2019 Governor's State of the State speeches: on Families & Children
Tom Wolf:
Early action leads to good jobs
Home visiting programs promote healthy relationships and safe and stable home environments.
They're proven to work in preventing adverse childhood experiences, giving children and their parents the skills they need to reach their full potential and lift families out of poverty and into good jobs.
Source: 2019 State of the State address to Pennsylvania legislature
Feb 5, 2019
Mike Dunleavy:
Women & children face highest sexual assault rate in nation
The most important thing a government can do is keep its citizens safe. We all know crime is out of control. To put this in perspective, New York City has a sexual assault rate of 28 incidences per 100,000 people. Compare this to Anchorage, which has
132 sexual assaults per 100,000 people. That's almost five times that of New York City.The women and children of Alaska, must be made safe, and we have an obligation, all of us in this room, to do everything we possibly can to stop this scourge in
Alaska.
Today begins a new day in our state. From this day forward, we will not cater to the criminals and ignore the victims. To law-abiding Alaskans, I say this to you: I care if your loved ones are threatened. But to the criminals, and to the
rapists and molesters who see women and children as nothing more than opportunities, I say this to you: We will do everything in our power to stop you, apprehend you, and put you in prison for a very long time.
Source: 2019 State of the State address to the Alaska legislature
Jan 22, 2019
Laura Kelly:
Must fix broken foster care system
The number of children in foster care has skyrocketed--up 45% since 2011. We've seen the programs overwhelmed by the sheer numbers in need. And the caseloads of dedicated social workers are absurdly high. My budget provides funding for the Families
First Prevention Services Act. It will inject millions into efforts that strengthen vulnerable families & prevent children from entering the foster care system. My budget includes funding to hire more, qualified social workers & reduce their caseloads.
Source: 2019 State of the State address to Kansas legislature
Jan 16, 2019
Steve Sisolak:
Adequately fund women's health care services
I am committed to adequately funding women's health care. Currently, Nevada ranks last in the nation in the number of women who have a dedicated health care provider. We don't fare much better when it comes to cervical cancer
screenings or other forms of family planning. That's going to change. And that's why we'll be allocating 3 million dollars per year to provide more of these lifesaving services statewide.
Source: 2019 State of the State address to the Nevada legislature
Jan 16, 2019
Andrew Cuomo:
Pass the Child Victims Act against abuse of minors
I am fully aware of the position of the Catholic Church. I happen to be Roman Catholic. A wise man said, "the abuse of minors is an offense so brutal, the church cannot remain indifferent to this, and the church must punish such priests, and that
includes to support the legal action. There is no other way out of this because it's a crime. No worse, it's leaving them alive, but destroyed." That statement was made by Pope Francis and I say we stand with Pope Francis & we pass the Child Victims Act.
Source: 2019 State of the State address to the New York legislature
Jan 15, 2019
Asa Hutchinson:
Reformed child welfare system with faith-based partners
We have reformed our child welfare system. Three years ago, you approved $24 million additional funding for our child welfare programs, and the result is a 30 percent increase in foster beds; the result is 22 percent increase in caseworkers;
and the result is nearly 1,000 fewer children in foster care. We initiated the Restore Hope Summit where our faith-based leaders and government partners figured out ways to work together.
Source: 2019 State of the State address to the Arkansas legislature
Jan 15, 2019
Eric Holcomb:
Levels of Care program: Reduce infant mortality
You all approved our "Levels of Care" program to assure that the highest-risk babies are delivered at hospitals with the right facilities to meet the needs of moms and infants. Now we're seeking to implement two more programs that aim
directly at reducing infant mortality: A navigator program to help guide high-risk pregnant women and a program to verbally screen all expecting mothers for substance use disorder so those who need it will be connected to treatment.
Source: 2019 State of the State address to Indiana legislature
Jan 15, 2019
Gina Raimondo:
Passed paid sick leave; improved child care
We raised the minimum wage, and we're gonna do it again next year; We passed paid sick leave, because no Rhode Islander should have to choose between a paycheck and taking care of a sick child at home;
We've improved the quality of child care so parents can have peace of mind while they're at work.
Source: 2019 State of the State address to Rhode Island legislature
Jan 15, 2019
Jay Inslee:
Expand early education with 'birth to 3' preschool program
For anyone who cares about equity in education, early learning is the best way to secure a strong start for every child, regardless of their family's economic circumstances. In the past six years we've nearly doubled the number of children in
early learning programs to more than 15,000. My budget builds on that to expand preschool with a new 'birth to 3' preschool program. And it would create a statewide referral system to connect families with early learning services and facilities.
Source: 2019 State of the State address to Washington legislature
Jan 15, 2019
Phil Bryant:
Pro-active on needs of foster children
Three years ago, you joined me in seeing the need to establish Child Protection Services as its own agency, accountable directly to the governor. For those families who are reunited, CPS is working in proactive ways to better assist them,
such as developing new methods to help parents released from incarceration better support their children. Perhaps the most incredible success has occurred with adopted families. The number of adoptions has more than doubled in just one year.
Source: 2019 State of the State address to Mississippi legislature
Jan 15, 2019
Pope Francis:
Church cannot remain indifferent to abuse of minors
I am fully aware of the position of the Catholic Church. I happen to be Roman Catholic. A wise man said, "the abuse of minors is an offense so brutal, the church cannot remain indifferent to this, and the church must punish such priests, and that
includes to support the legal action. There is no other way out of this because it's a crime. No worse, it's leaving them alive, but destroyed." That statement was made by Pope Francis and I say we stand with Pope Francis & we pass the Child Victims Act.
Source: Gov. Cuomo 2019 State of the State address to NY legislature
Jan 15, 2019
Jared Polis:
Establish statewide paid family and medical leave program
We must work to make Colorado as family-friendly as possible. As a first step, I will be including in our budget package a formal request to provide paid parental leave for all state employees. And together, we should take comprehensive action.
It's time to finally establish a paid family and medical leave program in Colorado--so that employees aren't having to choose between keeping their paycheck and caring for their child, a sick relative, an aging parent, or themselves.
Look, if all this were easy, it would have been done already. Progress is always hard, and overcoming these challenges will be a long journey.
But the people of Colorado need and deserve nothing less, and our work begins now.
Source: 2019 State of the State address to Colorado legislature
Jan 10, 2019
Charlie Baker:
Reduced caseloads and licensed almost all social workers
With your help, the Department of Children and Families has made tremendous progress serving some of the Commonwealth's most at risk children and families. Caseloads are at historic lows and virtually all of our social workers are licensed.
We doubled the earned income tax credit for 450,000 low income working families, invested over $100 million in new funding into our early education system and reduced the use of hotels & motels to shelter homeless families by over 95%. Think about that!
Source: 2019 Massachusetts governor inaugural (State of the State)
Jan 3, 2019
Chris Sununu:
Focus on kids in foster care, instead of paperwork
I also believe we must reform our foster care system. We must ensure that our system is one that attracts and retains those caring families who extend their homes and hearts to foster children.
And once we retain them, let's get governmental bureaucracy out of their way so they can focus their attention on the children and not waste their time dealing with paperwork.
Source: 2019 State of the State address to New Hampshire legislature
Jan 3, 2019
Page last updated: Apr 02, 2019