Dear Friends and Colleagues:
I want to take this opportunity to connect with you about what Kids Forward is doing in light of the evolving coronavirus pandemic.
Our hearts and thoughts are with everyone affected during this time and we appreciate the health and human services workers; local, state, and national leaders; and individuals around the world who are on the front lines working to contain the pandemic and reduce suffering.
Kids Forward’s top priority is the health and well-being of our staff, their families, our partners, and our communities. For this reason, due to the rapidly evolving coronavirus situation, we are changing the way we work.
Starting last Monday, and for the foreseeable future, Kids Forward staff are working from home. We have suspended in-person engagement and will host meetings virtually. We are making decisions about how we work on a week by week basis. We continue to follow guidance from local, state and federal public health officials and experts. When it is appropriate, we will reopen our office and resume in-person engagement.
Here at Kids Forward, we are still working hard every day to ensure that those furthest from opportunity are not forgotten. Our work is guided by our vision and who we are:
Kids Forward Vision: A Wisconsin where every child thrives, notably children and families of color and those furthest from opportunity.
Who We Are: A multicultural, inclusive and equitable policy center with broad racial/ethnic capability that explicitly advocates on behalf of children and families of color and those furthest from opportunity.
In the spirit of our vision, we are continuing to advocate, remotely and relentlessly, with policymakers and implementers -- the Governor’s Office, State agencies, State Legislators, and Members of Congress -- on issues that affect Wisconsin’s children and families. This pandemic further exposes the societal and systemic inequities that face low-income children and families, and particularly children and families of color. For those children and families, already living with low-incomes and at risk of food insecurity or with unstable housing, this time is especially precarious. This must be addressed, both in the short term and also over the longer term.
In light of all this, our staff is hard at work analyzing and proposing systems and policy reforms that are needed to address the scope and scale of this challenge. You will be seeing much more from us over the coming days, but a few of the documents we have created recently include:
We have created new sections on both the Kids Forward and the Wisconsin Budget Project websites where we will be posting all of our coronavirus related material. They can be found at: kidsforward.org/coronavirus and wisconsinbudgetproject.org/coronavirus-response.
There are many things that we each can and should be doing to support our friends and neighbors. So please search for those opportunities in your community. And at the systems and policy level, there are three things you can do from the comfort and safety of your own home that would make a big difference.
First, vote absentee in the April 7 spring elections. It is too late for remote registration to vote, but if you are registered to vote already, you can still request an absentee ballot. To do so please go to: myvote.wi.gov
Second, the ability to address systemic inequities relies upon public data. It is very important that we all participate in the census. Please fill out the census. You will be hearing much more from us about this over the coming weeks, but in the meantime, you can go to: https://respond.census.gov/acs/#respond to fill out the census or assist family members, relatives, friends or neighbors to fill it out online.
We are committed to our relationship and partnership with you. So our third request is to please let us know what we can do to help you through the challenges you are facing. And also please let us know what we should be advocating for with local, state, and federal policy makers that would make the biggest difference in your lives. To do that, please e-mail me at [email protected].
In partnership,
Ken Taylor
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