Network Signs onto Three Coalition Letters

The Network recently signed onto three coalition letters on issues related to our public policy priorities.

On April 25^th, the Network and JFNA joined over 35 other national organizations in signing a letter to Tennessee State Senators opposing state legislation in Tennessee affecting adoption agencies. This bill seeks to use religious freedom as a basis to allow child welfare providers to discriminate against prospective adoptive parents if they are not in full agreement with the religious tenets of a faith-based child welfare provider. More than 100 local organizations also oppose this bill which is currently moving through the state legislature.

On April 25^th, the Network and JFNA also joined 25 other national organizations in signing a letter to relevant House and Senate Appropriations subcommittee chairs requesting full funding for the U.S. Department of Labor’s Senior Community Service Employment Program (SCSEP). This program prepares unemployed older adults, age 55 and older, for employment through paid, on-the-job work experiences at community nonprofits, including many Network member agencies.

On May 1^st, the Network signed onto a letter in support of a proposal by Senators Brown, Bennet, Durbin, and Wyden to substantially expand the Earned Income Tax Credit (EITC) and the Child Tax Credit (CTC), two federal tax credits that help working people with low-wage jobs support themselves and their families. The bill, known as the Working Families Tax Relief Act, would boost the economic security of 46 million households encompassing 114 million people, many of whom are agency clients.