Children First for Oregon

CFFO 2010 Legislative Priorities

Here is what we’re working on for the February 2010 short session:

Employment Related Day Care(ERDC) funding through current biennium:

The current 09-11 budget funds ERDC only through July 2010. We expect 2,913 families (5,500 children) will lose child care due to the July 2010 reduction. The parents of these children will be forced to either leave children home alone or quit their jobs. You can help! Take a minute to write your legislator about ERDC.

OHP coverage for former foster youth:

Adolescents who age-out of foster care at 18 struggle to secure health insurance. This bill will utilize 2-1 federal Medicaid matching funds to provide OHP coverage for former foster youth from ages 18-22. Twenty-one other states utilize this Medicaid option to provide health care for this population. You can help! Take a minute to write your legislator about OHP coverage for former foster youth.

BPA ban in children’s products:

Bisphenol-A (BPA) is a synthetic estrogen found in plastic which leaches out into food and beverages, and then into our bodies. More than 200 scientific studies have linked very low doses of BPA to prostate and breast cancer, obesity, altered brain development, cardiac disease, diabetes, and early puberty. The bill bans bisphenol A in food and beverage containers intended for the use of children under 3, including baby bottles and formula containers.

Earned Income Tax Credit:

The federal EITC has been the most successful anti-poverty program, lifting over 2 million American children out of poverty every year. Oregon currently has one of the lowest levels for an EITC state, utilizing only 6% of the 18% maximum. The bill will phase-in an expansion of Oregon’s EITC to 18%, which would eliminate income taxes on families below the poverty line and benefit over 200,000 households (1 in 7) in Oregon (a majority going to families with children).