CHARLESTON, W.Va. - A secretive group with unknown donors is attacking lawmakers who oppose granting a multi-million-dollar managed-care contract for West Virginia foster children. One lawmaker calls it "underhanded and misleading" to suggest he doesn't support foster families.

Del. Cody Thompson, D-Elkins, got a spam text on his phone that linked to an attack video aimed at him. He said at least a half-dozen delegates have been targeted with nearly identical videos because they disagreed with privatizing the care.

"Adamant supporters for our foster-care children, but they're trying to sway the public that we're not in favor of helping to find a solution, and that's not the case," Thompson said. "But we don't necessarily believe that turning to a privatized system is the best answer."

The attack videos are from the "1863 PAC," a group that doesn't disclose its funding sources, and requests for comment were not returned. Supporters of one centralized, managed-care contract have said it would help ensure that no foster children fall though the cracks. Opponents of paying a for-profit company for the work say that would drain badly needed funds away from the state foster-care system.

House Bill 2010 is a large piece of legislation aimed at what many agree is a crisis in state foster care, much of it driven by families with drug problems. The managed-care provision is just one part of the bill.

Thompson said one of the frustrating things about the attack is that it takes a complex and difficult policy debate and turns it into a cartoon battle of good versus evil.

"It was very underhanded, very misleading," he said. "Del. (Chad) Lovejoy (D-Huntington), his son received a text message and his son texted his father and said, 'Well, dad, what's going on?' That's just a very underhanded, low-ball tactic."

HB 2010 has passed out of the House and now is in the state Senate.

The video is online at youtube.com, and details of HB 2010 are at wvlegislature.gov.


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BOISE, Idaho - Simone Biles and other U.S. gymnasts are confronting sexual abuse in their sport, including at a Senate Judiciary Committee this month. Now, with school sports back in session, sexual-abuse prevention advocates want people to think about prevention methods closer to home.

Roger Sherman the executive director of the Idaho Children's Trust Fund, a state affiliate of Prevent Child Abuse America. He said abuse prevention is not so much about finding predators as it is about minimizing the opportunities abusers might have.

"The important thing for us to recognize is that this is fully preventable," said Sherman. "But we have to put systems in place to make sure that if there are predators, they are not able to take advantage of children - of our children."

Some protections are in place for young athletes, including the Safe Sport Authorization Act, which was passed in 2017 in response to the USA Gymnastics sexual-abuse scandal surrounding team doctor Larry Nassar.

But Sherman noted that parents can go further. He said they should ask teams and schools how they are addressing abuse prevention, noting that his and other organizations in the state provide education and training.

"The kind of training that we think is important for preventing child sexual abuse is training first around learning the facts," said Sherman. "Second is around minimizing the opportunity. Third is being willing to talk about it."

Sherman said abuse can be debilitating, leaving lasting scars for those who are abused.

"You can heal, and that's important to know," said Sherman. "But it's better if it never happens, and that's really what our job as adults is. That's what our job as parents is. You know, our job is to ask the right questions and to make sure that the adults responsible for our kids are doing the right thing."

LANSING, Mich. -- Michigan advocates for children and families are praising many of the investments in the 2022 state budget passed this week, and said they hope to see more policy reforms as well.

The budget dedicates $1.4 billion dollars to child care at the state level, to make it more affordable, support childcare providers and the industry as a whole, and strengthen the workforce.

Alex Rossman, external affairs director at the Michigan League for Public Policy, said these investments are especially important for families' economic recovery from the pandemic.

"It's just not economically feasible for parents to pay for child care, when they're ultimately potentially spending more on child care than they're earning at a job," Rossman pointed out.

The budget also includes grants for child-care providers to update their facilitates, get technical assistance and other operational needs. Rossman added more families will be eligible for subsidized child care, and there are investments in maternal and infant health, as well as food and nutrition supports.

Rossman noted the budget is aimed not only at making care more affordable for families, but also ensuring that child-care providers get the support they need, including paying bonuses to child-care workers. He explained jobs in the field are often underpaid, which can lead to high turnover.

"Whether they are center care, franchise businesses or whether they're operating care out of their home, they have had increased financial challenges during the pandemic because of changes in enrollment and attendance there," Rossman observed.

He emphasized a bipartisan package is now in the works to make policy changes aimed at increasing access to high-quality childcare. It will include a bill to increase care for infants and toddlers, and to authorize family child-care networks.

DENVER -- As Congress considers making significant investments in the nation's child-care system, children's advocates say now is the time to make nature-based, high-quality outdoor learning available for all children in Colorado, regardless of their ZIP code.

Sarah Konradi, director of the Early Childhood Health Outdoors (ECHO) program for the National Wildlife Federation, said kids need regular access to spaces where they can play, run and climb.

"We also want them to be able to explore, to imagine, to pretend, to create," Konradi outlined. "And so that may look like a little digging area in the shade of a tree, where they can explore worms and bugs."

ECHO has published new recommendations, calling for broadening investments in playgrounds to include outdoor extensions of the classroom; areas where kids create rules for new games, learn how to work together to build pirate ships, and other activities that help boost cognitive learning and social skills in natural settings.

Konradi pointed out child-care providers also see benefits from outdoor learning environments. Instead of monitoring recess on a traditional playground, educators can engage with kids as they explore winding pathways, plant pollinator gardens and create "mud kitchens."

Konradi noted building outdoor learning spaces does not necessarily require a lot of money or effort.

"Changes that we are advocating for can be extremely cost-effective; they can be done very incrementally," Konradi explained. "This doesn't have to be an extreme playground makeover to be successful."

When children get to spend a part of their day in natural settings, Konradi added, there is also an opportunity to pause, and take a deep breath.

"And spaces where children can just observe, contemplate," Konradi stated. "And with nature around us, we know that as adults going out into those kinds of environments is very restorative, and it can be for children as well."