All posts created by nancy.wolanski@unitedwayri.org

Rhode Island KIDS COUNT’s 2026 Budgetary and Legislative Priorities   From RI KIDS COUNT: In the face of the current federal threats, our #1 Priority is to defend and protect access to basic needs including access to food, health and mental health services, health care, housing, and vaccines for all babies, children and youth regardless of income, immigration status, or gender identity. Please download our full 2026 Budgetary & Legislative Priorities here.

While defending and protecting Rhode Island’s progress, we will continue to be bold in leading campaigns for policies that increase equity and reduce disparities in child well-being. These campaigns will focus on:

Civic Engagement

Voting right for student member on the Board of Education

Child Development

Strengthen access to family home visiting*

Ensure access to Early Intervention*

Early Care and Education

Invest in RI Pre-K and Head Start with 30% for infants and toddlers*

Increase access to affordable, high-quality child care*

Health Care Access

Pediatric primary care Medicaid rate increase

Mental Health

Increase access to school social workers

Sustain and permanently fund PediPRN

Out-of-School Time Learning

Increased funding for OST programs

RI Works

Increase child support pass through+

Eliminate automatic reduction in RI Works benefit for housing subsidy+

Increase RI Works monthly benefit amount+

Restore eligibility to LPRs+

Family Economic Security,

Increase state EITC*

Establish a state Child Tax Credit*

Raise general revenue to fund much-needed investments in health care, child care, and education systems*

Youth Justice

Establish minimum age of incarceration

Increase use of Juvenile Hearing Boards

• priority for RIght from the Start

• priority for Raising RI

For more information on specific bills and priorities in our issue areas, please contact the following Rhode Island KIDS COUNT staff: 

Child Welfare, Youth Justice, Education: Senior Policy Associate Kelsey Bala (kbala@rikidscount.org)

Economic Well-Being, Early Learning and Development, the RIght From the Start Campaign: Director of Early Childhood Policy and Strategy Leanne Barrett (lbarrett@rikidscount.org)

Health: Policy Associate Michaela Carroll (mcarroll@rikidscount.org) The Raising RI Coalition, The Anti-Racist Education Policy

Collaborative: Senior Advocacy and Community Engagement Manager Jessica Vega (jvega@rikidscount.org)

Please also feel free to contact our Executive Director Paige Parks (pparks@rikidscount.org), Deputy Director Stephanie Geller (sgeller@rikidscount.org) and Communications Manager Katy Linwood (klinwood@rikidscount.org)

Updates from National Council of Nonprofits (NCN)

Federal Funding

Congress is making progress on spending bills, but the congressional calendar is adding some challenges. Next week, the Senate is out of session. When they return the last week of the month, the House will be on recess. This gives congressional leaders a narrow path to enacting all the spendings they need before the current Continuing Resolution (CR) expires on January 30 when Congress must either enact its remaining full-year spending bills or another CR, or it risks a government shutdown.

There are four remaining spending bills to contend with: Defense, Transportation-HUD (THUD), Labor-HHS-Education (LHHS) and Homeland Security. We are expecting the Appropriations Committees to release legislative text over the weekend for three of these spending bills (Defense, THUD, and LHHS). The goal is to take up and vote on these bills in the House next week in order to tee them up for the Senate when they return from recess the last week of January.

The biggest open question is related to Homeland Security funding. Some Democrats are pushing for reforms to U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement ICA) in the funding bill, and it is unclear whether congressional leaders can reach a bipartisan deal. If they cannot, they may try to enact a CR for Homeland Security funding.

Congressional Hearing

Next Wednesday, the House Judiciary Subcommittee on Crime and Federal Government Surveillance will hold a hearing on "When Public Funds Are Abused: Addressing Fraud and the Theft of Taxpayer Dollars." The hearing will focus on how "fraud schemes have exploited multiple federally funded programs in Minnesota and wasted billions in American taxpayer dollars" and "the need for enhanced investigation, enforcement, and prosecution to ensure offenders are held accountable." Nick Shirley, the YouTuber who alleged fraud among Somali-run childcare centers will testify. NCN will monitor this closely for any possible impacts on nonprofit grantees/contractors.

The House Judiciary Committee will hold a hearing on Feb. 11 with Attorney General Pam Bondi. NCN will monitor this hearing for any new information related to DOJ investigations into nonprofits.

Anti-Fraud Legislation

The Senate DOGE Caucus, led by Senator Ernst (R-IA), is meeting today to put together a legislative package to target fraud in federal programs. The legislative package is a response to alleged fraud in Minnesota, but it could impact nonprofits nationally. NCN is tracking this and will keep you updated with any developments.

New Episodes of Public Health Out Loud

All About Animal-Assisted Therapy What is animal-assisted therapy and how effective is it in a therapeutic setting? In this episode, Kerri Lynch, director of occupational therapy at Butler Hospital and Susan Parker, president and founder of Paws From the Heart Pet Therapy, share what they know based on their years of experience working with these unique and highly trained pets. Listen

Tylenol: Is There Evidence of Harm? There’s been a lot of talk about acetaminophen, also known as Tylenol, in the news–specifically the claim that there is a link between this over-the-counter pain reliever and autism. In this episode, Dr. Yvette Yatchmink, formerly the clinical director of Developmental Behavioral Pediatrics at Hasbro Children’s Hospital, shares what we know from the data and what it means for pregnant people. Listen

Young People Have the RIght to Know It’s not easy for adults and adolescents to know where to find accurate and trusted sexual and reproductive health information. In this episode, Karin Wetherill, co-director of the Rhode Island Healthy Schools Coalition, joins us to talk about a new app that might just make the learning process a little easier. It’s called “RIght to Know,” and it connects young people and caregivers with the facts about their sexual and reproductive health. Listen

RIght To Know is available in the Google Play and Apple App stores or by visiting righttoknowapp.com (select language).

Updated Document Shows the Burden of Tobacco/nicotine Use in Rhode Island

RI Department of Health's Tobacco Control Program has updated its Burden of Tobacco/Nicotine Use in Rhode Island document, which summarizes the effects of tobacco and nicotine product use in our state, to include 2024 data on adult tobacco use in Rhode Island.

The document describes the health and financial impacts of tobacco use in our state and promotes resources available to help Rhode Islanders quit these products for good. How much is tobacco use costing Rhode Island?

Read more

Free Testing for Lead in Drinking Water at Group Child Cares and Child Care Centers

The Rhode Island Department of Health (RIDOH) is encouraging licensed child care facilities to sign up to have their drinking water tested for lead for free. This is part of an ongoing effort to identify and address sources of possible lead exposure. Child care facilities are required to test their drinking water when they are first licensed, but conditions in the water and plumbing can change over time. Right now, child care facilities can sign up to have their water sampled and tested for free. Along with the test results, RIDOH will provide guidance for how to lower lead levels in water or keep them low.

To get started, child care providers can sign up online and learn more about the project at health.ri.gov/test4lead.

Free Testing for Lead in Drinking Water at Group Child Cares and Child Care Centers

The Rhode Island Department of Health (RIDOH) is encouraging licensed child care facilities to sign up to have their drinking water tested for lead for free. This is part of an ongoing effort to identify and address sources of possible lead exposure. Child care facilities are required to test their drinking water when they are first licensed, but conditions in the water and plumbing can change over time. Right now, child care facilities can sign up to have their water sampled and tested for free. Along with the test results, RIDOH will provide guidance for how to lower lead levels in water or keep them low.

To get started, child care providers can sign up online and learn more about the project at health.ri.gov/test4lead.

Due to a budget shortfall left by Gov. McKee and the General Assembly, RIPTA has reduced service across the system, increasing wait times and cancelling routes on the weekends. Our communities deserve elected leaders who care about the public transportation that so many rely on to get to school, work, appointments and all their everyday needs. The Save RIPTA Coalition is working with the community, drivers and the union membership, as well as elected members and leadership in the General Assembly to identify sustainable funding for RIPTA. Ensuring RIPTA can meet the needs of Rhode Islanders at this critical moment for our economy and climate has never been more important.

See the report

Consultant and thought-leader Mala Nagarajan returns to the Fund the People podcast to share six practices that nonprofits can use to de-link privilege (or, on the other side of the coin, marginalization) from salaries, and reconstruct compensation in a way that is equitable.

Listen here

Other Episodes

The six compensation practices that Mala discusses are:

Construct salaries with multiple components.

No longer negotiate at the beginning of employment.

Tie the highest salary to the lowest salary.

Consider all salaries as interdependent, and to consider leadership at every level.

Acknowledge that everyone has different capacities. Separate pay from performance.

These practices are drawn from the Compensation Scale Equity Process and Calculator™ developed by Vega Mala Consulting, of which our guest is Cofounder and Principal. We introduce this process and calculator in the episode as well, and discuss how nonprofits and other consultants can utilize it. We also discuss what nonprofits can do right away even if they are unable to work with consultants to address equity in their compensation structure.

To hear Mala’s previous appearance on the show, listen to Season 3 Episode 9, where she discusses what it means for nonprofits to develop a “compensation philosophy.”

Resources:

Vega Mala Consulting About the Compensation Scale Equity Process and Calculator™ Seminar Series: Put Your Money Where Your Values Are The Wages of Peace and Justice Report Employer Philosophy Discussion Guide and Samples How do we Quantify a Thriving Wage? Top Tips to Stop Widening the Wealth Gap Conditions for Readiness Conditions for Readiness Checklist Brave Questions Calculating Pay Equity List of Compensation Resources Mala Nagarajan on Linked-In Guest Bio:

Mala Nagarajan is a nonprofit strategist and social entrepreneur with more than 20 years of management, technology, and organizational development experience spanning the public, nonprofit, and for-profit sectors. She is driven by a vision of strong organizations working collaboratively toward a common social purpose. Mala’s consulting focuses on people/human resources and technology management, and how these systems integrate with organizational activities like programs, communications, financials, and resource development. This includes helping to build capacity in strategic planning and thinking, sustainable infrastructure growth, and data-driven evaluations and assessments.

Updates from National Council of Nonprofits

Federal Funding

At this time, it seems Congress is on the path to avoiding another shutdown.

The current continuing resolution (CR) keeps the federal government open and funded through January 30. By then, Congress must enact full spending bills or another CR, or it risks a government shutdown.

Thankfully, congressional leaders have made progress in their bipartisan negotiations over the past few months. By next week, Congress is hoping to enact 3 more full-year spending bills (Commerce-Science-Justice; Energy-Water; Interior-Environment), if it can overcome some disagreements about earmarks. If that happens, Congress will have enacted 6 of the 12 spending bills that are needed.

In January, congressional leaders will work to see whether they can reach a bipartisan agreement on any of the remaining 6 spending bills. Their goal is to pass a legislative package by January 30 that would include another CR (it is unclear if it will be short-term, or if it will fund programs through the end of the fiscal year) and any of the 6 spending bills for which they are able to reach an agreement.

Democrats are signaling that they do not plan to shut down the federal government over an extension of the Affordable Care Act enhanced premium tax credits.

Healthcare Issues

The House is voting today on legislation to extend for 3 years the Affordable Care Act enhanced premium tax credits. The vote is being held because last month, four Republicans joined Democrats in backing a discharge petition on the legislation, forcing House leadership to bring the bill to the floor for a vote. The bill is expected to pass the House, but it is not expected to advance in the Senate. Supporters hope the bill will put more pressure on Senate leaders to reach a bipartisan compromise on the healthcare tax credits. There's a short window to get something done, and it will be very challenging to find a solution that can garner enough support.

The debate over extending the healthcare tax credits has led some Republicans, including President Trump, to call for enacting another tax reconciliation bill this year to address healthcare and affordability issues. As you recall, Congress can enact a tax reconciliation bill with a simple majority in the Senate, rather than the typical 60 votes, but reconciliation is a cumbersome, daunting process. NCN will monitor for any threats/opportunities if momentum for a reconciliation bill continues.

SNAP

As you know, H.R. 1, the major tax package enacted by Congress this past summer, included several provisions to cut funding for the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP). One provision requires states to reduce SNAP payment error rates, or risk losing partial federal SNAP funding. The National Governors Association, National Association of Counties, National Conference of State Legislatures, and the American Public Human Services Association, which represent SNAP administrators, are urging Congress to give states more time to bring their error rates down.

We hear there's some effort to add an extension to any funding package Congress advances this month.

Without an extension, states may lose significant funding for SNAP in the coming years, putting increased pressure on state budgets.

2025 RI Humanities Staff Recommendations to Listen to

● Our Common Nature (podcast) - Rachael Jeffers ● Wild Card with Rachel Martin (podcast) - Rachel Jeffers ● Noble Blood (podcast) - Julia Renaud ● Empire of AI (audiobook) by Karen Hao - Elizabeth Francis ● Dissect/Last Song Standing (podcast) - Scott Raker