Our Success
Highlights of the work this year included:
Children’s Health
A coalition of advocates, including United Way, saved the Healthy Families program from disastrous cuts. The governor had recommended cutting almost $200 million from this $400 million program, which would have left hundreds of thousands of children in the Bay Area and around California without health care. United Way helped broker an agreement among legislators in September that restored full funding to the program. In addition, United Way has come out strongly in defense of preserving funding for First 5, which supports children’s health, early care and education, and 211 in the Bay Area. We are now actively working to protect these critical programs in the proposed state budget for Fiscal Year 2011.
211
San Mateo is the last county in the Bay Area without 211 phone service. In December, the county board of supervisors voted unanimously to support United Way’s application to the state for the license to operate 211 in San Mateo – the last hurdle we needed to cross. This major victory was achieved thanks to partners in the county and the community, and active advocacy by a number of United Way board members and donors. On May 20, the state formally awarded the license to United Way, and we expect to 211 to go live in San Mateo in fall 2010.
At the federal level, we believe a vote on HR 211 is imminent. The bill will
provide federal matching funds to help sustain 211 across the country. This year we reached a milestone, with a bipartisan majority of both House and Senate members agreeing to co-sponsor the bill. We hope to have good news about its passage soon.
Financial Stability
United Way, along with other advocates, secured a $4 million increase in the federal budget for the VITA (Volunteer Income Tax Assistance) program in October. These funds are granted by the IRS to local coalitions around the country who provide free tax preparation, including our outstanding Earn It! Keep It! Save It! Bay Area program.
