Action Steps to Protect Meaningful Day
We’d like to share a few important updates about the legislative session and outline a crucial three-step call to action to help protect Meaningful Day. The legislative process can be unpredictable, especially with 29 new elected officials and a new Governor. This session has required a strategic approach to ensure our priorities are heard and addressed.
Here’s how we’re pressing forward in this dynamic environment:
Meaningful Day: Both the House and Senate budgets propose cuts to the Meaningful Day program. We are actively working with the Senate Ways and Means Committee to secure an amendment to preserve this vital funding.
HB 1398: Unfortunately, HB 1398 did not make it out of the Appropriations Committee. However, we are advocating for this bill to be added to the budget as a no-cost proviso.
Lobby Day: We had a successful Lobby Day, with powerful testimony from our members who shared personal stories that will have lasting impressions with legislators. This event demonstrated how much your voices matter!
Post-Session Engagement: After the legislative session ends, our work will continue. We need your ongoing engagement throughout the year to come back even stronger for the next session. We’ll be hosting webinars and attending Chapter Meetings across the state to keep up the momentum and keep you informed.
How You Can Defend Meaningful Day:
We’re not done fighting! There are three critical actions we need from our members to defend Meaningful Day. All of them are essential to ensuring that legislators understand the impact of the cuts they’re proposing. If you encounter any challenges through the process, please don’t hesitate to reach out via email to courtney@adultfamilyhomecouncil.org.
Step 1: Email Your Legislator
- Find your district using the district finder.
- Use our spreadsheet list to locate the contact information for each legislator AND legislative assistant in your district.
- Email your legislator (and cc their legislative assistant) and explain why Meaningful Day needs to be preserved.
Draft Message:
My name is [Your Name] I am from District [Your District]. I am an [role within Adult Family Homes] and a member of the Adult Family Home Council writing to express both gratitude and concerns with the House Operating Budget.
While we thank you for supporting the funding for our Collective Bargaining Agreement, cutting Meaningful Day creates harm to [Benefits of Meaningful Day]. This program is critical for vulnerable populations to receive care. [Insert why this program can’t be cut.]
Additionally, increasing our licensing fees creates a cost burden for our homes. Please reconsider these cuts so we can continue doing the important work our state needs from us.
Thank you for your time,
[Your Name]
💡TIP: Include a picture of your home!
Step 2: Email the Appropriations Committee
Email all members of the Appropriations Committee and cc their legislative assistants. Emails are noted below:
To:
April.Berg@leg.wa.gov steve.bergquist@leg.wa.gov Brian.Burnett@leg.wa.gov michelle.caldier@leg.wa.gov lisa.callan@leg.wa.gov April.Connors@leg.wa.gov chris.corry@leg.wa.gov Julio.Cortes@leg.wa.gov Travis.Couture@leg.wa.gov beth.doglio@leg.wa.gov mary.dye@leg.wa.gov joe.fitzgibbon@leg.wa.gov mia.gregerson@leg.wa.gov Michael.Keaton@leg.wa.gov mari.leavitt@leg.wa.gov debra.lekanoff@leg.wa.gov nicole.macri@leg.wa.gov Deb.Manjarrez@leg.wa.gov Matt.Marshall@leg.wa.gov timm.ormsby@leg.wa.gov Joshua.Penner@leg.wa.gov strom.peterson@leg.wa.gov gerry.pollet@leg.wa.gov skyler.rude@leg.wa.gov cindy.ryu@leg.wa.gov joe.schmick@leg.wa.gov larry.springer@leg.wa.gov monica.stonier@leg.wa.gov Chipalo.Street@leg.wa.gov my-linh.thai@leg.wa.gov steve.tharinger@leg.wa.gov
Cc:
Katharine.Gillen@leg.wa.gov Syd.Locke@leg.wa.gov Jeri.Taylor-Swade@leg.wa.gov lj.rohrer@leg.wa.gov Erika.Boyd@leg.wa.gov William.Burch@leg.wa.gov Camille.Nelson@leg.wa.gov Charles.Wichert@leg.wa.gov Tristan.Mospan@leg.wa.gov Kevin.Snow@leg.wa.gov Kieran.Sprague@leg.wa.gov Oksana.Reva@leg.wa.gov Tyra.Zeigler@leg.wa.gov Sandy.Ruff@leg.wa.gov Kat.Bryant@leg.wa.gov Devon.McBride@leg.wa.gov Brady.Hood@leg.wa.gov Elizabeth.Popoff@leg.wa.gov Michael.Lindsay@leg.wa.gov Shannon.Waechter@leg.wa.gov Sara.Wendell@leg.wa.gov Nick.Spurlock@leg.wa.gov Emily.Grupp@leg.wa.gov Austin.Choate@leg.wa.gov Shoubee.Liaw@leg.wa.gov Trixie.Harmon@leg.wa.gov Emily.Wills@leg.wa.gov Megan.Filippello@leg.wa.gov Travis.Jones@leg.wa.gov Carmen.Tuncap@leg.wa.gov Dawn.Thomas@leg.wa.gov
Draft Message:
My name is [Your Name] I am from District [Your District]. I am an [Role Within Adult Family Homes] and a member of the Adult Family Home Council writing to express both gratitude and concerns with the House Operating Budget.
While we thank you for supporting the funding for our Collective Bargaining Agreement, cutting Meaningful Day creates harm to [Benefits of Meaningful Day]. This program is critical for vulnerable populations to receive care. [Insert Why This Program Can’t Be Cut.]
Additionally, increasing our licensing fees creates a cost burden for our homes. Please reconsider these cuts so we can continue doing the important work our state needs from us.
Thank you for your time,
[Your Name]
💡TIP: Include a picture of your home!
Step 3: Email the Ways and Means Committee
Email all members of the Ways and Means Committee and cc their legislative assistants. Emails are noted below:
To:
matt.boehnke@leg.wa.gov john.braun@leg.wa.gov annette.cleveland@leg.wa.gov steve.conway@leg.wa.gov manka.dhingra@leg.wa.gov Perry.Dozier@leg.wa.gov noel.frame@leg.wa.gov chris.gildon@leg.wa.gov drew.hansen@leg.wa.gov bob.hasegawa@leg.wa.gov claudia.kauffman@leg.wa.gov ron.muzzall@leg.wa.gov jamie.pedersen@leg.wa.gov marcus.riccelli@leg.wa.gov june.robinson@leg.wa.gov rebecca.saldana@leg.wa.gov mark.schoesler@leg.wa.gov derek.stanford@leg.wa.gov Nikki.Torres@leg.wa.gov yasmin.trudeau@leg.wa.gov keith.wagoner@leg.wa.gov judith.warnick@leg.wa.gov lisa.wellman@leg.wa.gov claire.wilson@leg.wa.gov
Cc:
Virginia.Hall@leg.wa.gov patricia.krause@leg.wa.gov Kevin.Gordon@leg.wa.gov Kimberlie.Lelli@leg.wa.gov Daisy.Wong@leg.wa.gov tiffani.sanne@leg.wa.gov Kelsey.Hamlin@leg.wa.gov Caylin.Jensen@leg.wa.gov Connor.Prieve@leg.wa.gov Britt.Pomush@leg.wa.gov Jade.Sierra@leg.wa.gov Eric.Hemmen@leg.wa.gov Elizabeth.CalvilloDuenas@leg.wa.gov Bariah.Rice@leg.wa.gov Sophia.Riggs@leg.wa.gov Teresa.Arciniega-Ruiz@leg.wa.gov Suzette.Cooper@leg.wa.gov Stephen.Cardamenis@leg.wa.gov Justus.Phelps@leg.wa.gov Justine.Jadallah@leg.wa.gov Sharra.Finley@leg.wa.gov Andrew.Willett@leg.wa.gov Noah.Burgher@leg.wa.gov Kit.Hager@leg.wa.gov
Draft Message:
My name is [Your Name] I am from District [Your District]. I am an [Role Within Adult Family Homes] and a member of the Adult Family Home Council writing to express both gratitude and concerns with the House Operating Budget.
While we thank you for supporting the funding for our Collective Bargaining Agreement, cutting Meaningful Day creates harm to [Benefits of Meaningful Day]. This program is critical for vulnerable populations to receive care. [Insert Why This Program Can’t Be Cut.]
Additionally, increasing our licensing fees creates a cost burden for our homes. Please reconsider these cuts so we can continue doing the important work our state needs from us.
Thank you for your time,
[Your Name]
💡TIP: Include a picture of your home!
Please send questions to Courtney@adultfamilyhomecouncil.org
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