YMCA Priorities from the 2017 Legislative Conference

Iowa Alliance of YMCA's 
2017 Legislative Agenda

YMCA Priorities

Infrastructure Funding Grant

YMCA facilities are located throughout the state and are the cornerstone of many regional Iowa communities. In rural Iowa, they serve as a community center, day care, pool and many other functions for the rural area. These facilities provide a vital role in the community, but struggle to keep up with the infrastructure and upkeep needs. This legislation would establish a matching grant program for rural YMCA facilities to update their physical property through the RIIF budget funding. In 2015 and 2016, the legislature approved $500,000 in infrastructure resources to match the community investment. This year we are seeking additional funds to continue improving the infrastructure of these vital rural facilities.

Partnering to Eliminate the Education Achievement Gap

The desire for Iowa to improve in educational achievement is clear and the YMCAs across the state are eager to assist in closing the gap. The YMCA currently offers wide-ranging programs in our pre-school, childcare, afterschool, and summer learning loss settings that engage underserved and underperforming youth in expanding their education. Our work to reduce the academic disparity among children and teens of different backgrounds has a statewide reach. As Iowa moves forward to meet the Department of Education’s reading readiness goal, the YMCAs are ready, willing, and able to be a partner to improve education achievement outcomes with our existing infrastructure of programming. We look to the Iowa Department of Education to partner with us as we aid our members in their development.

YMCA Supported Issues

YMCA and Health and Wellness Plan Partnership

Beginning in 2014, Iowa families between 100% and 138% will access health coverage through the new health insurance marketplace. These Iowans will need to meet health goals to receive premium-free coverage. The Iowa State Alliance of YMCAs encourages the state and Iowa Medicaid Enterprise (IME) to continue engaging the statewide network of YMCAs when implementing Medicaid reform and seeking healthy outcomes for Health and Wellness Plan enrollees.

Safe Routes to Schools

Iowa’s Safe Routes to School (SRTS) program is a movement to create safe, convenient, and fun opportunities for children to bike and walk to and from schools. The goal of the program is to increase physical activity among school children and decrease transportation costs. It seeks to get more kids walking and biking to school, which can play a critical role in reversing the alarming nationwide trend toward childhood obesity and inactivity. Investing in safe routes for biking and walking is critical to ensuring kids and adults can safely get their 60 minutes of physical activity every day. This legislation invests $1 million in state resources in helping Iowa kids safely walk and bike to and from school by providing funds to communities across the state to install sidewalks and crosswalks in needed areas and establish “walking school bus” programs.

Child Abuse Prevention

As one of the state’s largest providers of youth-serving programming, the organization‘s role as an advocate for children and a commitment to building healthy and secure children, adults, families, and communities, YMCAs in Iowa are dedicated to expanding support to galvanize the culture, practices and behavior needed to prevent child sexual abuse.

Fatherhood Initiative

Children of absent and unengaged fathers have a dramatically higher incidence of homelessness, suicide, and dropping out of school. They are also five times more likely to live in poverty. The YMCA Fatherhood Program, in collaboration with Child Support Recovery, is expanding a program that addresses these issues, reconnects dads with their children, and helps fathers stay current on child support obligations. We support continued funding for this initiative.

IOWA ALLIANCE OF YMCAs

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