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good measure of the health of a society, it’s been
said, is how it treats its most vulnerable members. Jon
Gould is working to ensure that Washington takes care
of its most vulnerable — and valuable — of
assets, its children. For the past 10 years, Gould has
served as the director of the Children’s Alliance,
an advocacy group based in Seattle now celebrating 25
years of service to Washington’s youth.
“Especially since welfare reform,” Gould says,
“the state government has become the battleground
for the rights of children.” Because of this, the
organization’s primary goal is to ensure that the
state government “follows through on its promises”
to ensure that health care, foster care and early childhood
development are more than just good political planks.
The most recent legislative victory of the Children’s
Alliance was to ensure that all children in the state
of Washington receive medical health care--remarkably,
this coverage will come irrespective of citizenship or
immigration status. For Gould, that was the greatest part
of this victory. Citing this most recent politicization
of the immigration issue, Gould says, “Right now,
I think it’s really important for social change
advocates to speak up for that type of equality.”
Check out www.childrensalliance.org
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