Dear ,

Over the next few months you will likely have opportunities to ask questions of candidates for the Virginia House and Senate. Candidates may knock on your door, organize public forums, show up at community events or participate in a candidate forum.

Although I recognize that each of us votes on a whole range of issues, below are some of the questions you might ask that reflect VICPP's priorities.

Worker and Family Support

Housing: How should Virginia address its affordable housing crisis? Do you support additional money in the budget for rental assistance and building affordable housing through the Virginia Housing Trust fund?

Child care assistance:  Do you support additional money in the budget to assist low- and moderate-income families with child care assistance?

Paid sick days:  Do you support a paid sick day standard requiring employers to provide at least five paid sick or PTO days a year to the 1.2 million workers in Virginia with no paid sick or PTO days?

Farmworkers and minimum wage:  Do you think Virginia's minimum wage law should cover farmworkers?  (Currently they are exempt.)

Health Equity

Cover all kids:  Do you support Virginia providing health care to children who would be covered by Medicaid except for their documentation status?

Unconscious bias training: Given the huge racial disparities in maternal health outcomes, do you support requiring medical personnel who deal with pregnant mothers to have taken unconscious bias training?

Medicaid waivers:  Do you support Virginia applying for Medicaid waivers in order to use Medicaid dollars to pay for school nurses in public schools, community health workers and "food as medicine" prescriptions?

Criminal Justice Reform 

Oversight office: Do you support the creation of an oversight office monitoring the work of the largest agency in Virginia that spends approximately $1 billion a year?

Solitary confinement: Given that the United Nations defines anything longer than 15 days in isolation as torture, do you think Virginia should limit its use of solitary confinement to no more than 15 days?

Expand college classes in prisons: Currently, only 5 percent of academically eligible people who are incarcerated have access to college classes. Given that federal Pell grants are now available to people who are incarcerated, should Virginia greatly expand its college class offerings in its prisons? 

Voter rights:  Should those who have served their prison sentences have the voting rights automatically restored?

Common-sense Gun Reform

Assault weapons: Do you support a ban on assault weapons?

Locks and child safety warnings: Do you support a requirement that new guns should have locks on them and that there should be child safety warnings with gun sales?

You probably won't be able to ask all the questions, but use the ones that can help you understand the candidates' positions.

Sincerely,

Kim Bobo

Become a 100% Voting Congregation and get this banner!

Congregations that pledge to be 100 percent voting will get the above image in a 6' x 3' vinyl banner that can be hung inside or (hopefully) outside the congregation. With important General Assembly elections coming up this fall, it’s key for faith communities to live out their values as faithful citizens and voters. Encourage your congregational leadership to sign the 100% pledge!  And, we'll be sending out the banners to congregations as soon as they are back from the printer later this week. Find out more at the button below.

Join our campaign to certify 100 Virginia congregations as living wage employers! Will yours be one of them?  We're at 15 certified congregation, so we have a ways to go by Labor Day. Explore this with your congregation's leadership soon. 

Leading by example... Kudos and thanks to our latest role model in this effort!

Our Lady Queen of Peace Catholic Church in Arlington 

Want to be next?  Apply now by clicking the link!

Not sure about your new districts -- or your registration status?

If you aren’t familiar with your new House and Senate districts, check today at the fabulous website run by the Virginia Public Access Project – VPAP. Simply type your home address to obtain the latest info about your new House and Senate Districts and who is running in November.

If you are not sure you are registered to vote, or to simply confirm your status with the Virginia Department of Elections, use the button below.

“We often think of the U.S. as being a place where health-care information and resources are transmitted to places that have lower resources, but that is absolutely a paradigm that needs to be disrupted — and can be disrupted,” Small said. Instead, solutions can be found in other nations.... The report noted that maternity homes in rural Cuba are used, in part, “as an alternative to the mistreatment” Black women and girls experience in hospitals and clinics. “I never thought of them in that context,” Small said. “That is something I’d like to see explored more.”” How is VICPP helping? VICPP is fighting for better birth outcomes by addressing issues related to access, bias, and coverage—the ABCs of maternal death. Sign and share the petition to speak-up on this important issue.