The Color of Cuts

8/7/2019 The Color of Cuts

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THE COLOR OF CUTSThe Disproportionate Impact of Budget Cuts

on Communities of Color in Washington State

March 15, 2011

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Te people o Washington State believe in the values o equity and shared prosper-ity. Over the past two years, Washington States economic crisis has put these corevalues to the test.

Te Governor and the Legislature aced a $12 billion shortall in the 200911 bien-nial budget, which was closed through a combination o ederal unds, reserves andund transers, new revenue, and program cuts. Te projected budget shortall orthe 2011-2013 biennial budget is $4.6 billion, but due to recent anti-tax initiativesand past cuts, the options or closing the gap are ar more limited.

Te supplemental budget, passed by the Legislature in February o 2011, has alreadyled to cuts that impact all residents: cuts to education and healthcare; cuts to pro-grams that serve kids, seniors, and people with disabilities; and cuts to environmen-

tal programs. Many o the programs that suered cuts are programs communitieso color and low-income communities rely on.

Te impact o the 2011 supplemental budget cuts ell disproportionately on peopleo color. It is likely, based on recent budget proposals rom the Governor, that the2011-2013 biennial budget proposal will continue to devastate people o color andlow-income people across the state.

Tis report demonstrates how the supplemental budget cuts have disproportion-ately aected people o color. Failure to assess the impact o anticipated 2011-2013budget cuts on communities o color will prooundly exacerbate existing racial andeconomic disparities in our state.

Te report recommends that the Governor and State Legislature reject cuts to ser-vices that disproportionately impact communities o color and raise new revenue topromote equity and prosperity or all Washington residents.

ExEcutivE Summary



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4 Introduction4 Race and Inequity in Washington State, and Washingtons

Budget Crisis

5 Revenue and Budget Cuts: Washingtons Continuing Crisis

6 Cuts at a Glance: Impact of the 2011 Supplemental

Budget Cuts on People of Color

8 Whats At Stake: The Impact of Potential

20112013 Budget Cuts on Racial Equity

8 Quality of Life and Health

9 Apple Health for Kids10 Basic Health Plan

10 Disability Lifeline

11 Long Term Care

12 Medical Interpreter Services

12 Maternity Support

13 State Food Assistance

13 Education

14 K-4 Education Funding and Class Sizes

14 Higher Education Attainment

15 Tuition Costs and Higher Education

15 Seasonal Child Care Programs

16 Civil Rights

16 The Naturalization Program and the New

Americans Program

17 Refugee Employment Services

17 Washington Ethnic Commissions

18 Recommendations

taBLE OF cONtENtS



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4 THE COLOR OF CUTS

re nd ineq n Wshngon Se

Race matters in Washington. O Washington States 6 millionresidents, nearly 1 in 5 is a person o color, a number thatis expected to grow to 1 in 3 by the year 2030. Nationally,Washington State ranks 7th in the number o Asians and13th in the number o Latinos that reside in the state.1Washington is home to growing and thriving immigrantand reugee populations, and 1 in 10 residents was bornoutside o the U.S.

Te proportion o people o color is growing not only inKing County but across the state rom Spokane and theColumbia River Valley to Western Washington rom Van-couver to Snohomish and Whatcom counties.

Despite their growing numbers, communities o color donot enjoy an equal social or economic position comparedto other communities. Communities o color continue tobe plagued by racial disparities in home ownership, wealthaccumulation, poverty, health, education, and the justicesystem. Some disparities include:

AccordingtotheEducationTrustandOceofSuper-intendent o Public Instruction (OSPI), WashingtonState is ranked in the bottom-ve o all states whenit comes to closing the racial and ethnic achievementgap. At its current pace it will take 45 to 50 years toclose the gap between students o color and their Whitecounterparts.

According to the U.S. Department of Labor, in theourth quarter o 2010 unemployment or Whites was8.5 percent. Tis was considerably lower than unem-ployment rates among Latinos or Arican Americans,

12.9 percent and 15.8 percent respectively.

AccordingtotheCenterforDiseaseControlandPre-vention, Arican American men and women are muchmore likely to die o heart disease and stroke than their

White counterparts. Tis is despite the existence olow-cost, highly eective preventive treatment.

AccordingtoWashingtonStatesSentencingGuidelinesCommission, youth o color comprise 45 percent o

the Juvenile Rehabilitation Administration populationdespite comprising only 27 percent o the states youthpopulation.

According to the US Department of Housing andUrban Development, in the third quarter o 2010 thehomeownership rate or Arican Americans was just45 percent. Te homeownership rate or Latinos was47 percent, while the homeownership rate or Whiteswas 75 percent.

According to theWashington Department of Social

andHealth Services, people of color inWashingtonState are ar more likely to be living in poverty thannon-HispanicWhites. 2

Tese indicators shed light on racial inequity in our state.

With Washingtons wealth o resources, these disparities donot have to exist. Washington is home to some o the mostprotable companies and industries in the world, includ-ing Microso, Starbucks, Costco, and Amazon.3 In terms oindividual wealth, Washington State has more than 130,000millionaires, ranking 13th in the nation per capita. Withthis abundance o wealth, Washington has the resources toaddress race-based disparities.

Tose resources, however, are not being shared equally.Evenaspeopleofcolorearnless,theypaymoreinstatetaxes. Washington residents pay more o their income instate taxes as their income decreases. Currently, the wealth-

iest 1 percent o residents contribute less than 3 percent otheir income in state taxes, while the poorest 20 percentpay 17 percent o their incomes in state taxes. Immigranthouseholds, which represent 12.5 percent o households inWashington, accounted or 13.2 percent o all taxes paid in2007nearly $1.5 billion.

People o color in Washington are contributing their airshare towards the state budget. Te state budget shouldreect a undamental goal o achieving prosperity andequity or all Washingtonians, not punish those who contri-bute so much and who are most in need o support. In thecurrent revenue crisis, Washington State lawmakers must

ace this challenge and prevent the gap between the havesand the have-nots rom widening urther.

iNtrODuctiON



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5 THE COLOR OF CUTS

Washington State aced a revenue shortall that exceeded$12 billion in the 2009-2011 biennium. Tis shortall ledto many devastating cuts that directly impacted people ocolor. Tat shortall was addressed through a combinationo cuts and savings ($5.1 billion), ederal unds ($3.6 bil-lion), und transers and reserves ($2.5 billion), and revenueincreases ($761 million).

Cuts made during the 2011 Legislative Session as part othe recent Supplemental Budget are analyzed in this report.Tese do not include deep cuts made prior to the session.Cuts to higher education, programs or seniors and the dis-abled, to Medicaid-optional services such as adult dental

care, and to many other programs prior to the session havehad a dramatic impact on vulnerable communities. A ullanalysis o many o these earlier cuts would also reveal adisproportionate impact on people o color and a wideningo racial disparities in access to health care, educationalopportunity, and quality o lie.

As we enter the coming biennium, the budget outlook isno less grim. Forecasters expect a continuation o revenue-dampeningtrends,withtheEconomicandRevenueFore-cast Council predicting a $4.6 billion shortall or the201113 biennium. Unlike the last budget cycle, the statecannot count on ederal unds (due to ederal unding cut-

backs and a ocus on debt reduction), revenue increases(unlikely aer the passage o anti-tax initiatives on theNovember 2010 ballot), or reserves. Tere is a real possibilitythat lawmakers, in continuing to make severe cuts to pro-grams, place the goal o racial equity out o reach.

Governor Gregoire has proposed more devastating budgetcuts as a way to balance the budget. While the proposed cutswill hurt all Washingtonians, communities o color stand tobe especially harmed. From community clinics, to schoolprograms, to language services and income supports, pro-grams that communities o color rely on have consistentlybeen targeted or elimination by both the Governor and thestate legislature.

Tis year, immigrant communities are nding themselvesunder heavy attack given the Governors proposal to elimi-nate or cut programs that only serve immigrants and reu-gees, including the New Americans program, naturalization

services, medical interpreter services, childrens health care,reugee services, state only ood stamps, and health cover-ageforimmigrantsthroughtheBasicHealthprogram.

As the Governor and the state legislature contemplate ur-ther cuts to saety net programs, lawmakers must considerthe impact their actions have on communities across thestate, specically communities o color. Failure to assess theimpact o budget decisions on communities o color willprooundly exacerbate existing racial and economic dis-parities in our state.

reene nd Bdge cs: Wshngons connng css

Group 199899 200910 Net Change

All 999,616 1,040,750 +41,134

White 759,708 (76%) 672,350 (64.8%) -87,358 (-11.2%)

American Indian/Alaska 27,989 (2.8%) 27,363 (2.6%) -626 (0.2%)

Latino 90,965 (9.1%) 158,612 (15.3%) +67,647 (+6.2%)

African American 50,980 (5.1%) 56,790 (5.5%) +5,810 (+0.4%)

Asian American/Pacic Islander 70,973 (7.1%) 89,231 (8.6%) +18,258 (1.5%)

Bilingual/ELL 50,980 83,260 +32,280 (63.3%)



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6 THE COLOR OF CUTS

Program 2011 Supplemental Budget Impact

Apple Health for Kids Funding reduced by $346,000 with the

intention of dramatically increasing premiums

for families between 201% and 300% FPL.

Low-income immigrant children, who are

disproportionately children of color, may have

to pay more for health coverage whi ch may

lead to children losing health coverage.

Basic Health Plan Limited to individuals who are eligible under

the Medicaid waiver.

An estimated 17,000 low-income individuals,

including 15,000 immigrants, will lose coverage.Maternity Support Programs Funding reduced by 35 percent. 65,000 high risk pregnant women are at risk of

losing prenatal care and infant care for the rst

year of life.

Disability Lifeline Income assistance cut by an additional 20.7

percent above the 20 percent recent reduction

from the December 2010 special session.

21,000 disabled individuals will see signicant

reductions in cash grants for food, medicine,

and housingdisproportionately felt by African

Americans and Native Americans.

Long Term Care 15 percent reduction in Senior Citizens Service

Act (SCSA) funds

10 percent reduction in home care

service hours for home care consumers.

4.7 percent cut to nursing home care

Cuts to long-term care mean senior and other

vulnerable populations will not have support

with transportation, bathing assistance, minor

home repair, foot care, and meals. Some of the

most vulnerable in our state have lost as much

as 25 percent of the home care hours they need

to remain safely in their homes.

State Food Assistance Program Reduced by $4.8 million, or 50 percent. 31,000 individuals in approximately 14,000

low-income immigrant households will receive

less food assistance than they need.

Health and Quality of Life

ip of he 2011 Sppleenl Bdge cs on People of colo

n Wshngon SeCuts made in the 2011 supplemental budget will have a devastating and disproportionate impact on people o color.

cutS at a GLaNcE



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7 THE COLOR OF CUTS


K-4 Class Size Reduced by $25 million. Class s izes wil l swell and widen the racial

academic achievement gap for students

of color.

Seasonal Child Care Admin (EL) Cut $365,000 and administration of the service

through community-based agencies ended in

March 2011.

Thousands of children of migrant and seasonal

workers, who are predominantly Latinos and

people of color, will lose access to seasonal

child care services through community

organizations.

College Bound Outreach Programs Cut $500,000. Low income students of color will miss

opportunities to pursue higher education.

Higher Education Tuition Assistance $25 million is reduced from the State

Need Grant.

Thousands of low-income students of color will

be priced out of higher education.


Refugee Employment Services

Naturalization Program

New American Program

Cut $1.5 million

Eliminated Dec. 1st 2010. $500,000 in funding

was restored in the 2011 supplemental budget

but the funds have already been exhausted,per DSHS.

Cut $30,000, slated for elimination

on March 1st, 2011.

Thousands of immigrants and refugees will

struggle to become citizens and integrate into

the workplace, which will cost the state money.

Ethnic Commissions and Ofce

of Indian Affairs

Cut $30,000, slated for elimination on

March 1st, 2011.

Cut $98,000 Without commissions representative of

communities of colorpeople of color will

not have a voice that is actively at the table

and represented in state government.

Early Learning, K-12 Education, Higher Education

Civil Rights and Inclusion Cuts



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8 THE COLOR OF CUTS

Te Legislature is considering urther cuts to health care,education, housing, and other programs as a way to address

the upcoming $4.6 billion budget shortall. Tis section an-alyzes cuts that have been proposed by Governor Gregoireand their likely impact on people o color and racial ineq-uity in the state. Tese cuts were proposed by the Governoras part o the supplemental budget process, and will be con-sidered in the 20112013 biennial budget process.

Ql of Lfe nd Helh

Proposed cuts to programs dedicated to the health and well-ness o Washingtonians would not impact everyone equally,but would disproportionately impact certain vulnerable

groups. As the health o individuals directly aected by thecuts decreases, Washington will see an increase in healthdisparities by income, race, and gender.

In Washington State, people o color are disproportion-ately uninsured. Te proportions o uninsured by race are21 percent or Latinos, 23 percent or Native Americans,14 percent or Pacic Islanders, 12 percent or Whites, 10percent or Arican Americans and 9 percent or Asians.Children o color are signicantly more likely to be unin-sured than White children.4 Across the United States andin Washington, children o color, immigrants and thosein low income amilies continue to lag behind White and

afuent children on nearly every health indicator. Manyo these indicators and conditions, such as preterm birth,low birth weight, and asthma, can have negative long-termeects on childs development and unctioning.

Recent spending and budget cuts have already impactedpeoples access to state health care programs, such as theBasicHealthPlan.eseprogramsaretheonlysourceofaordable coverage or many people o color, immigrants,and reugees. Communities o color already experiencehealth disparities caused by a multitude o barriers, in-cluding language, culture, income, and geography. Furthercuts to these programs will exacerbate health disparities

by race. Tis section ocuses on how the proposed cutswould adversely aect the health o communities o colorin Washington.

WHatS at StaKE

AT-A-GLANCE

Health care programs targeted for reductions orcomplete elimination by the Governors budgetproposals include:

EligibilityreductioninAppleHealthforKidstoeliminate coverage or 27,000 immigrant kids,the great majority o whom are kids o color.

Eliminationor further reductions to theBasicHealthPlan,whichwillresultinincreasedhealthdisparities or low-income people o color.

Reductions to Disability Lifeline, which willincrease disparities in health care access andpoverty and will be elt disproportionately byArican Americans and Native Americans.

Cuts to Long Term Care, which will aectassisted care or 8,100 clients with a disability ora chronic illness, 58 percent o whom are peopleo color, and cost over 30,000 jobs.

ReducedfundingforMaternitySupportservices,

which will put at risk access to prenatal andinant care or 65,000 pregnant women and theirchildren.

Eliminationofmedical interpreterservices formore than 240,000 limited-English speakingWashingtonians.

ReductionstotheStateFoodAssistanceProgram,which will threaten access to ood or more than30,000 immigrant and reugee amilies.



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9 THE COLOR OF CUTS

Apple Health for Kids

AppleHealthforKidsisWashingtonStatescomprehensivehealth insurance program or children. Coverage is ree orchildren in amilies below 200 percent o the Federal Pover-ty Level (FPL-$36,620 or a amily o three). Families earn-ing over 200 percent FPL pay monthly premiums set by anaordable, sliding scale. All children who live in amilies withincomes below 300% FPL are eligible or coverage.

Today,27,000undocumentedchildrenareenrolledAppleHealthforKids.eGovernorssupplementalbudgetpro-posed to eliminate coverage specically or these immigrantkids, which would jeopardize their ability to learn and resultin more costly long-term consequences. About 40 percent

o these kids live in King, Pierce and Snohomish Countieswhile25percentliveinYakimaandBentoncounties.DSHSclassies78percentofthemasHispanic.

Conclusion: Cuts to Apple Heath for Kids will increasehealth disparities or kids o color in Washington.

Without any healthcare coverage, my

family will have no other option than for my

15 year old son to drop out of school and

look for a job to help support our family

nancially. I am worried about the nancial,

emotional, physical, and mental impact the

budget cuts will have on my family and com-

munity. Legislators need to prioritize people

over prots for the future of all children and

communities.

Maria Luna, Bellevue resident



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10 THE COLOR OF CUTS

Disability Lifeline

Formally GA-U (General Assistance or the Unemployable),Disability Lieline is a program in the Department o SocialandHumanServices(DSHS)thatprovidesupto$339incash assistance per month to Washington residents who areunemployable due to physical or mental disability, yet donot qualiy or Medicare. Tis monthly living assistance isused or ood, housing, and health care treatments. Peopleon Disability Lieline also receive health care coverage.EliminatingDisabilityLifelinewilllikelyleadtoincreasedhomeless, illness, or death or 21, 000 disabled individuals.

AccordingtotheWashingtonStateBoardofHealth,Afri-can Americans and Native Americans are disproportion-

ately represented in the Disability Lieline program.6

Distribution of Disability

Lifeline Participants

and Washington Total

Population by Race

% in

Program

% in

Washington

White 66.7% 76.2%

Latino 6.1% 9.3%

African American 11.3% 3.4%

Asian or Pacic Islander 3.2% 6.9%

Native American 4.2% 1.4%

Sources: (1) Department of Social and Health Services 2008(2) Ofce of Financial Management 2008

Te 2011 Supplemental Budget reduced monthly cash assis-tance by 20.7 percent, which is an additional cut beyondthe 20 percent reduction approved by lawmakers during theDecember 2010 special session.

Conclusion: Cuts to, or the elimination o, the DisabilityLieline program will disproportionately impact the healthand well-being o people o color, particularly AricanAmericans and Native Americans.

Basic Health Plan

Washingtons Basic Health Plan is a state program thatprovides low-cost health care coverage to low-incomeindividuals and amilies who are not eligible or ederalhealth coverage, such as Medicaid, yet are unable to receivecoverage through work or aord private insurance. As o2010, eligibility criteria included a gross amily income at orbelow 200% FPL ($36,620 or a amily o three). While theBasicHealthPlandoesnotcollectenrollmentdatabyraceor ethnicity, an analysis by the Washington State Board oHealthsuggeststhatBasicHealthenrolleesaremorelikelyto be people o color.5

e2011supplementalbudgetcutstoBasicHealthlimited

the program to individuals who were also eligible or coverageunder the states Medicaid waiver. As a result, an esti-mated 17,000 people, including more than 15,000 immi-grants, will lose coverage, including a disproportionatenumber o people o color and immigrants. People losingeligibility include: children, seniors and individuals whodo not meet the income requirements or the Medicaidmatch (the Medicaid cuto is at 133% FPL), green cardholders with less than 5 years in status, applicants orasylum, U and V visa holders (Violence Against Women Actpetitioners and survivors o violence), people withtemporary protected status (some Haitian, Somali,Sudanese and other nationals who cannot return home

because o natural or political crisis), special immigrantsrom Iraq and Aghanistan, and certain other categories.

Inthe last twoyears, funding forBasicHealthhas beencut in hal resulting in coverage or only 56,000 enrollees,meanwhile the waiting list or the program has grown to137,000 persons.

Conclusion: Cuts to the Basic Health Plan will result ingreater disparities in health care access or people o colorin Washington, particularly people o color who are in low-wage jobs, immigrants, and reugees.



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Race & Ethnicity # ofProviders

% ofWorkforce

% of WAPopulation

White 22,348 73% 82%

Black 1514 5% 3%

Asian/PacicIslander

3803 12% 6%

Native American 201 5% 2%

Hispanic/Latino 2,414 7% 7%

Totals7 30,280 100% 100%

Source: SEIU Healthcare 775NW Membership Data

Long Term Care

Longtermcare(LTC)referstoawiderangeofmedical,personal,andsocialservices.LTCmayincludehelpwithdaily activities, such as dressing, bathing, eating, toileting,getting in and out o a bed or chair, and walking. It also mayinclude home health care, adult day care, nursing homecare, or care in a group living acility. People o color are 58percent more likely to rely on long term care services thantheir White counterparts.

In recent budget cuts, long term care received a 9 percentunding reduction, with particularly deep cuts to home careservices. Tese cuts translate into reductions in services orover 50,000 people in long term care.

LTCprovidersalsofaceseriouscutstoworkhours,healthbenets, and training standards. Te legislature has onceagain proposed to suspend mandatory 75 hours o basictraining, peer mentorship, criminal background checks andcertication requirements until at least January 2014. Teserequirements, which became law under Initiative1029 weresupposed to go into eect January 1, 2010, and their continueddelayplacesbothLTCworkersandconsumerssafetyatrisk.

Long term care providers account or over 30,000 jobs state-wide. In Washington, 26 percent o home care workers arepeople o color, which is greater than the overall percentage

o people o color living in Washington State (18 percent).

In the 2011 Supplemental budget, long term care suered a15 percent reduction in Senior Citizens Service Act (SCSA)unds, a 10 percent reduction in hours or home care con-sumers on average, and a 4.7 percent cut to nursing home care.

Conclusion: Cuts to long term care will severely impact thequality o lie o more than 50,000 people living with a dis-ability or a chronic illness, a disproportionate number owho are people o color, and will result in the loss o thou-sands o jobs.



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Maternity Support Services

Maternity Support Services are preventive health servicesthat supplement medical coverage or Medicaid-eligiblewomen who are pregnant or within 60 days post-pregnancy.Maternity Support Services are oered in addition to medi-cal and prenatal care, and are proven to improve the healtho inants and mothers while reducing costs.

People o color also suer greater health risks in birth. InWashington, inant mortality rates among Arican Ameri-cans are almost twice as high compared to Whites, 8.1deaths compared to 4.5 deaths per 1,000 live births.8 Sud-den Inant Death Syndrome (SIDS) deaths among NativeAmericans occur at 2.3 times the rate o White mothers.

Prenatal care and pregnancy support services are criticalstrategies in reducing health disparities.9

Maternity support or at-risk mothers was reduced by 35percent in thesupplementalbudget.DSHShasproposedcompletely eliminating Maternity Support Services andInant Case Management.

Conclusion: Cuts to, or elimination o, Maternity SupportServices will jeopardize the health o 65,000 at-risk preg-nant women and inants or the rst year o lie, a dispropor-tionate number o whom are people o color.

I work at a community clinic in

Burien as a medical assistant. I

mostly interpret for young mothers.

Theyre considering cutting maternity

support, and Ill tell you why this is

dangerous. As a medical assistant,

I see a lot things happen to families

when the care is not available. Infants are very delicate and its

when they dont receive the proper care and have their weight

moderated in the rst few months that they have permanent dam-

age. I think about the young mothers that I see at the clinic, and

all the support they need to make sure their children are safe and

healthy. By cutting these services, the state is putting more andmore families at risk. As both a mother and medical assistant, I

cannot stand by and watch this happen.

Martina Soleto, Seattle resident

Medical Interpreter Services

With over 19,000 interpreter appointments made everymonth, medical interpreters currently help thousands olimitedEnglishspeakingpersonscommunicatewiththeirdoctor. Failure to provide interpretation or providing sub-standard interpretation puts patients health at risk, increas-es costs or medical care and increases the risk o litigationor providers.10 Not only does Washington have relativelylarge Latino and Asian populations, ranking 7th among thestates in the number o Asians and 13th in the number oLatinos,11 but it ranks as one o the top 10 states in the US orinitial reugee arrivals. Over the last ve years, over 12,300reugees initially resettled in Washington, or an average o2,460 reugees per year.12 Currently, more than 240,000 pa-

tients rely on a medical interpreter to communicate withtheir doctor. With the states immigrant communities grow-ing every year, the demand or these services will continueto exist or both doctors and patients.

Te Governors proposed elimination o medical interpret-er services will translate into losses not only or patientsand doctors, but or interpreters themselves as well, manyo whom are people o color. Tere are over 2,000 medi-cal interpreters in the state. I medical interpreter servicesare eliminated, Washington will oreit $12.2 million in ed-eral matching unds to pay or these much needed services.Without state unding support, hospitals and clinics will be

orced to absorb the costs or medical interpretation, an es-timated $3 million, at a time when hospitals and clinics arealready acing cuts in unding. Tis may orce some hos-pitals and clinics to stop providing medical interpretation,and will orce patients to rely on children or interpretationor simply go without.

Conclusion: Eliminatingmedical interpreter services willincrease health risks and costs or people o color, immi-grants, and reugees in Washington and will result in theloss o thousands o jobs or interpreters, predominantlyimmigrants and people o color.



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State Food Assistance Program

Te State Food Assistance Program was created in 1997 toprovide ood assistance to documented immigrants inWashington. Washington is one o seven states that operatestate-unded ood assistance programs or residents ineligi-ble or ederal ood stamps because o immigration status.Recipients o State Food Assistance benets all into threegeneral categories: legal permanent residents with ewerthan ve years in that status, people legally residing undercolor o the law (PRUCOL), or citizens o countries withcompacts o ree association with the U.S. that allowresidingandworkingintheU.S.butdenycitizenship.Twocountries with compacts o ree association with the U.S.

include the Marshall Islands and Micronesia.

Recipients o the State Food Assistance Program are pre-dominantly people o color rom various countries o ori-gin. As o last spring, the ollowing countries led the list:Mexico,MarshallIslands,Ethiopia,Philippines,Russiaand Micronesia. In August 2010, nearly 14,000 people in Wash-ington received state ood assistance benets averaging $114per month. O 31,000 people who rely on ood assistanceunds, 47 percent are children and 8 percent are seniors.

Te 2011 Supplemental Budget reduced the State FoodAssistance Program by $4.8 million, or 50 percent.

Conclusion: Cuts or reductions in eligibility or the StateFood Assistance Program will put thousands o immigrantchildren and amilies, most o whom are people o color, atrisk o losing access to ood assistance.

I am from Laos, but I am an Ameri-

can because I have lived here for

most of my life. I came here in 1979

due to war in Laos during the Viet-

nam War. We had to escape across

the Mekong River to Thailand and

stayed in the refugee camps for twoand a half years. I am now in the process of becoming a citizen.

We are losing assistance from the State Food Assistance program

and it is hard enough being a single mother, now Im worried

about how to put food on the table for my two girls. We deserve

to be safe and sustain our families.

Darasavanh Kommavongsa, Seattle resident

Edon

Across the nation, long-standing gaps in educational peror-mance and attainment exist between White students and stu-dents o color. Washington State is ranked in the bottom veo all states in closing the racial and ethnic achievement gap.At the current pace, it will take 45 to 50 years to close the gapbetween students o color and their White counterparts.

An eective state education system should create opportuni-ty or all Washingtonians. Unortunately students rom com-munities o colorparticularly Latino, Native American,and Arican Americansstruggle with attaining educationbeyond high school. While there are known remedies to theachievement gap, these require an equitable allocation o

resources.

issectionanalyzes:K-4EducationFunding,HigherEdu -cationTuition,CollegeBound,andChildCareSupports.

AT-A-GLANCE

Education programs at risk of proposed reductionsor elimination include:

CutsforClassSizeReductionwillleadtoswelling

classsizes,making itmoredicult forstudentso color to get the support they need to succeedacademically.

CutstotheCollegeBoundScholarshipProgramwill leave thousands o low-income students (in-cluding youths o color) without the mentoringand nancial assistance necessary to pursue high-er education.

Child caresubsidies forseasonalworkerswerereduced in the supplemental budget, and SeasonalChild Care Programs administered throughcontracts with non-prot organizations serving

migrant and seasonal workers will end in March2011.



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K- 4 Education Funding and Class Sizes

Washington State ranks 44th nationally in state undingper student, and spends $1.5 billion less than the nationalaverage per year on education. Tis has resulted in under-unded K-12 school programs.13 Reductions in class sizesare proven to help close the racial academic achievementgap,butlimitedfundinghasmadeitdiculttoreduceclasssizes and student to teacher ratios.

In 2009, 1,775 students were relocated when ve Seattleschools closed. O the ve schools that were closed, our werelocatedindensecommunitiesofcolor.BothClevelandHighSchoolandRainierBeachHighSchooltwohighschoolslocated in predominately Arican American communities

were slated or closure until the NAACP and other civil rightsgroups successully challenged the decision.14 Continual con-cerns have been expressed by communities o color about alack o school unding and programs in their geographic ar-eas, as well as the risk o student displacement when changesare made to their school programs.

In the 2011 supplemental budget, Class Reduction wasreduced by $25 million. Meanwhile, over the last decade,the number o White students in Washingtons public edu-cation system has declined, and the population o studentso color has increased by 38 percent. Tus, cuts to educa-tion unding have an increasing impact on educationalopportunity or students o color.

Conclusion: Cuts to K-12 school programs and class reduc-tion eorts will exacerbate the achievement gap or growingnumbers o students o color.

Higher Education Attainment

Te racial and ethnic achievement gap grows in magnitudeas youth near entry to the workorce or higher education.In Washington State, students o color are less likely to at-tain education beyond high school, and this is particularlytrue or Latino, Native American, and Arican Americanstudents. For example, 64 percent o Latinos obtain highschool diploma as their highest level o educational attain-ment, but only 13 percent obtain a Bachelors degree orhigher degree. Likewise, the numbers are much lower orArican American students (38 percent obtain high schooldiploma and 18 percent obtain a Bachelors degree or higherdegree) and Native American students (56 percent obtaina high school diploma and 13 percent obtain a Bachelors

degree or higher degree).15

HighestEducationalAttainmentbyRace,ages25-64,2007Te College Bound Scholarship is a state-unded programthat assists low-income students (including students ocolor) with higher education attainment. Te program pro-vides mentoring and nancial assistance based on tuitionrates at Washington public colleges and universities andcovers tuition and ees not covered by other state nancialaid awards.

1998-99 2009-10 Growth

All Students 999,616 1,040,750 4.1%

White 759,708 672,350 -11.5%

Latino 90,965 158,612 74.4%

Asian/PacicIslander

70,973 89,231 25.7%

AfricanAmerican

50,980 56,790 11.4%

NativeAmerican

27,989 27,363 -2.2%

Bilingual 50,980 83,260 63.3%

Source: Achievement Gap Oversight and Accountability Committee 2010

Student Demographics in Washington State

Source: 2007 American Community Survey

50%

45%

40%

35%

30%

25%

20%

15%

10%

5%

0%Latinos Native Black Asian White Total

H.S. Diploma

Some college, no degree

Bachelors degree or higher



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Since 2007, the College Bound Scholarship program hasenrolled more than 70,000 low-income youths across thestate with a commitment to stay in school and apply to ahigher education institution.16 Te College Bound pro-gram is available to all Washington residents, regardless ostatus.17

Conclusion:Cuts to the College Bound Scholarship Programwill leave thousands o low income students (includingyouth o color) without the mentoring and nancial assis-tance necessary to pursue higher education.

Tuition Costs and Higher Education

State higher education institutions are experiencing reduc-tions in unding and students are acing increased tuitioncosts. Already, public universities, technical schools, andcommunity colleges have started making cuts; between2008 and 2010, the state cut operational unding or publicinstitutions by 30 percent. In the 200910 and 201011 aca-demic years, tuition increased 14 percent per year.

Many students o color are being priced out o attaininghigher education. Currently, only 77 percent o enrolledstudents eligible or state nancial aid are receiving assis-

tance, compared to 98 percent in 2009. O students whoqualiy or a State Need Grant in 2011, 22,000 will not re-ceive one. State Work Study unding has been cut by a third.And despite steep tuition increases, higher education insti-tutions have cut hundreds o jobs, including jobs in studentsupport services.

Conclusion: Increasing college tuition and cuts to highereducational support programs will price thousands o stu-dents o color out o higher education and will widen theracial achievement gap.

Seasonal Child Care Programs

Te seasonal child care program, part o the DepartmentofEarlyLearning(DEL),provideschildcaresubsidiestoeligible seasonally employed agricultural amilies. Te pro-gram is administered through contracts with non-protorganizations serving migrant and seasonal workers, andits purpose is to provide sae, licensed child care while par-ents are working in agricultural settings.19

As o December 31, 2010, seasonal child care subsidieswere no longer available or the rest o state scal year 2011(through June 30, 2011). Administration o the programthrough community-based organizations is slated to becompletely eliminated by March 2011, and the same eligi-

bility reductions, rom 200 to 175% FPL, to Working Con-nections Child Care assistance are also limiting access toSeasonal Child Care.

Conclusion: Cutting the seasonal child care program willaect child development and saety or children o migrantand seasonal workers and limit the ability o migrant andseasonal workers to work, the majority o whom are peopleo color.

Since Ive had my baby, Ive

been out of work for a year.

My children and health (chronic

arthritis) prevent me from working

full-time. I can only work seasonal

work or part-time, but when I do

nd something, then I have to

worry about the costs of child care. My little boy has a hole in his

heart and I cant leave him alone. Theyve cut me off TANF and

food assistance because my disability income was too high.

Were barely making it through the month. I dont know how

families are supposed to live like this.

Shaunte Powell, Burien resident



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AT-A-GLANCE

Proposed cuts that affect civil rights include:

Eliminatingprogramsthathelpthousandsofim-migrants and reugees to become U.S. citizens.

Eliminatingprogramsthathelprefugeesintegrateintotheworkforceandregainself-suciencytoattain economic stability or their amilies limitseconomic growth or the state.

EthnicCommissionsareslatedtobeeliminatedor consolidated into one entity, taking away thevoice o ethnic communities in public govern-ment and the necessary avenues or communitiesto express their specic needs.

Te programs discussed in this session include:RefugeeEmploymentServices,eNaturalizationProgram, Te Washington New Americans Program,andtheHumanRightsandEthnicCommissions.

cl rghs

Washington State has some o the strongest non-discrimina-tion laws in the country. Washington law protects residentsrom discrimination based on Race, Creed, Color, NationalOrigin, Sex, Marital Status, Family with Children Status,Age, the Presence o any Sensory, Mental, or Physical Dis-ability,theUseofaTrainedDogGuideorServiceAnimalby a Person with a Disability, honorably discharged veteranor military status or Sexual Orientation/Gender Identity.Despite these robust legal protections, Washingtons CivilRights enorcement system has been eroded over the lastthree decades by continual budget cuts. Tese cuts haveprompted civil rights advocates to ask whether there canbe civil rights in Washington State without an eective

enorcement system.

Programs and entities that ocus specically on ensuringthat people o color can participate in public policy decision-making and deend their civil rights are being targeted orcuts and elimination.

The Naturalization Program andthe New Americans Program

Naturalization provides many benets: catalyzes asset build-ing, increases job opportunity, leads to economically stablelives or immigrant amilies. Despite the benets, programsthat help immigrants and reugees obtain citizenship are beingtargeted or cuts and elimination by the Governor and statelegislature.

Te Naturalization Program through the Department oSocialandHumanServicesenablesthousandsoflegalper-manent residents to become U.S. citizens each year. Despiteits success, the Naturalization Program was eliminated onDecember 1, 2010. Lawmakers restored $500,000 in unding

or the program in the 2011 supplemental budget, however,DSHShasnotiedagenciesthatnonewfundswillbecom-ing to the program as the unds were already spent, thoughthey provided no details.

Since 2009, the Washington New Americans programthrough the Department o Commerce has helped more than2,000 immigrants complete their naturalization applicationsthrough direct services and ree legal clinics oered across thestate, while matching state unding dollar-or-dollar throughin-kind and private unding sources. Te Washington NewAmericans Program will likely be slated or elimination inthe 2011-2013 biennial budget. Tere are approximately170,000 legal permanent residents in Washington who areeligible or citizenship.20

Conclusion: Without programs such as New Americans andthe Naturalization Program, thousands o immigrants andreugees will continue to lack the rights and protections oU.S. citizenship and will be denied access to ull participationin our society.

Budget cuts are hurting immigrants allover the state. Families will have a hard

time feeding their children because ofcuts to food benets. We wont be able

to understand our doctors if interpreter

services are cut. This is going to devastateour communities. Immigrants pay taxesand contribute to the economy, while cor-

porations and banks are given tax breaks.This is an injustice to all of us.

Yolanda Tinoco, Seattle resident



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Refugee Employment Services

RefugeeEmploymentServicesprovideemploymentassis -tance to reugees throughout the state. Reugees, the vastmajority o whom are people o color, are oen survivors ogreat adversity who bring personal initiative, skills, strongwork ethics, high retention rates and diversity to the work-place and to our communities.

Washington ranks as one o the top 10 states or initial reu-gee arrivals. Over the last ve years, over 12,300 reugeesinitially resettled in Washington.21DSHShasimplementedcutstoRefugeeEmploymentServicesinthe2011scalyearand has proposed its complete elimination in the 20112013biennial budget.

Conclusion:Te elimination o reugee assistance programs,suchasRefugeeEmploymentServices,willimpacttheabil -ity o thousands o people o color to attain and maintaineconomic stability or their amilies and contribute toWashington States economy.

Washington Ethnic Commissions

Since their establishment in the1970s, theEthnicCom-missionssuch as the Oce of Hispanic Aairs, Oceof African American Aairs, Oce of Asian American/PacicIslanderAairs,andtheOceofIndianAairshave been the voice in state government or communitieso color. Teir role is to bring the voice o people o color tothe table within a state government that too oen overlooksthe specic needs o these communities. Te commissionsareacost-ecientmodel,relyingonthepro-bonoworkofover 30 volunteer commissioners across the state.

Conclusion: e elimination or consolidation of EthnicCommissions will take away the voice and representation o

dierent ethnic communities and their specic needs andpriorities in state government.

NOTE: Teenagers are aged 16 to 19. Men and women are 20 and above. Racial breakdown and total are 16 and above. The rate for Asiansis not seasonally adjusted. Source: U.S. Department of Labor

Unemployment In America

TOTAL U.S. POPULATION MEN WOMEN TEENAGERS WHITES BLACKS HISPANICS ASIANS

9.9%9.4%

10.2%9.4%

8.2% 8.1%

26.8%

25.4%

9.0%8.5%

16.2%15.8%

12.8% 13.0%

8.4%

7.2%

December 2009

December 2010



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As analyzed in this report, reduced unding and eliminationo health care, education, and civil rights programs wouldincrease health disparities by race, widen the racial achieve-ment gap, impede political and economic advancement, anddiminish the civil rights o people o color in Washington State.Te Governor and State Legislature can and should mitigatethe impact o budget cuts on people o color by exploringall options or possible cuts and by aggressively seeking newrevenue sources.

Special tax expenditures cost Washingtonians $6.5 billionevery year, yet they do little or nothing to support peopleo color or to advance racial equity. Many o these tax

subsidies and loopholes could be closed to maintain andimprove health care, education and other essential publicservicesforallresidents.Everytaxexemptionneedstobeevaluated against other priorities on the budget, and closedi out-dated or unnecessary. According to the WashingtonState Budget and Policy Center, there are 567 tax expendi-tures that cost the state billions o dollars each year.22

At a time when the demand or state services is increasing asa result o the national recession, cuts to programs thatserve the most vulnerable in our state must be done so withgreat caution. Te current wave o unprecedented cuts tohealth care, education, protections or our most vulnerableand other essential public services require that our electedocials focus on realsolutions.esesolutionsmust berooted in the goal o eliminating racial disparities in Wash-ington State.

We recommend that the Governor and State Lawmakers:1. Reject cuts to services that will have negative impacts

intentionally or unintentionallyon immigrant com-munities and communities o color.

2. Reject policy proposals that will have the eect o widen-ing racial or economic inequality.

3. Support proposals that bring greater transparency andaccountability to tax exemptions.

4. Support proposals to raise revenue in support o vitalpublic services or all.

rEcOmmENDatiONS



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1 OceofFinancialManagement.Washingtonpopulationgrowthcon-tinues to slow. Jun. 2009

2 PovertyandHungerinWashingtonState.WashingtonStateDepart-mentofSocialandHealthServices,August2008.

3 http://money.cnn.com/magazines/ortune/ortune500/2010/ull_list/

4 WashingtonStateBoardofHealth.Health ImpactReview:ProposedCutstoHealthCareandHumanServicesPrograms.March31,2009.

pages 1415.

5 Amajority ofBHPenrollees choose communityhealth centersfortheir health care. While Latinos make up only 9.3% o the total statepopulation, they represent 36% community health center patients.Similarly, Arican Americans represent only 3.4% o the states popula-tion, but comprise 6% o those served in community health centers.

Tereore, Latinos and Arican Americans have been over-representedas patients who use community health centers, signiying that they arealsodisproportionatelyenrolledintheBasicHealthPlan.WashingtonStateBoardofHealth.HealthImpactReview:ProposedCutstoHealthCareandHumanServicesPrograms.March31,2009.pages1112.

6 WashingtonStateBoardofHealth.Health ImpactReview:ProposedCutstoHealthCareandHumanServicesPrograms.March31,2009.

pgs 78.

7 Source:SEIUHealthcare775NWMembershipData

8 Kaiser Family Foundation, Washington: Inant Mortality Rate (Deathsper1,000LiveBirths)byRace/Ethnicity,2004-2006,http://www.state-healthacts.org/proleind.jsp?rgn=49&ind=48&cat=2

9 CDC, Inant Mortality Statistics rom the 2006 Period Linked Birth/

Inant Death Data Set. National Vital Statistics Reports. 2010.

10WashingtonFederationofStateEmployees2010.11OceofFinancialManagement.Washingtonpopulationgrowthcon-

tinues to slow. Jun. 2009

12OceofRefugeeandImmigrantAssistance/DepartmentofSocialandHealthServices.2010

13 Funding Washington Schools. 2010. http://www.undingwaschools.

org/index.htm

14Ramirez,Marc.NAACPsayssuitpossibleoverSeattleschoolclosures.SeattleTimes.Jan.17,2009.

15Spaulding, RandyPh.D. AmericanCommunity Survey.PopulationDemographicsAectingWashingtonHigherEducation.2007

16HigherEducationCoordinatingBoard.http://www.hecb.wa.gov/

17 Applications or the College Bound Scholarship who are not US citi-zensorLegalPermanentResidentsmusthaveasignedadavitpledg-

ing that they will apply or permanent residency as soon as possible.

18 Te College Promise Coalition. http://www.collegepromisewa.com/

19Department of Early Learning. http://www.del.wa.gov/care/help/seasonal.aspx

20OneAmerica.ImmigrantContributionstoOurStateEconomy.April2009. http://www.weareoneamerica.org/sites/deault/les/Immigrant_Contributions_to_Our_State_Economy.pdf

21OceofRefugeeandImmigrantAssistance/DepartmentofSocialandHealthServices.2010

22EveryDollar Counts:WhyItsTime forTax ExpenditureReform,

Washington State Budget and Policy Center Policy Brie, February 8,2011.

End Noes



22/24

AUTHOR

Jill Mangaliman

EDITORS

Fatima Morales

Will Pittz

GRAPHIC DESIGNER

Peg Ogle

Tis report would not have been possible without the contributions o many peo-

plemembers who shared their stories and community leaders who lent their in-

sight and eedback.

We would like to especially thank: Shaunte Powell, Martina Soleto, Darasavanh

Kommavongsa,Maria Luna, John-Paul Chaisson-Cardenas,HeatherVillanueva

andtheRacialEquityTeam,SaharBanijamali,DorryEliasGarcia,JenEsto,Toby

Guevin,TeresitaBatayolaandICHS,JoanaRamos,BobCooper,LaurieLippold,

Shankar Narayan, Jim Justice, the Racial Justice Report Card Coalition, and the

Race and Social Justice Initiative.

crEDitS



24/24


With over 35,000 members, Washington CAN! is the states largest

grassroots community organization. Together we work to achieve

racial, social, and economic justice in our state and nation.

Our strength as an organization depends on our members

involvement. We believe that we can only achieve our

goals when people take action for justice.

220 South River St # 11

Seattle, WA 98108

(206) 389-0050

www.washingtoncan.org

Documents

The Color of Cuts