economy, children, and legislation

This week I was told by a legislator, who shall remain nameless, that the priority in the State Legislature this session had to be on the economy and saving money.

Fiscal responsibility is very important, and I wouldn’t deny that. I won't diminish the importance of having a balanced budget, controlled spending, and sufficient reserves. This message is about how all of these issues are tied together.

When the economy takes a down turn, life gets more stressful. Our money has less value, there are fewer employment opportunities and more unemployed, and the cost of life increases. Right now, food banks all over the state are experiencing tremendous difficulty meeting the needs of their community, and many are closing their doors.

Social workers are already over-burdened, the need for their services is going to increase, and there is no funding for the increased need.

Why is the need for their services going to increase? Because when the economy takes a down-turn, crimes against children increase.

In most states in the country - all of them, so far as we know - there is a large amount of reactive legislation to address crimes that have been committed. There is some legislation to address identifying behaviors that indicate that a child has been victimized. There is very little legislation which actually is intended to prevent crimes against children.

Crimes are prevented with awareness and education, which are pennies on the dollar to the costs of prosecution and detention. It is also pennies on the dollar when compared to the costs of economic drain due to self-destructive behaviors, lack of meaningful employment, social welfare programs, and the statistical probability of repeated abuse in the next generation.

Washington will get through this recession in the next few years, and when we do, we'll see the costs of economic strain combined with a non-progressive approach to crime prevention.

Huge props to Senator McAuliffe for working with us to figure out effective and feasible methods of bringing security curricula to Washington's families and communities when our school systems are in a budget crisis. Her dedication and pragmatism have served Washington and her district for a long time, and they are appreciated by Wash-CAP.