PROVIDENCE – When Rhode Island KIDS COUNT convenes its “Celebration of Children’s Health and Well-Being” at 12 noon on Monday, Dec. 2, at the Providence Marriott, the state’s leading advocate for children will be highlighting its policy agenda for 2025.

Rhode Island KIDS COUNT will also be honoring four state legislators as “Children’s Champions” – Rep. Megan Cotter and Sen. Bridget Valverde for their work on educational equity and their work to increase Medicaid rates for Early Intervention, and Rep. Justine Caldwell and Sen. Pam Luria for their work to pass the Safe Storage for Firearms Act.

Translated,  Rhode Island KIDS COUNT is not backing down from its mission to protect kids in Rhode Island. Instead, it is sharpening its policy focus for the coming budget battles promised to occur in the 2025 General Assembly.

Former President Donald Trump, known for his bullying tactics, is preparing a rage of retributon at the beginning of his second term, and many advocates are worried how that might impact legislative tactics to avoid loss of federal funds and to preserve state health insurance programs such as “Covering All Kids.”

ConvergenceRI recently sat down with Executive Director Paige Parks and Health Policy Associate Michaela Carroll for an in-depth conversation about the challenges facing Rhode Island when it comes to promoting children’s health.

At a time when many are attacking equity as a concept, Parks is staunch defender. “We have an increasingly diverse population in Rhode Island,” she said, placing an emphasis on the future demographics of the state. “If we do not pay attention to what is happening to the diverse children in our state, and we don’t find ways to address the barriers that are holding these populations back so that they are unable to succeed and thrive, then the whole state is not going to succeed and thrive.”

Parks continued: “Because it is these children who are the future of Rhode Island. We need to figure out what are the barriers and remove those barriers. And that is what equity is.”

Here is the ConvergenceRI interview:

ConvergenceRI: We appear to be at the inflection point with everything that is happening in Rhode Island, the progressive forces against the forces of reaction.

 Rhode Island KIDS COUNT is battling against all the forces of the status quo that want to return us to – I’m not sure what – to put us in a bad place. Those are my words, not yours. So, let me start by asking: “What gives you hope?”    
PARKS: That’s a great question. What gives me hope is just seeing the joy of children. Even though we as adults are living in this really complex world, and it’s gets very stressful, looking at little kids being happy and joyful – that gives me a lot of hope.

This morning, actually, I was late for my first meeting, because I was behind a school bus. And, I was thinking, You know what? I will go the entire way behind the bus, and instead of rushing and worrying about what time it is or how late I am, I’m going to enjoy this moment, watching elementary school kids get on the bus.

And, Lord bless, at very stop, the kids were so excited to see the bus, jumping on, looking at each other’s shoes – the very simple joy that kids have, it made me smile. It made me smile the whole way into work.

It made me smile. Look at those kids. They are so excited; this is exactly what I needed to see this morning. Just really taking the time to stop and find those moments, to be in those moments with kids.

ConvergenceRI: Coming up on Monday, Dec. 2, you are having the annual luncheon in celebration of children’s health. I’ve been to a lot of them. What seems to have changed is that you are pushing out earlier your legislative policy agenda – to get that out before the 2025 General Assembly session begins [in early January].

What are your basic priorities moving forward into the next legislative session? How do you think your voice needs to change, if it does, to make sure that your urgency is heard?    
PARKS: Good question. We have, as you said, tried to set priorities earlier in the year so that we can help to influence the next Legislative session – before the Governor’s budget is released [in mid-January] as well.

As a staff, we went through a process of looking at our policy priorities from last year, and evaluating how the last legislative session went. We celebrated our wins; we had quite a few wins last year. We looked at the list, and said: Check that off! Done! Check that off! Done!

And then, we looked at what we did not get over the finish line. And then, we looked at that within the context of: we know, and it’s been reported, that we’re going into possibly a really tight budget season – that there is a potential $400 million deficit.

We looked at our priorities from last year that didn’t cost anything and then looked at it in the context of a $400 million budget deficit.

What were our priorities from last year that didn’t require any money, so those are ones that we looked at and asked: What are the things we need to get these things over the finish line? Do we need to do additional movement building? Do we need to add to and collaborate with partners to get over the finish line?

And then [we looked at] the priorities that had money attached to them: Was it still a priority? Were there other ways to accomplish this goal that doesn’t require more legislation?

So, we went through and analyzed every single piece.

ConvergenceRI: As I look at next year’s budget battles, even though the rates for Medicaid were increased, how much traction that has, because those rates apply just to stand alone Medicaid or whether they applied to the Managed Care Organizations is still up in the air, from what I’m hearing from sources. How forceful do you think RI KIDS COUNT needs to be to make sure that those Medicaid  rste increases are not rolled back?    
PARKS: We’ve been looking at that as a staff, with a budget deficit, potentially $400 million. What do we want to make sure that we protect, and that we hold onto?

For example, “Cover All Kids,” we know that as extremely important to health insurance coverage for all income eligible children regardless of immigration status. That can’t go away.

It was extremely important, and it helped to make sure that more kids have access to medical care treatment and services. That cannot go away.

We are really hoping that when the Governor’s budget is released in January, that he has kept that insurance coverage for kids. But we are ready to shift if we need to, to move into a protective, defensive stance, to make sure that that does not come out of the Governor’s proposal for the budget.

We have also been looking at impacts of potential changes in the federal government, with a new Trump administration. What are some things that we need to look at to make sure we keep in place, and we protect?

Rhode Island has done a really great job having equity-focused policies over the last several years, giving credit to us and to many of our partners that have really been advocating for equity. There are so many equity-focused champions in the legislature.

What else do we need to do? What buttons do we need to sew? To make sure that we are protecting certain things?

We will be taking a hard stance on things that we feel are going to jeopardize our progress towards equity or may cause harm to kids and families, as we always have. We will continue to do that, working in collaboration with many of our partners.

ConvergenceRI: Earlier this week, when traveling to my physical therapy appointment, I listened to WPRO – taking the temperature of the intemperate, as I call it – and one of the talk show hosts was talking about how much he dislikes diversity, equity and inclusion. My question is: Would you be willing to go on WPRO, say the Matt Allen show, and go to battle on the importance of diversity?    
PARKS: I would be willing to speak to anyone. And, I don’t think it would have to be a battle. It is just a matter of facts and data.

We have an increasingly diverse population in Rhode Island. And children are more likely to identify with people of color than any other age group in our state.

If we do not pay attention to what is happening to the diverse children in our state, and don’t find ways to address the barriers that are holding these populations back, so that they are unable to achieve success and thrive, then the whole state is not going to succeed and thrive, because it is these children who are the future of Rhode Island. We need to figure out what are the barriers and remove those barriers. And that is what equity is.

ConvergenceRI: You have no argument from me. Very often, there is a tendency to shy away from people who live in their bubbles, people talk around each other, and there is no real effort to confront.    
PARKS: I am happy to talk with anyone, anyone.

ConvergenceRI: One of the other big issues right now is education and the city’s finances. What I think gets lost in a lot of the conversations is when the city will be able to regain control of its own public schools. Is that something you’d like to see sooner rather than later?    
PARKS: I would like to see that happen when the city is ready. And, when we as a public can feel confident that we will continue to have progress for the betterment of Providence public schools – and the students and families who are there.

For me, to pick a right timeline, it is a matter of when is the city ready. Can we make sure that we don’t go back to how things have been for too many decades?

Our kids can’t afford that. We can’t let them go backwards. This is a time now for the city and the district and the state and the school department to work together to make sure that there is a smooth transition.

And, to make sure that all the entities know work has been done, to identify what work still needs to continue to get done, and then work together on it. 

What is frustrating from the outside, watching what is happening, is that they don’t seem to be able to work together.

Our kids need this. A school system needs to be strong and have strong advocates for it, that are all committed, and looking at the same vision of better schools for kids, and being able to put adults’ interests, or bad history or whatever it is that is leading to this really troubling relationship between [the parties], let’s put that behind us, so we an have a good public school system. And, it is so frustrating.

ConvergenceRI: Have you had an opportunity to sit down and talk with Gov. Dan McKee and lobby him about what your priorities are? Will he be at the luncheon on Dec. 2?    
PARKS: He has been invited to the luncheon. I still can’t confirm his ability to be able to speak.

But we do speak to the Governor’s office as well, outside of events.

ConvergenceRI: Have you personally been able to meet with him and sit down with him and share your budget priorities?    
PARK: Oh, yes. We have met with him and his team already about budget priorities.

ConvergenceRI: In health care, there are a lot of forces disrupting health care delivery. I was wondering whether there would be more focus by Rhode Island KIDS COUNT about that particular part of the health care system moving forward?

 Such as the role that community health care workers play? Because they are the people who seem to get laid off when community health centers cut their budgets, and the role that community health workers play in terms of reaching out to the people in the community who may not have access to transportation. And the people who work in health equity zones are community health workers, but they often don’t have a voice in the decision-making. Did I phrase that properly?    
PARKS: Yes. To your questions of Rhode Island KIDS COUNT voice and our role in that, we speak and hope to amplify the voice of youth and be the voice of children when they are not able to be there. And, that is our primary focus.

So, having access to community-based health organizations, and especially with community-based behavioral health and mental health, we have been doing a lot of work and focus on that. As you know, there is a children’s mental health crisis.

ConvergenceRI: What have you been focusing on?    
PARKS: Just last month, we released a new report around youth mental health, focused on BIPOC and LGBTQ+ youth. And we have led focus groups in partnership with Youth Voices and Youth Pride, to be able to hear from young people directly around issues they are having with their mental health, talking about the impact of COVID, and talking about social media and the impact on their mental health. And, what are their solutions? What do they hope the state does?

What kind of support do they feel like they need? And so, we just released that report last month.

We also are continuing to work alongside many of our behavioral health partners. We were just at the open house for Family Service, whose CCBHC [Certified Community Behavioral Health Clinic] is providing more access to mental health supports for young people and families.

Because we know we need to have the right support, at the right level, at the right time for kids and families. There are so many different places, and it can be really confusing and hard for young people and parents to figure out the access points.

We’re looking at potentially supporting priorities around behavioral and mental health systems.

MICHAELA CARROLL: Some of our community partners are talking about stabilizing the mobile response and stabilization services [MRSS]. That’s a number you can call if your child is having a mental health crisis, instead of calling 911. They’ll send someone out, and that way, they can get the appropriate level of care – and the follow up that is needed.

That’s funded through next year, and we are hoping that will be stabilized as something that can continue going forward.

CCBHCs are going to have same day or next day appointments, so if you are having a mental health crisis, or your child is having a mental health crisis, you can access the care you need right away.

Earlier, you asked: What gives us hope? At our recent report release, we had so many young people talking, and hearing how they were able to advocate for themselves, to speak up for themselves, that is what gives me great hope.

ConvergenceRI: How effective is it to having young people speak out and be heard? I think that one of the most frustrating things for young people is that they often don’t feel heard, or they don’t feel listened to. How can Rhode Island KIDS COUNT help to change that dynamic?    
PARKS: Absolutely. So, you are right. It’s frustrating for young people to hear that something is being built for them – and they did not have a say in it.

Young people have the best insight to share with us about what is actually going on. And, they have some of the best ideas around solutions. So, that is why we are committed to amplifying these voices, creating opportunities for young people to share their voices,

There are also all the reports that we have released in the last two years. We’ve been starting off, talking to young people. Asking them about the data that we currently have, and asking: Does this data absolutely reflect your lived experience?What is the data not capturing? What is it that you hope this report covers?

And, we start with their ideas first, before we write publications. And then, when we release publications, we want them to be there, to share, in their own words, about what is happening. And we have heard from people who are at those events – it is the young people’s stories that they remember the most.

And that helps to influence program development, policy development, and the young people come with us to the State House [when we talk with legislators].

ConvergenceRI: Let me ask you this: Why doesn’t Rhode Island KIDS COUNT identify kids on a regular basis, high school students, to write a column about what they are experiencing in the schools and in their neighborhoods. And, I’ll publish it monthly. [See links below to two previous stories written by high school students in Providence and published by ConvergeneRI – “Speaking up and speaking out” and “A day in the life of my neighborhood.”].  
PARKS: I love that idea.

ConvergenceRI: I think it would be great. What a positive way to have a constant, strong voice for students expressing themselves.