Dear Friends,
As we approach the end of our second quarter, I want to share with you some important CLASP updates you may have missed.
Victory: Expansion of Legal Pathways for Undocumented Spouses + Dreamers
Last week the Biden Administration took significant steps to create additional pathways for legal status and work authorization for two groups of immigrants who strengthen and support American families, communities, and society—spouses of U.S. citizens and Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) recipients and other undocumented youth, known as “Dreamers.” Members of the CLASP anchored Children Thrive Action Network (CTAN) applauded and welcomed this move. As noted by CLASP’s Immigration and Immigrant Families Director, Wendy Cervantes, this “announcement represents decades of hard work from immigrant communities, organizers, and advocates who are committed to ensuring the dignity, safety, and well-being of immigrant families across the country.” Read more on the public statement from CTAN here.
Parent Leaders Advocate on the Hill
Two hundred parent leaders, staff, and partners gathered with one of CLASP’s key partners in our child care and early education work for the United Parent Leaders Action Network’s 2024 National Gathering in Washington, D.C. last month. The bilingual event offered a space for parent leaders from across the country to reconnect, strengthen relationships, and advocate for the policies that impact our families. During the convening participants leveraged their collective power to advocate for the policy priorities of parents in our early care and education, immigration, and parent engagement campaigns. Activities included 12 parent-led workshops; a national parents partnership rally on Capitol Hill; 86 legislative meetings with members of the House and Senate; and engagement with key federal officials including those from the White House and U.S. Departments of Education, Health and Human Services Administration for Children and Families, and Homeland Security. See more highlights here.
60th Anniversary of the War on Poverty Hill Briefing
In collaboration with the offices of Rep. Bonnie Watson Coleman (D-NJ) and Rep. Barbara Lee (D-CA), CLASP hosted a briefing earlier this month for Congressional staffers to commemorate the 60th anniversary of President Lyndon Johnson’s declaration of a War on Poverty and Great Society legislation. Panelists included:
- Tiffany Ferrette, Senior Policy Analyst, CLASP
- Heidi Shierholz, President, Economic Policy Institute
- Dariely Rodriguez, Deputy Chief Counsel, Lawyers’ Committee for Civil Rights Under Law
- Kevin Lindamood, President and CEO, Health Care for the Homeless
During the briefing, panelists shared their perspectives on both the achievements and shortcomings of Great Society programs and the work that remains to be done to end poverty for good. Watch an archive of the briefing here.
Advancing Worker Power + Workforce Development
CLASP’s Education, Labor and Worker Justice (ELWJ) and Legislative Affairs teams helped organize a virtual briefing for Senate Democratic staffers last week with labor partners from SEIU, the AFL-CIO, and the Good Jobs Collaborative, on which CLASP serves as a lead partner. ELWJ Director Emily Andrews joined the panel titled, “America’s Workforce Development: How to Ensure Good Jobs for All.” The goal of the briefing was to push the Senate to write a workforce development bill that centers worker voice and power, focuses on job quality, combats occupational segregation and discrimination in our labor market, and raises the floor for all workers. A recording of the event can be viewed here (passcode: +xh@d=1q).
Youth Summit Highlight: Youth in Transition Policy Summit in Utah
For the second year in a row, CLASP, the Utah Department of Health and Human Services, and the National Alliance on Mental Illness hosted a Youth in Transition Policy Summit in Salt Lake City. The event brought together policy presenters and youth panelists from across the country to discuss young people’s leadership and involvement in mental health systems and services. Advocates, partner organizations, and local and state government officials learned from one another about best practices for incorporating youth voices and the perspectives of people with lived experiences into services and policies that support youth.
Executive Leadership Transition
Indi Dutta-Gupta recently stepped won as CLASP's president and executive director. Our Board of Trustees has named Olivia Golden, CLASP’s previous executive director, as interim executive director. Olivia will return to CLASP on July 15th and lead the organization through the end of the year. CLASP's Chief of Staff Patrick Corvington will serve as acting interim executive director for the period between Indi's departure and Olivia's arrival. Read the statement from our Board of Trustees here.
Special Events/Publications Alert: 2023 Impact Report + 25th Anniversary of Child Care Team
Our 2023 Impact Report is here! Take a moment to learn more about the impact of CLASP’s work, partnerships, and collaborations you helped make possible last year. Want to read more of our recent publications? Check them out here.
CLASP will celebrate the 25th anniversary of our Child Care and Early Education work on September 25 in Washington, D.C., and we hope you can join us to celebrate in person! This event will showcase CLASP's remarkable achievements at the local, state, and federal levels in the child care and early education space. It will also offer a chance to connect with former and current CCEE leaders, staffers, and partners. Want to know more about how you can support this event? Reach out to the Development team at [email protected] to learn more about becoming a sponsor or contributor! Look out for an official invite with more details to be sent later this summer.
CLASP’s ongoing achievements, resilience, and impact would not be possible without the sustained and steadfast support of partners like you throughout our 55-year history. Thank you for standing with us.
