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With the current threats to federal funding, collaboration with state legislators is more crucial than ever. By partnering with local leaders and advocates on strategic public financing efforts, state legislators can champion approaches to raise sustainable state and local revenue for children and youth.
By pursuing legislation to require an annual fiscal map—such as Tennessee, Illinois, Rhode Island, and New Mexico have done—state legislators can maintain an accurate understanding of the funding available to support programs and services for children and youth in their state. By advocating for a state cost model, state legislators can assess the true cost of implementing, maintaining, and expanding those programs and services. States can fill gaps in budgets by exploring sources of additional funding, creating state-enabling legislation that gives local communities the authority to levy and/or dedicate funding to child and youth services, and create a state matching fund that incentivizes localities to invest in children and youth.
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