ADVOCACY AND SYSTEMS CHANGE
Saint Paul Promise is committed to centering our families' lived experiences in our advocacy work. Our collaborative approach is grounded in believing those closest to the problems are also closest to the solutions. This means that those most impacted by the barriers standing in the way of social and financial liberation are also those most knowledgeable about what we can do to remove those barriers so everyone has the opportunity to thrive. Yet, given systemic inequities around culture, race, zip code, and economic status, those who should have the most seats in decision-making spaces find themselves furthest from the resources, influence, and power to make systems change happen.
This is where Saint Paul Promise positions itself to fill a strategic need in engaging our Promise Neighborhood families through our Promise Advocates Cohort (PAC) so that together, we can dismantle inequities in exchange for real solutions informed by the people most harmed by policy shortfalls. The Promise Advocates Cohort (PAC) adapts curriculum from the national Building a Parent Nation campaign. Through family-centered policy and advocacy efforts, the campaign seeks to change our systems to deliver on the promise of opportunity for all - from cradle to career.
In the summer of 2023, we launched our first-ever Saint Paul Promise Advocates Cohort (PAC) to learn and work alongside fellow parents, caregivers, and neighbors. Since then, we’ve come together across two cohorts to ignite our inherent political power, invest in our capacity as self-advocates, and act on opportunities to create real change grounded in our lived experiences.
Participant Package Includes:
✦ Children and youth programming will be provided by staff on-site - bring your kids!
✦ Transportation assistance will be available via a Lyft ride or a gas card
✦ A meal will be provided for all participating family members at each session
✦ Participants can earn up to a $300 stipend for attending all six PAC sessions
2023 Legislative Highlights
Saint Paul Promise is committed to centering our families' lived experiences in our advocacy work. Our collaborative approach is grounded in believing those closest to the problems are also closest to the solutions. This past legislative session, we carried this approach into our advocacy work at the Minnesota State Capitol. We partnered with our Promise Neighborhood families to dismantle systemic inequities in exchange for real solutions informed by the people most harmed by policy shortfalls.
Working together with our families to achieve this goal, Saint Paul Promise…
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10
Meetings attended with Legislators to advance our Promise Agenda
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7
Bill authors secured to support funding for the Education Partnerships Coalition (EPC)
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3
Testimonies delivered in House and Senate committees
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4
Days on the Hill attended, including EPC & Greater Twin Cities United Way’s Advocacy for Children Day, with the entire Saint Paul Promise staff team
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13
Letters co-authored alongside legislative partners on issues such as increasing teachers of color, creating a state department for children, youth and families, supporting mixed-delivery childcare, and creating a statewide program for establishing children’s savings accounts for every baby born in Minnesota
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3
Letters authored to support emergency rental assistance, state appropriations for Heading Home Ramsey, and the creation of a nation-leading Minnesota Child Tax Credit
CURRENT INITIATIVES
Family advocacy and systems change work is essential to ushering forth the city we want to live in. The experiences and ideas of families are central to needed solutions.
Through our programs, Saint Paul Promise partners with families to invest and act on advocacy initiatives aligned with our mission, vision, and federal Promise Neighborhood Indicators. This collaborative approach is grounded in believing those closest to the problems are also closest to the solutions. Such initiatives currently include:
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In addition to advocating for investments in early care and education at the Minnesota State Capitol, Saint Paul Promise is also active on this issue locally. In September of 2022, Saint Paul Promise was honored to be appointed as a City of Saint Paul’s Legislative Advisory Committee member. Working alongside fellow community stakeholders, Megan Jekot (Saint Paul Promise Policy + Systems Change Program Manager) spent several months exploring the possibility of subsidizing early learning and child care programs citywide. As part of the committee, she engaged in deep study and design conversations on how a locally-governed early learning program could be administered and funded at the city level. The committee delivered its report recommendations to the City Council in March 2023.
On July 19, the Saint Paul City Council successfully voted to place dedicated funding for early care and education on the ballot in 2024 as recommended by the Legislative Advisory Committee. Saint Paul Promise submitted public comment supporting the resolution. On July 27, Mayor Carter vetoed the resolution adopted by the City Council. On August 16, the Council voted to override the Mayor’s veto on the early care and education funding proposal. This means Saint Paul voters will now decide in 2024 if they want to raise property taxes to pay for low-income child care subsidies.
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The digital age is here and many core life activities (school, work, opportunities, and more) are now online. The COVID-19 pandemic quickly brought to the forefront how many in our community are not connected to the new way of life that technology and the internet have ushered into our world. To stand in that gap, Saint Paul Promise joined the steering committee of Connectivity Blueprint — a partnership between Ramsey County and the City of Saint Paul that sets out to ensure everyone has access to the resources and digital tools needed to navigate online life. As committee members, Saint Paul Promise keeps people at the heart of the project’s direction and decisions. From conversations to canvassing efforts, our families’ contributions to the Connectivity Blueprint project will help build a world that is inclusive and engaging both in-person and online.
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(Our coalition defines the “benefits cliff” as occurring when an increase in income triggers a disproportionate loss of government assistance).
During the 2022 Legislative Session, Saint Paul Promise joined a small but mighty coalition advocating for legislation to modify MFIP reporting requirements. We continued this advocacy into the 2023 Session to make assistance payment calculations based on prospective budgeting, rather than retrospective budgeting, and extending income reporting from monthly to once every six months. We are ecstatic to share that these proposed modifications to MFIP reporting requirements passed and were signed into law by Governor Walz as part of the larger Health and Human Services Omnibus Bill. Removing these barriers will help create pathways toward economic independence for Promise Neighborhood families and other working families across the state.
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Knowing what is good for families is good for our scholars, Saint Paul Promise engaged our families to advocate for a nation-leading Child Tax Credit estimated to reduce child poverty in Minnesota by one-third. Such a permanent and transformational investment in our families' potential will play a critical role in enhancing the impact of our programming across two generations, from cradle to career. Combining our direct work in Promise Neighborhood schools and households with such systemic change will create a lasting impact that families and organizations like ours can count on to remove conditions of poverty in exchange for opportunities for economic stability over time. This life-changing Child Tax Credit will also help play a critical role in dismantling our state's racial disparities across economic and educational opportunities so that everyone can thrive. On behalf of our Promise Neighborhood families, scholars, and staff, we thank Governor Walz and the Minnesota Legislature for passing a strong Minnesota Child Tax Credit during the 2023 Legislative Session to combat child poverty in our state. This transformational, evidence-based investment is how we deliver on the promise of opportunity for all of Minnesota's littlest learners together.