May 19th Special Election - My Opinion on 1D and 1E

At first glance, choosing how to vote on Props 1D and 1E can seem so hard. . .it is like asking a mother to pick which of her children she likes best! But here is my opinion:

Essentially, Prop 1D will take money from early childhood development programs (First 5) and put it towards foster care and children with disabilities. My take on it is this: If we reduce our early childhood intervention (which includes parenting classes, home visits to new parents, etc), we are essentially creating a bigger problem for ourselves 3-5 years down the line because we will be generating an even higher # of kids who are either in foster care or have severe medical/developmental issues that could have been addressed (and possibly reduced or eliminated) if they had received appropriate services early on.

Prop 1E takes money from adult community mental health services and puts it towards child, teen, and young adult mental health services. First of all, adult community mental health services are HUGELY important in reducing homelessness, incarceration, illegal drug use, etc. Not to mention that they help to stabalize families by assisting mentally ill adults with children (of which there are many) to be more effective parents. If we reduce these services, we are really going to see the impact within a short period of time. Also, mental health services for children, teens, and young adults are federally mandated, so the state HAS to pay for them.

The state financial situation is truly heinous right now, however, I do not agree that cutting crucial services will help the situation. By doing that, we are only putting the most vulnerable people at greater risk. To fix this budget issue, I suggest that we become far more innovative in our thinking by looking at issues like prison reform, job/skill develoment, and legalization of marijuana.

Now get out there and VOTE!