Governor Gregoire addresses the Children�s Alliance 25th Anniversary Dinner

June 14, 2008

*As Written*

Good evening, and thank you Susan (Paynter) for the kind introduction.

I am honored to be here for the 25th Anniversary of -- truly -- one of the greatest group of friends Washington kids ever had.

Hungry kids�abused kids�children in need of a doctor�The Children�s Alliance has been there for them for 25 years.

I especially want to honor the dedicated men and women who were there at the beginning, and worked so hard to make the Alliance what it is today.

�Bob Watt (who could not be here this evening)�Margaret Sanstad�John LeVeque (Leh-VECK)�Eunice Letzing�and Miles Otoupal (OH-two-paul).

Can we have a round of applause for these folks?

The Alliance is a true partner in everything we do in the Great State of Washington to keep our kids safe, healthy, and ready to learn.

Congratulations to all for this milestone in the history of the Children�s Alliance.

In the brief time I have this evening, let me touch on three areas where the Alliance has been and continues to be an important partner with me, the Legislature, and so many, many others in both the public and private sectors.

While the rest of the country has been consumed with �No Child Left Behind,� we in Washington are busy making sure that �No Child Starts Behind!�

We now have a Department of Early Learning� and the public-private Thrive-by-Five Partnership�

�All-day kindergarten that will expand to more and more school districts�

�Ground-breaking research at the University of Washington on early brain development� and new funding that we will use to expand early learning programs including home visits.

You know and I know that the key to putting our kids on the road to self-sufficiency and happy lives is done by helping them early so they are ready to learn.

Bob Watt, one of the founders of the Alliance, likes to remind me often that it�s never too early. When we talk about P-20, he always says, the �P� stands for pre-natal.

So I come to you tonight to say � with your support � we are on the way to a world-class, seamless, learner-focused education for Washingtonians from early childhood through adulthood. That�s our strategy now and in the years to come.

But you know what? We have to be worried about the next 24 hours too.

I�m talking about child safety. And that�s why I�m proud to say that all of us, working together, have made significant investments in our number one job.

And that is to protect our kids from abuse and neglect. If a kid is abused or neglected, there isn�t much point in the other supports we offer him or her.

We have improved our child-protection system to the point now where about 95 percent of child-abuse and neglect complaints are addressed within 24 hours if the child is in imminent danger, and 72 hours in non-emergency cases.

Faster response times have resulted in a significant reduction in the number of repeat child-abuse cases � down from 13 percent a few years ago to nine percent now.

That�s more than 200 children saved from another abusive incident that could have led to injury or even death.

In addition, in the past three years, we have provided funding to hire more than 400 new case workers and support staff � the last 51 this year.

Already, the additional caseworkers have helped lower caseloads, allowing social workers to provide better service. Their caseloads have gone from 26 clients per social worker to 21.

Today, all children under state supervision are being seen by caseworkers far more often than even a year ago.

Nearly 80 percent of children under state supervision and living with their parents are being seen once a month. This is up from 55 percent in September 2006.

Now, monthly visits are required for children under six who are placed in unlicensed relative care. About 73 percent of those children are visited monthly. That�s up 10 percent even from last year.

We all know that we will never completely end the tragedies, but we do know we are saving young lives every day.

I�m sure most of you know my absolute commitment to health care for Washington�s children � all of our children.

I believe that in a state as rich as ours, it is our moral obligation to make sure every kid has access to health care.
In the past three years, we have covered 84,000 more children, and are tackling the underlying issues of our health care system.

Together, we have constantly struggled with the White House � through the courts and the bully pulpit -- to make sure they follow the rules and ensure that our kids get the health care they deserve. So far, we�ve succeeded.

And I know you are with me every step of the way as I pursue my goal of making sure every kid in Washington has health care coverage by 2010.

Congratulations to the Children�s Alliance.

You�re a great partner, and together, we will keep moving forward to keep our kids � our future � safe, healthy and ready to learn.

Thank you