WASHINGTON'S PROGRESS ON THE PRENATAL-TO-3 STATE POLICY ROADMAP
The Prenatal-to-3 State Policy Roadmap guides state leaders on the most effective investments to ensure all children thrive from the start. Since the 2020 Roadmap, Washington began newly implementing a refundable earned income tax credit of at least 10% of the federal credit and increased the state minimum wage. Washington is one of 10 states that has implemented all four effective Roadmap policies.
Washington reduced administrative burden for SNAP by offering online case management services, expanded access to comprehensive screening and connection programs, began allocating state funds to Early Head Start, and took steps to increase access to child care subsidies. The state will begin Medicaid coverage for doula services in 2025. Washington continued support for Early Intervention services.
Because of state and federal investments, a parent earning the minimum wage with two children in Washington has approximately $45,300 in total resources available to them in 2024, up from $36,600 in 2020.
WHAT PROGRESS HAS WASHINGTON MADE IN IMPLEMENTING EFFECTIVE ROADMAP POLICIES?
WHAT PROGRESS HAS WASHINGTON MADE IN INCREASING ACCESS TO EFFECTIVE ROADMAP STRATEGIES?
Visit the United States summary for information on the broader nationwide progress since the 2020 Roadmap toward full and equitable implementation of each of the 12 Roadmap policies and strategies.
HOW DO WASHINGTON’S POLICY CHOICES IMPACT FAMILY RESOURCES?
State policy choices do not operate in isolation from one another. Instead, they interact to create a system of support for children and families that varies significantly state-by-state. Our Policy Impact Calculator demonstrates this variation and illustrates the impact of policy choices on family resources over time.
In Washington, a parent earning the minimum wage with two children has $45,291 in total resources available to them in 2024, up from $36,570 in 2020.
- Change in total resources due to state policies: + $6,506
- Change in total resources due to federal policies: + $2,215
To learn more about the impact that each effective policy and strategy has on the eight prenatal-to-3 policy goals, the choices that states can make to effectively implement them, the progress states have made in the past year toward implementation, and how states compare to each other in their generosity and reach of the policies and strategies, check out the 2024 Prenatal-to-3 State Policy Roadmap.
