A recent ruling from the Washington state Supreme Court lowers the barriers for bringing some childhood sexual abuse cases to court.

Justices unanimously ruled that the three-year statute of limitation for these cases applies from the date of discovery of each element of the case. Seattle-based attorney Nate Roberts of the Connelly Law Offices said that, for instance, if someone in their mid-twenties suffers psychologically because of childhood abuse, they have three years to file a claim against their alleged abuser. He added that there are more situations where the Wolf decision applies.

"If they find out in their thirties, for example, that they were a ward of the state at the time of the abuse and the state knew they were being abused and didn't intervene," he said, "then they would have three years from the date they acquire that knowledge in which to file a lawsuit against the state."

Roberts said this makes more sense than applying the three-year statute of limitation to the date of the abuse.

Washington state lawmakers are considering eliminating the statute of limitations for childhood sexual abuse cases completely. Roberts said other states have already done this.

"The insidious thing about sexual abuse and physical abuse of children is that the kids don't necessarily understand the scope or degree of harm sometimes ever, but often until much later in life," he said, "and I think a simpler, more equitable rule would be to say that if you're the victim of childhood abuse, you can bring the lawsuit whenever you're ready to do so."

House Bill 1618 was introduced in the Legislature this year and passed in the House but died in the Senate. It will be up for consideration again in 2024.

A new report re-examines how to measure Connecticut's poverty rates. Some findings show Supplemental Poverty Measure-based rates rose more than 12% in 2022 from nearly 8.5% in 2021.

Child poverty rates grew from 2021 to 2022, though this stems from pandemic relief payments being made available.

Patrick O'Brien, research and policy director with Connecticut Voices for Children, said new data examines how certain benefits impact poverty rates.

"So, in Connecticut in 2022, we saw that the public benefits that lifted the most people out of poverty were Social Security, food assistance programs, and housing subsidies. And we saw that the largest contributors to poverty were medical expenses, federal payroll taxes, and work expenses, he explained.

A state-level Child Tax Credit is one recommendation to improve the state's child poverty rates. It can provide a cash benefit to the poorest families in the state and help offset expenses contributing to high poverty rates. One concern is where the money to finance this credit would come from.

O'Brien added the state can decrease its tax gap, eliminate certain tax expenditures like the film industry tax credit, and increase taxes on higher-earning residents.

But these measures aren't entirely accurate. While the official poverty measure is based on cash income, the Supplemental Poverty Measure has a more accurate threshold of whether a family is in poverty. O'Brien said one interesting thing about the breakdowns of the data is how certain programs interact with poverty rates.

"The federal payroll taxes that are funding Social Security have this dynamic where Social Security is lifting primarily seniors out of poverty in part at the expense of pushing working adults into poverty," he said.

Some 218,000 Connecticut residents were lifted out of poverty by Social Security, though 39,000 were put into poverty by federal payroll taxes. But enacting a state Child Tax Credit would support over 1.3 million people statewide, including close to 207,000 kids living in or near poverty.

Washington voters are deciding on the fate of the state's capital gains tax this election. The tax supports child care and schools.

If passed, Initiative 2109 would repeal a 7% tax on capital gains for assets worth more than $250,000. Supporters of the repeal said capital gains taxes are volatile and it could lead to an income tax down the road.

Wesley Tharpe, senior adviser for state tax policy at the Center on Budget and Policy Priorities, noted 42 states have capital gains or income taxes and capital gains taxes are one of the most effective tools to balance out tax codes.

"Things like personal income taxes, corporate income taxes, capital gains taxes, those are going to collect a bit more from those at the top," Tharpe explained. "That helps balance out the fact that lower- and middle-income people are contributing a much larger share in things like sale taxes and fees - and to some degree, property taxes as well."

Last year, Washington state's capital gains tax pulled in about $786 million. The first $500 million collected from it goes toward schools, early learning and child care. Money collected beyond it is used for school construction. Washington has historically had one of the most regressive tax systems in the country.

Suzette Espinoza-Cruz, a Washington state lead volunteer for the Save the Children Action Network, said early childhood learning has benefited her niece's child, who was ready on his first day of kindergarten because of the state's Early Childhood Education and Assistance Program. Her niece's other child needed help in school and Espinoza-Cruz emphasized she was able to get help.

"What worries me about Ballot Initiative 2109 is that programs that are supplementing students' learning could be cut if we have less funding available for our pre-K through 12 system," Espinoza-Cruz stressed.

Tharpe pointed out there would be long-term effects from repealing the capital gains tax from investing less in quality education, early learning and child care.

"You're going to wind up down the road with a less competitive workforce, communities that are not as attractive of places to live and work," Tharpe projected. "There really is some significant economic risk to taking away that source of revenue for those public priorities."

Workers responsible for nurturing and educating young children during their most critical years of development struggle with poverty-level wages, in Colorado and every other state, according to a new report.

Senior Researcher and Policy Associate Anna Powell with University of California Berkeley's Center for the Study of Childcare Employment said the median wage nationally for early childhood educators is $13.07 an hour.

"In Colorado that would be $15.06 an hour, so a little bit higher," said Powell. "But these are wages that are typically at or near minimum wage, and lead people to require public assistance in order to make ends meet."

In Louisiana, these educators are paid just $10.60 an hour. The 2024 Early Childhood Workforce Index found that hourly wages do not equal a living wage for a single adult in any state.

Nearly half of childcare workers turn to public assistance programs, including food stamps and Medicaid.

Early childhood educators earn less than 97% of all other occupations. Powell said the data also show serious inequities in wages.

"So, while the overall wages are low, Black and Latino women are earning even less on average," said Powell, "up to $8,000 less a year regardless of their education level."

The study's recommendations include increasing public funding for the early childhood education sector.

The U.S. currently invests just $4,000 per child, per year, compared to $14,000 invested in other wealthy nations.

The pandemic exposed just how essential these educators are to the economy, and Powell said effective use of COVID relief funds shows that solutions are available.

"And many states and localities were experimenting with helping to provide stipends or other creative ways to increase wages," said Powell. "So, all of these are excellent proof points about how we can be making different policy choices."




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