly causes soreness at the site of the injection and can cause fussiness and mild fever in a baby. It’s a really safe vaccine.

Q: Does that mean we really don’t see hepatitis in babies these days?

Dr. Valenciano: We still see thousands of babies who are exposed to hepatitis B because the pregnant individual went undetected or the infant was born to a birth parent with known hepatitis B. Those babies receive the hepatitis B vaccine at birth and hepatitis B medicine, and then get monitored under a perinatal Hepatitis B monitoring program to see if they go on to develop a chronic infection. Like I said before, this immediate vaccine and treatment approach is really successful and is why so few infants in the U.S. become infected with hepatitis B.

In the United States, we have a lot of people who come from countries where hepatitis B infection is endemic, meaning it’s widely present in the community. We also see hepatitis B in US-born mothers, and it can be missed during pregnancy.

Q: What is the change that the CDC vaccine committee approved last week, and what does it mean?

Dr. Valenciano: First, the advisory committee voted to remove the long-standing universal recommendation that all newborns receive a birth dose of the hepatitis B vaccine. Instead, what they’re recommending is a shared clinical decision approach for infants born to mothers who test negative for hepatitis B during pregnancy, and for the first dose to be given no earlier than 2 months of age. The committee still recommends babies  born to mothers who are positive or whose status is unknown get the birth dose along with hepatitis B medication.

The second thing that they voted on is recommending  that after babies receive the first dose, they get an antibody test, and use those results to determine whether or not to continue with the rest of the hepatitis B vaccine series.

Q: The American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP), Public Health—Seattle & King County, and numerous other organizations support giving all infants the full hepatitis B vaccine series. Why does relying on an antibody test after the first dose worry you?

Dr. Valenciano: Because there’s no data on it—it has not been studied. The antibody test is supposed to show if your body has developed an immune response to the virus. But, it’s not a “yes or no” test, and because it hasn’t been studied, we don’t know what level of antibody response is sufficient for a baby to actually be protected from hepatitis B infection for their lifetime.

This is really alarming for those of us in public health and the medical community, because this new recommendation is not based on science.

Ultimately, I think our other concern is that this may widen disparities. We might see babies who don’t get the full vaccine series and therefore are at higher risk of hepatitis B infection. We might see an increase in hepatitis B infections. We might see communities that really would benefit from the vaccine series not get it, causing inequities.

Q: Can a baby get hepatitis B from the vaccine?

Dr. Valenciano: No. There’s no live virus in the hepatitis B vaccine. It can’t cause infection in the body. It has one of the longest and strongest safety records of any vaccine in pediatrics. Hundreds of millions of doses have been safely given. At the same time, no vaccine is  100% effective. And so could you get a vaccine and still get an infection? Yes, that is always possible. But the numbers speak for themselves, in terms of the 99% reduction in Hepatitis B infection in infants and children in the U.S. since the hepatitis B vaccination recommendation was implemented.

I urge parents to talk to their child’s pediatrician to learn from them directly about the recommendations. The fact that the American Academy of Pediatrics, along with many other medical societies, continues to recommend the universal hepatitis B vaccine at birth, along with the full series, is really, really important.

Q: When the CDC recommends a vaccine, does it mean parents are legally mandated to give their baby the shots?

Dr. Valenciano: It’s always been a recommendation, not a mandate. Parents have always had a choice to accept or decline the birth dose or the series or use an alternative schedule.

Q: Do you think local doctors are giving enough information about vaccines to parents and answering their questions?

Dr. Valenciano: There should be informed consent for everything that we do in medicine and public health. If you don’t feel like you’re getting the information you need at your child’s appointment, speak up! Ask questions of your provider. It’s their job to discuss vaccine recommendations with patients and parents and to practice informed consent. Even for me, as a doctor, I have two kiddos, and when I take them to their pediatrician, I’m still asking questions.

Q: I’ve heard many parents question whether they should go to the CDC for vaccine information, given the U.S. Health Secretary’s efforts against vaccination. Is there a single source you would recommend for parents seeking evidence-based information and recommendations on vaccines?

Dr. Valenciano: I suggest going to the American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP), although many other professional medical societies, like the American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists, the American Academy of Family Physicians, the American Public Health Association, and the Infectious Disease Society in America, are all putting out the same recommendations.

On the West Coast, our department is aligned with the Washington State Department of Health, which is part of the new West Coast Health Alliance that includes Washington, Oregon, California, and Hawaii. So, all of these professional societies and these alliances are aligned to make sure that what we’re sharing with the community and the public is evidence-based, data-driven.

Still, before the CDC Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices was developed, it was the American Academy of Pediatrics that put out vaccine recommendations. They have a long-standing history. They look at the data, and what they put out is evidence-based and science-based. That’s where I go when I have questions for my children.

Q: Give me your thoughts on what’s happening right now at the federal level in terms of public health concerns.

Dr. Valenciano: Many of us in the public health and medical community are concerned about what’s happening at the federal level. I think that the biggest concern is about decisions being made without following the standardized process that has always been used. There was a very strong adherence to the recommendation framework that the committee followed previously, where they really examined the data presented and went over the implications of recommendations from a health standpoint, safety standpoint, cost standpoint, as well as an equity standpoint. We’re not seeing those things happening.

Many of the professional societies used to formally sit on the CDC advisory committee, and they got to be involved in the work groups. Their not being a part of these decisions is concerning, as well as their not being able to review the data and the information presented.

Q: By way of example, in justifying their decision to no longer recommend the hepatitis B vaccine for all infants, advisory committee members pointed to Denmark, which does not recommend a birth dose. Is it fair to compare the U.S. to Denmark in terms of needed protection from hepatitis B?​

Dr. Valenciano: I think it’s important to talk a little bit about that. The comparison to Denmark is misleading. Denmark has extremely low hepatitis B prevalence, which is a big difference from the United States. Denmark has a small immigrant community compared to the United States, and as a result, we have a much higher prevalence of hepatitis B in the general population—millions of people. Denmark has universal access to prenatal care and a unified medical record system. As a result, pregnant people in Denmark are much more likely to have received screening for hepatitis B, and if they ever tested positive, that information is easily available for their doctors. Here in the United States, that is not the case – many pregnant people don’t receive prenatal care, and doctors don’t always have access to a patient’s disease screening history.

It’s also important to note that the World Health Organization recommends that countries with a certain level of hepatitis B in their community recommend that the universal hepatitis B vaccine be given at birth. Here in the United States, the rate of hepatitis B in the community is high enough that we meet this threshold.

Q: All this conflicting information confuses parents. You’re a parent. What do you think parents need to hear? If I were pregnant and going into a hospital right now, what would you tell me?

Dr. Valenciano: My sister is pregnant. She’s actually due to have her baby on December 25, and she’s hearing all of this. I would say that right now, there’s a lot of noise when it comes to vaccines, what you should and should not do. The biggest recommendation that I could give as a doctor and as a parent is to talk with your trusted healthcare provider, whether that’s your pediatrician, whether that’s your family medicine doctor, or for individuals who are pregnant, talking to their OBGYN. Get the information and the guidance directly from a healthcare provider you trust.

And you can always reach out to us at Public Health—Seattle & King County. We have vaccination information online at kingcounty.gov/immunization, and you can contact our team at vaccineinfo@kingcounty.gov.

Q: Is there anything else you’d like to say to parents?​

Dr. Valenciano: I know it’s a confusing time, but here in Washington, we are sticking with what works. We recommend that parents consult a trusted source for evidence-based healthcare information.

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The current three-dose series for hepatitis B includes one vaccine administered to infants within 24 hours of birth, and subsequent booster shots given one month and six months after the initial dose. There was a 99% drop in serious infections among children between 1990 and 2019, which is attributed to the universal vaccination policy.

The agency will leave in place a recommendation that babies born to mothers who test positive for hepatitis B receive a vaccine at birth. However, the new guidelines leave the decision in all other cases to “individual-based decision-making.” They also suggest that parents delay the first dose of the vaccine for at least two months after birth.

Friday’s decision comes after an 8-3 vote from a key CDC advisory committee, known as the Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices, which is charged with setting national guidelines around which people should be vaccinated against a wide range of preventable diseases and when those vaccines should be administered. The recommendations play a key role in determining which vaccines insurance companies are willing to cover and how accessible those immunizations are to the public.

Retsef Levi, an ACIP member and professor of operations management at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, called the updated recommendation a “very positive change in policy.” arguing that blanket vaccine recommendations force newborns to serve as “a safety net for adults’ mistakes.”

But Dr. Cody Meissner, another member of the committee who also serves as a professor of pediatrics and medicine at Dartmouth College, argued that there was no scientific evidence to support the changes implemented by the panel.

“Thoughtful inquiry is always commendable,” he told the committee. “But that inquiry should not be confused with baseless skepticism, which is what I think we’re encountering here.”

The updated recommendation for the hepatitis B vaccine mirrors COVID-19 vaccine guidelines passed by the same panel in September, which places new emphasis on the risks of immunizations, though the CDC’s own data shows that the vaccines are safe and effective for most people. As with the new COVID-19 vaccine recommendations, the updated hepatitis B guidelines will not take effect until being officially signed off by the CDC director.

A second vote, which passed 6-4, encourages parents to discuss using serology testing, a type of blood test that measures antibodies to gauge how well a patient’s immune system has responded to a disease, before allowing their children to receive additional doses of the hepatitis B vaccine.

The changed recommendations will not prevent doctors from administering hepatitis B vaccines to newborns, but may impact which insurance companies are willing to pay for the immunizations. Children enrolled in Medicaid or the Vaccines for Children program, which provides free immunizations to children who are uninsured or underinsured, will continue to be eligible for hepatitis B vaccines at birth under the new recommendations, according to program liaisons.

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Costs have outpaced what most families can manage, especially during pregnancy and a baby’s first year, when financial stress hits hardest. Many new parents are forced to return to work within weeks and go without essentials simply to stay afloat.

Despite our state’s prosperity, there are disparities in birth outcomes and mental health among low-income, Indigenous, and Black families. Washington now has the second-lowest fertility rate in the country and is seeing its lowest birth rates in decades, underscoring the financial and caregiving barriers families weigh when considering having a child.

A statewide direct cash-transfer pilot for pregnant people and new parents will help ensure that those who do choose to grow their families can do so with stability, dignity, and support. The earliest months of life shape everything that follows.

Michigan just showed the country what’s possible. In Flint, the Rx Kids program delivered unconditional cash during pregnancy and babies’ first year and saw an 18% drop in preterm births, a 27% reduction in low birthweights, and roughly a 29% decline in Neonatal Intensive Care Unit admissions. That reduction alone prevented nearly 60 costly hospitalizations a year and generated an estimated $6.2 million in healthcare savings. Families also reported dramatic financial and mental-health gains, including a 91% reduction in evictions and fewer positive screens for postpartum depression.

We’ve also tested guaranteed income locally.

In Tacoma, the Growing Resilience in Tacoma, or GRIT, pilot provided $500 a month for 13 months to 110 single parents in the city’s highest-need ZIP codes. Funded in part by Mayors for a Guaranteed Income in partnership with the city of Tacoma, the pilot showed families became more financially resilient and improved their employment opportunities.

Building on that success, a second phase launched with $1.9 million in state funding, expanding support to additional Tacoma neighborhoods and nearby Parkland and Spanaway. Betty Ann, a Tacoma mother, used her payments to repair her car and keep her job and family on track.

Another privately funded program is supporting a cohort of families starting in pregnancy. The Nest, run by Hummingbird Indigenous Family Services, pairs no-strings cash with Indigenous-centered care such as doulas, home visits, and cultural programming.

One hundred fifty Native and Pacific Islander parents in King and Pierce Counties and on the Tulalip Reservation receive $1,250 a month through their child’s third birthday, up to $45,000 total. Nest funding helped Hj-lynn Hiteuo in Federal Way stay home with her newborn for several months instead of rushing back to work.

We write this as community partners who didn’t wait for someone else to act. When we first learned about Flint’s approach, our immediate reaction was: this is exactly the kind of support Washington’s families deserve. A predictable check brings down the temperature at home: enough gas to get to prenatal appointments, a repair so mom can keep her job, a few weeks of breathing room.

Washington needs a statewide direct-cash pilot now for new parents and families expecting children. Philanthropy has a critical role to play, and more partners must step up. Perigee Fund has already contributed $50,000 to the Washington State Department of Social and Health Services to develop a proposal and bring agencies, community partners, and parents together to scale this proven model. Lawmakers could match that leadership by committing resources in the upcoming session to a statewide pilot.

Some argue we can’t afford it. But Washington’s future depends on investing in families at the very beginning of life. Supporting parents in the earliest months is not only the right thing to do, it is the foundation for healthier children and stronger communities.

We’ve seen how direct cash gives parents breathing room and saves millions in avoidable costs. The choice is clear: invest now or pay more later for preventable crises. Let’s choose families and a stronger future for Washington.

Support non-profit journalism

This article has been reposted with permission from the Washington State Standard, part of States Newsroom, the nation’s largest state-focused nonprofit news organization and committed to shining “a light on policy and politics in all 50 states.” Click here to support nonprofit, freely distributed, independent local journalism. Read this article and others online at Washington State Standard.

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