2022 Governor's State of the State speeches: on Families & Children

Mike DeWine: Help kids with multiple medical and behavioral challenges

We have started the reform of Medicaid out of our shared-commitment to multi-system kids, through a program we call OhioRISE. Under OhioRise, children who have multiple medical and behavioral health challenges will now get the help they need -- in their own communities. Parents will no longer be forced to give up custody in order to get their children the help they need -- and families will stay together. Source: 2022 State of the State Address to the Ohio legislature Mar 23, 2022

Tony Evers: $130 million tax relief through child/caregiver tax credits

Having access to quality, affordable childcare and caregiving continue to be a barrier for folks who want to join our workforce. We'd invest more than $130 million into providing tax relief through child and caregiver tax credits. Our tax credit for childcare would provide tax relief to an estimated 107,000 Wisconsinites who'd receive about $274 per filer, and through our caregiver tax credit, most caregivers will receive up to $500. Source: 2022 State of the State Address to the Wisconsin legislature Feb 15, 2022

Janet Mills: More than $12 million to increase pay for childcare workers

We have provided $200 monthly stipends to more than 6,000 childcare workers to encourage them to work in this valuable profession. We are investing another $25 million in federal funds to help renovate, expand, or build new childcare facilities & expand early childhood education programs. The Speaker of the House has proposed legislation to provide pay increases for childcare workers. I support his proposal. My supplemental budget will include more than $12 million to increase pay for childcare workers. Source: 2022 State of the State Address to the Maine legislature Feb 10, 2022

Janet Mills: Budget will fully fund universal free meals in our schools

We all know that students can't learn on an empty stomach. Last year the Legislature got rid of the distinction between paid lunch and free and reduced lunch and asked us to pick up the cost of these school meals once federal funding ended. I am pleased to announce that my supplemental budget will include money to fully fund universal free meals in our schools. It is time to keep feeding our children good food--more and more of it Maine grown, Maine fished, Maine farmed. Source: 2022 State of the State Address to the Maine legislature Feb 10, 2022

Kevin Stitt: We know God gave kids to parents--not the government!

In Oklahoma, we listen to parents, because we know God gave kids to parents--not the government! We expanded the equal opportunity scholarship to provide more choices for low and middle income families. We know education is not one-size-fits-all, and I pledge to support any legislation that gives parents more school choice, because in Oklahoma, we need to fund students, not systems! Source: 2022 State of the State Address to the Oklahoma legislature Feb 7, 2022

Kate Brown: For working parents child care is infrastructure

One thing we know people need in order to get back to work is consistent and accessible child care. Child care is a basic necessity--it is just as critical to our economic recovery as infrastructure. For working parents, child care is infrastructure. That's why I'm working with the Legislature to pass a $100 million investment that will expand child care access to serve more families, and provide professional learning opportunities and higher compensation to develop and retain our providers. Source: 2022 State of the State Address to the Oregon legislature Feb 3, 2022

Charlie Baker: Massachusetts needs to make "revenge porn" a crime

The Lieutenant Governor and I recently listened to several women tell us their survival stories. law is clearly not working. These women were bothered, battered, bruised and beaten time and time again by their abusers, and nothing changed. We felt their desperation. Another woman came forward to detail how an ex-partner, unbeknownst to her, had taken dozens of lewd pictures of her and posted them on the internet. 48 other states treat this as a crime. Because it is a crime. These women had the courage to come forward and publicly tell their stories. They deserve to be heard. And they and the women they speak for deserve a vote on these two pieces of legislation. Source: 2022 State of the State Address to Massachusetts legislature Jan 25, 2022

Michelle Lujan-Grisham: Create New Mexi-Care to support family caregivers

I propose a dramatic expansion of the state program that directly supports caregivers; what that means is we are going to pay families who are doing the work of taking care of their elderly loved ones, regardless of Medicaid eligibility. Let's call it New Mexi-Care, and let's make it a model program for the rest of the country. Let's invest in the dignity of our elders, and of their families, by helping caregivers and those they care for stay in their homes with the financial support they need. Source: 2022 State of the State Address to New Mexico legislature Jan 18, 2022

Jared Polis: Strengthen our state's foster care and adoption systems

To continue Georgia's protection and celebration of life at all stages, I believe it is vitally important that we continue our work together to strengthen our state's foster care and adoption systems. My budget proposal will include nearly $28 million to allocate a 10% provider rate increase for all foster parents, relative caregivers, child caring institutions, and child placing agencies. Source: 2022 State of the State Address to the Georgia legislature Jan 13, 2022

Jay Inslee: Increase number of mental health workers for youth

My budget will increase the number of school counselors, nurses, psychologists and social workers available to serve K-12 students. Anyone who works with kids will tell you these services are needed now more than ever. Young people in foster care and their families have also been uniquely impacted by the pandemic. My budget offers $80 million to pay providers more for housing and support foster youth with complex needs; and help young people transition out of foster care or juvenile justice. Source: 2022 State of the State Address to Washington legislature Jan 11, 2022

Kim Reynolds: Awarded grants creating 4,000 new childcare spots

But barriers to work still exist, including the need for childcare. That's also a national issue but, contrary to what some in D.C. believe, there isn't a national solution. In Iowa we've taken a bottom up approach. Last legislative session we created the Childcare Challenge, a program where providers apply for grants that fit the needs of their communities. It's already paying off. In less than a year, we've awarded grants that will create 4,000 new childcare spots across the state. Source: 2022 State of the State Address to the Iowa legislature Jan 11, 2022

Laura Kelly: Reformed foster care, focused on kinship care

We have decreased the number of children in foster care by over 15%. That started with the work done by Secretary Laura Howard and her team. They studied the mistakes of the past and took an intentional approach, to move the state away from a child welfare system and toward a child and family well-being system. Secretary Howard directed the agency to focus on things like kinship care, where a child is placed with a family member or a close family friend, instead of being placed in the system. Source: 2022 State of the State Address to the Kansas legislature Jan 11, 2022

The above quotations are from 2022 Governor's State of the State speeches. Click here for definitions & background information on Families & Children. Click here for other issues (main summary page). Click here for more quotes by Phil Scott on Families & Children. Click here for more quotes by Kathy Hochul on Families & Children.
*Candidates and political leaders on Families & Children:*
*Gubernatorial Debates 2020:* DE: vs.Carney(incumbent) vs.Williams(D) IN: vs.Holcomb(incumbent) vs.Melton(D) vs.Myers(D) MO: Parson(incumbent) vs.Galloway(D) vs.Neely(R) MT: Bullock(retiring) vs.Fox(R) vs.Perry(R) vs.Gianforte(R) vs.~~Stapleton~~(R) vs.Olszewski(R) vs.Neill(D) vs.Schreiner(D) vs.Cooney(D) vs.Williams(D) NC: Cooper(incumbent) vs.Forest(R) vs.Grange(R) ND: Burgum(incumbent) vs.Coachman(R) vs.Lenz(D) NH: Sununu(incumbent) vs.Volinsky(D) vs. fsFeltes(D) PR: Rossello(D) vs.Garced(D) vs.Pierluisi(D) UT: Herbert(retiring) vs.Huntsman(R) vs.Cox(R) vs.Burningham(R) vs.Newton(D) vs.Hughes(R) VT: Scott(incumbent) vs.Holcombe(D) vs.Zuckerman(D) WA: Inslee(incumbent) vs.Bryant(R) vs.Fortunato(R) WV: Justice(incumbent) vs.Folk(R) vs.Thrasher(R) vs.Vanover(D) vs.Smith(D) vs.Ron Stollings(D)	*Gubernatorial Debates 2021:* NJ: Murphy(D) vs.Ciattarelli(R) VA: Northam(D,term-limited) vs.Herring(D) vs.Chase(R) vs.Fairfax(D) *Gubernatorial Debates 2019:* KY: Bevin(R) vs.~~Goforth~~(R,lost primary) vs.~~Adkins~~(D,lost primary) vs.Beshear(D) vs.~~Edelen~~(D,lost primary) LA: Edwards(D) vs.Rispone(R) vs.Abraham(R) vs.~~Kennedy~~(R,declined) MS: ~~Bryant~~(R,retiring) vs.Foster(R) vs.Hood(D) vs.Reeves(R) vs.Waller(R)
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Page last updated: Apr 04, 2022