VOT Takes Steps to Improve Equity in Public Policy
Voices of Tomorrow (VOT) is excited to announce our now fully functioning Policy and Advocacy Department (PAD). Although VOT has been involved in policy and advocacy since its founding, we are now making intentional investments to engage with our governing systems. With a team of three dedicated staff, we are committed to addressing institutional inequities and empowering the communities we serve to use their voice in public spaces. We are excited to see the impact of our investments and look forward to collaborating with others to create positive change.
The vision for VOT is to elevate our presence as a trusted community partner in the realm of Public Policy throughout the state of Washington. We seek to be fully integrated into decision-making processes at every stage of policy development, rather than being informed about decisions after the fact. To achieve this goal, Our Policy and Advocacy Department is dedicated to understanding the shape of public policy initiatives at the Federal, State, and local levels affecting our work, and the communities we serve. Our purpose is to identify key issues, create alliances, and build support with both the East African Immigrant and Refugee Community, as well as other community partners for critical policy objectives that align with VOT’s mission and vision.
So, What Has the Policy and Advocacy Team Been Up To?
Listening and Learning! The 2023 Washington State Legislature is currently in session. This means your state senators and representatives are drafting new bills, listening to public testimony at hearings, taking meetings with their constituents, and voting on legislation. Actions and decisions made during this time often result in meaningful impacts for residents, therefore VOT hopes to ensure we remain informed on key issues.
In January and early February, our team traveled to the state Capitol to learn and support our allies in this work, including the Washington State Association for HeadStart and ECEAP, and Child Care Resources. We are tracking many of the bills being debated right now that include topics affecting children, childcare providers, and families; and learned a lot about the political process and laws currently being proposed.
Legislation of Interest:
Many bill proposals are being floated through our State Capitol right now. While these may or may not pass, these are the types of proposals Voices of Tomorrow hopes to influence in the future, alongside members of the East African Immigrant and Refugee Community and fellow early learning professionals. Some of the unique bills that we are currently monitoring are:
- House Bill (HB) 1199 - This bill seeks to ensure that providers can run childcare businesses in their homes without landlords or homeowners’ associations restricting their ability to do so.
- HB 1511 - This bill intends to expand eligibility for ECEAP and childcare subsidies, like Working Connections Child Care. By removing certain income requirements, the goal is to ensure more families qualify for affordable childcare options.
What does the Policy & Advocacy Department mean for you?
Voices of Tomorrow recognizes that we cannot do this work alone! For the remainder of the year, we will be actively engaging with members of our community to learn about the most pressing issues affecting them and provide training opportunities for solution-based action. We believe in the power of organizing and collective action, and we hope you’ll join us as we launch our upcoming Advocacy 101 series and Civic Boot Camp seminars. Through these initiatives, we will cover important topics such as Understanding the Political Process, How to Become an Advocate, Voting, and Knowing Your Rights!
We encourage you to keep an eye out for upcoming newsletters, invitations to listening sessions, trainings, and more events that enable you to get involved and make a difference. Together we can make our voices heard and create a positive change in our communities!
Meet our Policy and Advocacy Department | PDF
Adult Education - A Village To Raise A Child And Their Guardians
It takes a village to raise a child, is an ancient proverb.
At Voices of Tomorrow, we also realize it takes a village to empower parents.
Anyone who’s raised children will certainly agree that there is no “manual” or “handbook” for raising children, as every child is different.
And all circumstances in which a child is born, vary from family to family; making parenting an activity where skills are needed, but where do parents go to get prepared?.
Voices of Tomorrow works to empower and prepare King County families to elevate their voices and to forge new ways to engage in what they want and need to support children in their families.
VoT has built a program to help the most vulnerable families in the Greater Seattle region - East African migrants and refugees from Somalia, Sudan, Eritrea, Ethiopia, or Kenya.
Metro Seattle is home to more than 40,000 people who were originally born in a country in East Africa but have now made Washington State their new home.
Thus VoT has advisors fluent in Somali, Amharic, or Oromo - common languages spoken in East African homes and communities.
As VOT strives to give children roots of community connection and shared language — we firmly believe that providing supports to families and caregivers is critical to turning this idea into action.
VOT views its early learning services as an anchor to the community and while our early learning programs provide valuable support to children, we know that there must be a seamless connection between school and home.
To learn more about our Adult Education services, that include financial literacy training, basic needs support, and other tools to help your family raise strong and happy children, visit our services page here or contact [email protected].
Health Services - Focus on Health, Body & Mind Project
February: Identifying Trauma Reactions To Create A Safe Environment For Children
We often separate mental health from physical health. One might say, “I’m going to the gym to get in shape” or they may also say “I’m going to a therapist to get my head right”. Our brains are part of our bodies, so we’d be wise to realize mental health is physical, and physical health is mental health. The two are linked, and cannot be separated.
A Mind, Body & Culture Home Visiting Program is available for children from birth to 30 months of age. It can be provided on its own or as a complement to other early childcare programs. The program allows parents to choose either virtual or home-based weekly visits to enhance family relationships, basic communication skills, and preparation for school.
Link with Voices of Tomorrow to learn about opportunities for home-based early childcare, preschool programs, parent training, employment, and professional development.
Wellness Education is offered to families, staff, community members, and allied professionals.
Founded in 2012 by two East African professionals who came together to achieve one goal: “Helping today’s children for a better tomorrow.” VoT takes pride in delivering a wide array of comprehensive services for immigrant and refugee children, families, and in-home early childhood providers in King County.
Unfortunately, our community experiences racism and other oppression due to immigrant status that results in health, education, and financial inequity, and has a negative affect on our mental, emotional, and physical health. But our faith, community, and heritage give us strength to overcome any challenges.
For this month, we are providing resources to identify trauma reactions in children and creating an environment of safety to benefit their mental, emotional, and physical health. To ensure our program meets the needs of the community we serve, VOT relies heavily on support and input from both partners and community members.
VOT has a licensed independent clinical social worker on staff ready to offer behavioral health experience and knowledge to the early childhood/learning programs.
In-depth staff training is being provided to teach information on compassion fatigue, burnout, and compassion resilience. Specialized information is being shared about how trauma appears in early childhood and ways staff can support families to address the problems and recover from critical events common to immigrants and refugees from East African countries who settle in the United States.
Early Learning Dual Language
There’s an old saying that “old fools were once young fools”. If this is true, then the converse must also be true: those who seek wisdom in their youth, will surely grow to be wise elders. Voices of Tomorrow’s Early Learning Dual Language Preschool Program is designed to prepare today’s children to be the leaders and voices of tomorrow. Research shows that children can become multilingual at a young age. The Early Learning Dual Language Preschool Program program will expose your child to intentional instruction in the Somali language both in receptive and expressive language
Our teachers are bilingual and hold degrees in Early Childhood Education. They are dedicated to the growth and development of each child that comes through the doors here at Voices of Tomorrow. By teaching our children, as early as possible, the value of their culture and heritage, we strengthen our communities across generations.
We don’t just stop at the children, we have resources for the whole family to ensure each member has their unique needs addressed in a safe and suitable environment. VOT keeps families lifted through culturally and linguistically responsive wraparound Family Support Services and case management.
Voices of Tomorrow is dedicated to improving the school readiness of East African children in King County, while preserving home languages and building on to their cultural heritage.
East African culture has strong communal and oral traditions. For us the first step is always gathering together to talk and to set goals. Once we figure out what works for you, we develop a plan with some clear action steps for success. Learn more about how you can benefit from our Early Learning Program here.