Release Date: April 2, 2008
What first seemed a well-executed April fool’s joke quickly became a disappointing reality to UW’s student governments yesterday when we learned of Governor Gregoire’s veto of funding for childcare grants and additional mental health providers on Washington’s college and university campuses. The veto came as a surprise given House and Senate leadership supported both measures in budget bill 2687, which was passed and signed. Both items were clear victories for students and the result of a partnership between a bipartisan group of legislators and student leadership in Olympia.
Childcare and Mental Health / Campus Safety are the top priorities of student leaders throughout Washington State and for good reason.
Lack of adequate childcare is one of the top three barriers to degree completion for student parents. At UW, over 800,000 student fee dollars are being spent on our childcare voucher program, yet during the 2006-2007 academic year 135 students remained on the waitlist due to inadequate funds. The Governor’s veto of $1.1 million dollars of childcare funding to support the implementation of House Bill 2582 and expand voucher resources for two and four year colleges and universities is a disappointing blow to hardworking student parents and strikes at our commitment to access and equality of opportunity for students within higher education. Existing funding of just $100,000 per year shared by all four-year institutions – a level unchanged since 1999 – is an inadequate commitment to address the urgent needs of student parents, and reflects the pressing need for new funding.
Similarly, the Governor’s veto of the student-led additional mental health staffing initiative for each of Washington’s four-year institutions is troubling and disappointing in light of her earlier commitment to campus safety and the pressing issue of mental health. Throughout the Session we argued that campus safety cannot be adequately or effectively addressed without also considering mental health. Democrats and Republicans alike agreed with us that mental health is an essential part of the campus safety conversation.
At UW, we’ve seen a 30 percent increase in the number of students seeking access to the counseling center this year. Last academic year the counseling center saw 1,250 students for counseling services, for a total of 5,567 annual visits. Compounding this demand, the UW lags behind its peer institutions and national clinical best practice standards in its student to mental health provider ratios. To achieve parity with its peers, the UW must add between four to seven additional mental health providers. The additional mental health counselor for UW’s campus vetoed by the Governor was a crucial and important first step towards achieving parity and ensuring students’ access to quality mental health services.
Affordable childcare for Washington’s student parents and accessible mental health services on Washington’s campuses should be a priority for the leadership in Olympia. Given the Legislature’s strong bi-partisan support for both of these initiatives and the broad coalition of students in support, the Governor’s vetoes yesterday are truly disheartening.
We can only hope that the Governor will reconsider these initiatives next year because Washington students deserve better.
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