A 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