Join United Way's Back-to-School Advocacy Campaign Today!

United Way is hosting a

back-to-school advocacy campaign during September's Attendance Awareness Month.

The goal of Attendance Awareness Month is to mobilize schools and communities not only to promote the value of good attendance but also to take concrete steps toward reducing chronic absence.

Today, United Way is asking individuals and organizations to take action in at least one of three ways:

1. Join the Social Media Campaign on Sept 18: Simply tweet or post a Facebook message. Use hashtags #SchoolEveryDay and #Liveunited. Send a Tweet!

2. Blog for Student Success: Write a blog post on your personal or organization's blog on the policies and practices that you think are needed to improve student attendance.

3. Write an Op-Ed: Help call attention to the issue of attendance by submitting an op-ed to your local publications.

Will you join us? Sign up here and let us know how you will get involved.

Public Policy Success! House Passes Child Care Reauthorization Bill

On Monday, the U.S. House of Representatives passed the reauthorization of the Child Care and Development Block Grant (CCDBG).

Last reauthorized in 1996, CCDBG provides funding to states to assist low-income individuals and families in paying for child care. The revamped bill would require child care providers receiving the grants to comply with local health, safety and fire standards.

United Way applauds members of Congress for passing bipartisan, bicameral legislation that promotes better quality early development for children.

Take a minute to tweet your Members of Congress to thank them for taking a stand for early childhood education. To find your Member's twitter handle, check out the House social media directory.

Sample tweets:

Thanks @NAME for passing #CCDBG and supporting early childhood opportunities in our community #LIVEUNITED #earlyed
Thanks for advancing the common good @NAME with your vote on #CCDBG. Celebrating this win for youth & families! #LIVEUNITED #earlyed

Fall Legislative Outlook and

United Way Calls to Action

Congress is back to work for a short time before recessing for the November elections. At the top of the fall must-do list: passing a government funding bill and avoiding another government shutdown.

Federal agencies run out of money on September 30. As the fiscal year draws to a close, Congress is expected to vote on a "CR", or continuing resolution that will keep the government running and postpone any funding decisions until mid-December.

Looming between now and mid-December are the November 4 congressional elections. Ultimately, what happens in early November will affect fiscal negotiations in mid-December. Aside from renewing government funding in the beginning of the month, most predictions are that the post-election work period is expected to be uneventful, with no major changes to hot-button election issues such as immigration, tax or entitlement reform.

However, it's possible that some issues could break through, and it's important to send federal policymakers a strong message about the policy issues that advance the common good.

Join us and take action on our fall action alerts:

Ask your Members of Congress to fully fund CHIP: Visit our Advocacy page to ask Congress to act now to save the Children's Health Insurance Program.
Sign Your Organization onto the Letter to the President in Support of Child Nutrition. Follow this link to sign your national, state, or local organization onto the letter.

Tell Your U.S. Senators to act on charitable giving tax extenders: A tax incentive vital to the charitable sector is the IRA Charitable Rollover. Click here to ask your Senators to act on a House bill that would make key charitable giving incentives permanent.

National Voter Registration Day - Sign Up Today!

Join more than 1,000 organizations by signing on as a National Voter Registration Day partner. National Voter Registration Day (Sept 23) is an opportunity for nonprofits to get started in nonpartisan civic engagement. Sign up for materials. Register to Vote Online. Attend a National Voter Registration Day event.

Celebrating International Literacy Day

On September 8, United Way promoted an International Literacy Day global campaign to focus attention on the need to support worldwide literacy. The #LiteracySelfie campaign encouraged individuals to take a selfie reading their favorite book or reading to a child, and then post the pictures to social media. Read a summary of the campaign.

U.S. Census Bureau Releases Annual Poverty Data

This week, the Census Bureau released new findings on poverty, income and health insurance coverage in the United States--the first in a series of data released this fall. Accordingly, the poverty rate fell from 15 percent to 14.5 percent in 2013, the first decline since 2006. Read the findings.

CCSSO Wants to Hear from YOU

The Council of Chief State School Officers (CCSSO) is seeking feedback from the public on draft standards for education leaders that aim to ensure district and school leaders are able to improve student achievement and meet new, higher expectations. People can read the draft standards here and can provide feedback through a survey here. The public comment period will last until October 10.

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