The Children’s Home Society of Washington, one of the state’s and nation’s leading children and family organizations, announced this week that it has received an $8 million donation from philanthropist MacKenzie Scott.
This contribution will help Children’s Home Society of Washington carry out its transformative work to shift government and philanthropic resources to keeping families together and to combat inequities that have been compounded by the pandemic.
The press release explaining the donation mentioned the Poverty Reduction Work Group steering committee and the 10-year Plan, and how it highlighted the intersection of poverty, race and child welfare. From the release:
According to the report, in 2019, 1.75 million Washingtonians — more than 500,000 of them children — lived in a household that struggles to make ends meet. The vast majority of child neglect cases occur when families have insufficient incomes, below 50 percent the family poverty line. Indigenous, Black, and Brown Washingtonians experience poverty rates above the state average.
After decades of attempts to reform the child welfare system, Black, Brown and Native American children are still disproportionately removed from their parents, remain out of home longer, and are more likely to have their rights to their family permanently severed. Children’s Home Society plans to play a significant part in seeking to help make needed change happen.
You can learn more about the donation and the Children’s Home Society here, and learn more about MacKenzie Scott’s philanthropy here.