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I am Angela Wirt, Executive Director of Child Care Aware of Virginia. CHILD CARE has been hit hard by the pandemic – families and child care programs continue to struggle. Many programs remain at risk of closing permanently due to lost revenue. We need to enable PORTABILITY of BACKGROUND CHECKS for substitute staff to assist with critical staffing shortages so that child care can continue to operate and families can get the care they need to continue working. We must pass legislation to allow portability of background checks and enlist the Rap Back program to maintain safe care settings for children. Public schools have substitute pools of screened staff who can step into classrooms when teachers are absent; child care does not. It’s time to change that. We need to ensure SAFE SLEEP PRACTICES for all infants in child care and ask for ALL registered providers to be required to comply with safe sleep recommendations of the American Academy of Pediatrics. Voluntarily registered providers are currently not required to follow these practices. We urge the GA to close this loophole and adopt safe sleep legislation for registered providers to prevent the unnecessary deaths of babies in regulated child care. Child Care Resource and Referral offers critical BUSINESS SUPPORT technical assistance and training to the child care workforce statewide. Supplemental funding to support the development and sustainability of child care businesses is needed to strengthen and rebuild the child care community and Virginia’s economy. Families cannot work without child care – businesses cannot operate without a workforce. There is no economic recovery without child care!

My name is Barbara Watkins, and I live in the City of Richmond. I would like to discuss two issues today. The first has to do with the inclusion penalty. This is a concern for me because people with disabilities who have the DD Waiver are at risk of making the decision to go into an institution or group home if they do not have the support providers that they need to remain in the community, because there are not as many support providers in the community as there are in institutions and group homes. And that is because Medicaid's payment rate for direct service assistants working for individuals living independently is lower than the payment rate for those working in institutions and group homes. The inclusion penalty should be eliminated. Because individuals who are fortunate enough to have the Waiver should not be living in fear of losing a life of freedom and independence because there are not enough support providers in community-based settings. And the other issue of mine is that I am constantly losing my good attendants and having to retrain and get close to new people all over again. This is always difficult for me when I put so much into growing each relationship. They eventually go to other jobs because the minimum wage needs to be increased so they could stay with me and still be able to support themselves and their families. In closing, I have had my Waiver for 20 years now. Waivers give disabled individuals the right to live a life like yours with dignity and respect. It is my earnest request that the General Assembly create more Waivers for the many people with disabilities who are on the waiting list, especially the Priority One list which are the emergency cases. Thank you for the opportunity to share these comments with you.

My daughter, Virginia Casey, and I hope to show you what a Priority One family looks like and ask you to fund the DD Waiver Priority 1 wait list and raise caregiver rates. First, here's Virginia's statement. My name is Virginia Casey and I live in Henrico. I’m almost 38 years old. I have autism, intellectual disability, and mild cerebral palsy. I’m smart. I like video games and books. I live with mom and dad and they’re both retired. One day I want to live in a home where everybody is like family – a home with love and respect just like you and most everybody else. I like being with Mom and Dad but they’re old, and mom is very sick. I’ve been waiting for the DD waiver for 19 YEARS. I want one and I need one. I’m Priority 1, so maybe you will help me. Thank you! And now, my statement. I’m Cheryl Emory, Virginia’s mom. Virginia is amazing. She has an extensive vocabulary, perfect grammar, amazing knowledge, and tremendous love and kindness. Yet, Virginia falls easily and stairs are difficult. She can’t adjust water temperature. She’s sensitive to sounds, textures, and odors. She chokes on food. She doesn’t notice traffic, and she needs help with personal care, meal preparation, money management, and every life decision. In September, Virginia was denied a DD waiver. I was appalled and here’s why. I’m 69 years old and I have CANCER. After the grueling chemo and radiation, I have constant pain, I weigh 102, and my stamina and strength are severely compromised. I hope for remission, but I anticipate lifelong side effects. And, there is evidence of potential cancer in other parts of my body. I love Virginia so much and I am devastated that I can no longer provide the care she needs. Again, I am appalled that Virginia was denied a DD waiver and I suspect that you are too. I have 2 requests: 1. Please fund DD Waivers for Virginia and all designated as Priority 1 – these Virginians are at extreme risk. 2. Please fund a reasonable pay increase for caregivers so they can afford to stay in their jobs and so families can find competent care for their loved ones. Virginia and her friends make our state a better place. Please don’t fail them. Thank you!

There but for the grace of God go I. Heartbreaking stories are being lived in the Commonwealth of Virginia every day. People who have disabilities need Waiver Funding Now. They are being denied their civil rights. They deserve a life like yours. Professional Attendants deserve higher salaries. It is very challenging to find/keep Attendants due to poor wages! People in the disability community want to contribute to and participate in the community. They want the same things people in other states have. Please help the disability community and their Attendants.

Virginia Association of School Superintendents P.O. Box 68 Batesville Virginia 22924 Phone (804) 562-4430 January 6, 2021 Chairwoman Janet Howell Senate Finance and Appropriations Committee Pocahontas Building, Room E509 900 East Main Street Richmond, Virginia 23219 Chairman Luke Torian House Appropriations Committee Pocahontas Building, Room W1304 900 East Main Street Richmond, Virginia 23219 Dear Chairwoman Howell and Chairman Torian: Thank you for your efforts in the recent 2020 Special Session to address school funding issues caused by the COVID-19 crisis. However, school divisions continue to experienced unprecedented funding issues in providing educational services to students. o The 2020-2022 formula based rebenchmarking should be maintained without any negative changes for the biennium. o The 2019-2020 March 31 ADM should be established as a floor for Basic Aid and school divisions held harmless for any changes. o Any projected sales tax funding reductions to local school divisions should be funded by the Virginia General Assembly. o Funding is needed to assist schools moving from in-person to virtual instruction and vice versa. o The Pandemic crisis has changed forever the means of virtually instructing students. It has also demonstrated in stark reality the inequities that exist in some parts of the Commonwealth. It is essential that additional state funds for broadband/internet access be provided. o State funding for renovation of school facilities is required to better manage critical learning needs and changing student populations. o Increase the amount and flexibility of Lottery funding for both at-risk and per-pupil accounts. We want to thank you for considering these requests as you make budget decisions during the upcoming 2021 General Assembly. Sincerely, Dr. Tom Smith Virginia Association of School Superintendents

On behalf of the Healthy Rivers Initiative, a coalition of nonprofit organizations working to protect and restore water quality within Virginia’s Chesapeake Bay watershed, we offer the following comments on the Governor’s proposed amendments to the 2021-22 Biennial State Budget. We appreciate that of the $25 million permanently unallotted during the Special Session for the Water Quality Improvement Fund, the Governor has restored $13,550,000 in supplemental general funding for FY22. We also support the Governor’s proposal to set aside $4.55 million of this supplemental funding for technical assistance. These funds will help close the gap in unmet need for installing water quality best management practices on farmland, consistent with our commitment to the Chesapeake Bay cleanup effort and to Virginia farmers. In order to fulfill our Chesapeake Bay goals by 2025, Virginia must also continue to invest in stormwater improvements and wastewater treatment plant upgrades. Notably, the Governor’s budget does not include additional funding for the Stormwater Local Assistance Fund or for Nutrient Removal Grants in FY22. We encourage the General Assembly to include an additional $50 million for each of these programs in the final budget. Finally, we appreciate that the Governor proposes to restore almost $12 million to DEQ to help reverse years of budget cuts that have limited the agency’s ability to monitor and enforce our environmental protections. Access to clean air and clean water are critical to public health, and each day, more Virginians are relying on accessible green spaces for peace of mind and refuge during this pandemic. We urge the General Assembly to retain this funding.

Investment in Early Childhood Education is essential for a solid social/emotional foundation which guides students to success in academics and life.

I write today to thank Governor Northam for allocating funds in his proposed budget for Virginia schools. As a parent in Henrico county and active PTA leader at the school, county, and state level, I support fully-funding Virginia Schools to the staffing levels recommended by the Virginia Board of Education for the past decade. However, the proposed budget falls short of that standard. Virginia ranks 41st in the nation for per-pupil state spending, over-relying on local real-estate taxes that widen opportunity gaps. Fourteen percent of K-12 students in Virginia lack broadband access at home, and twelve percent do not have a computer. Sixty percent of Virginia’s schools are more than 40 years old and fail to meet health and safety standards. Children—Virginia’s future workforce and leaders—deserve fully-funded schools today, not a larger reserve of funds for the next rainy day. The COVID-19 pandemic is a rainy day that exasperates the long-term needs of Virginia schools. The past decade’s recommendations to expand schools’ mental health support teams, add registered nurses at every school, and increase the number of specialists to support at-risk students have become more desperate throughout the pandemic. And the projected state revenue shortfalls have diminished. I support the Virginia PTA’s calls for the General Assembly to: • Fund the critical components Governor Northam identified to protect education funding from enrollment and sales tax decline; and • Restore education funding, including specifically the allotments for school counselors, broadband improvements, and early childhood education. • Fund the school equity and staffing recommendations made by the Virginia Board of Education to ensure each school has equitable staffing, support for teachers, and supplemental funding to support at-risk students. • Fund a Registered School Nurse for each school to enable a safe return to in-person instruction and provide uniform acute and chronic care for students. Right now, you have a choice as to whether you will contribute to pandemic-related educational losses through underfunding schools or take action to ensure schools can best respond to the needs of Virginia’s students. Please go beyond the Governor’s proposed budget to address these critical needs. Thank you for your leadership.

I am a proponent of early childhood education. My son is on the autism spectrum and his attending school early helped identify that and slowed him to receive the appropriate interventions early. Today he is a fully functioning member of society. Please invest in the future of all of America’s children and fund and expand early childhood education.

Investing taxpayer dollars to support the Virginia-Israel Advisory Board is unfair and has set an unsustainable precedent. Please decommission the Virginia-Israel Advisory Board and remove its funding from the budget.

I am a Virginian, and a father of two public school students. My littlest starts kindergarten, in Richmond Public Schools, next year. Virginia’s students have the right to a high-quality education. It is perhaps the most fundamental function of government, to help train the next generation to lead Virginia and build a thriving economy. At current levels of school funding, our Commonwealth simply doesn’t give kids an opportunity to achieve their full potential. Our underinvestment of our students today will have damaging implications for their future (and, by extension, ours). We can’t afford to wait any longer to do this. Please follow the lead of the Virginia Board of Education, by adopting the Standards of Quality (SOQs) and fully funding them, via the School Equity and Staffing Act. Thank you for your faith in Virginia’s future, and your commitment to furthering it by going big (as is needed) for public education.

For decades, public schools in Virginia have been underfunded. Privatization, budget cuts, and lack of will have contributed to this "pathway". There will be a reckoning if we continue to short change the development of our children into the marvelous leaders that they might become with a stellar education. We are Virginia. Please stop putting off until tomorrow what you can do today.

Please fund our schools through the School Equity and Staffing Act to fully fund the Virginia DOE's SOQs. This would (1) add new funds for high-poverty schools through the Equity Fund; (2); increase funding for school counselors to ensure there is one counselor for every 250 students; (3) remove the “support cap” and increase funding for school support staff, including social workers, nurses, administrative and custodial staff; increase funding for English Learner students based on proficiency. Doing so would have a dramatic, positive impact on many students, including the district where my children attend school.

Good afternoon Senators and Delegates. My name is Alden Blevins, and I am a public school educator with 6 years of experiencing working with students in my classroom. I earnestly urge you to consider the immense and multifaceted challenges school divisions are facing today when preparing the budget for the upcoming year. As someone who has dedicated her service and spirit to work in the classroom, I have seen firsthand how absolutely vital public education is for our children and their families. The K-12 investments proposed do not fulfill Virginia’s constitutional obligation to ensure that every child receives a high-quality education. Our school divisions, when virtual, need investment in technology. Rural districts across our state still lack basic access to broadband or cell service, including within my own division, Goochland County. In divisions that are attempting face-to-face instruction during low transmission periods, a massive infusion of funding is necessary to provide staff PPE, adequately staff buildings through quarantines, support smaller class sizes to mitigate risk, and implement other LIFE-SAVING mitigation strategies. In my own division, staff members have been providing their own PPE and purchasing their own HEPA filters. If we are going to ask teachers to risk their lives by continuing to teach in person, as many divisions are, we MUST put our money where our mouth is and fully fund the strategies necessary to protect students and staff. Schools were in dire straits prior to COVID-19; underfunded, under-supported, and with crumbling infrastructures in many divisions across the commonwealth. Now is the time to prioritize PEOPLE, not reserve funds to save for a rainy day in the future - as the governor has proposed. It’s certainly already raining. The Virginia Board of Education has stated that VA schools are underfunded and has asked for more than $2 billion in additional investments over the biennium. The School Equity and Staffing Act filed by Senator McClellan and Delegate Aird would fully fund these needed investments. Additionally, in this legislative session, I implore you to consider the long-term effects COVID-19 will have not only on student learning, but on teacher retention and the future of public education as a whole. Adjusted per cost of living, Virginia's teachers are the worst paid in our nation when compared to peers of identical educational and professional level. This, coupled with the innumerable hardships teachers have been faced with throughout the pandemic, is already resulting in massive shortages throughout the state. These shortages not only effect teaching positions; we are also experiencing instructional assistant, bus driver, and substitute shortages across the Commonwealth. If teachers, and all school staff, are truly "essential", we MUST treat them with the respect, dignity and PAY they deserve. If we do not, this issue will be exacerbated for years to come, as existing staff exit the profession in droves. Incoming college students will not be incentivized to take on 50k or more in student debt for a high-risk, high-stress, low-reward job... And I cannot say I would blame them for choosing otherwise. I ask this above all; in your decision-making process today and each day, please consider the lives of the individual citizens and communities you serve. Fully funding schools for students who desperately need them is not simply a political issue, but a moral one.

We as a state need to increase funding and diverse jobs for Peer Recovery Specialist.

On behalf of our network of over 150 conservation and climate groups, I would like to express our gratitude for your restoration of funding to extend passenger rail service and to provide support for the development of multi-use trails. As COVID has laid bare the importance of respiratory health, it's critical that we invest in transportation modes that emit less pollution and provide Virginians with healthier, more convenient options to get around like taking the train or walking and biking around their communities. Thank you once again for your focus on creating a cleaner and better connected Commonwealth!

My child has never been on a field trip. He's in the 3rd grade and has special needs. We have been told there are not resources allocated for field trips when a student needs 1 on 1 or additional physical supports that they are not already assigned full time. This prompts the schools to often exclude special need students from activities, often without even advising the parents a trip or event is happening, even though many special needs students would benefit from the engagement with their peers. Exclusion from these activities deny these students the growth opportunity that these events are intended to supply for all students. I respectfully submit that increased budget specific for these needs would greatly assist in mitigating the problem. Regarding the thought that the virtual format is inadequate for students with special needs, we think it is crucial to put additional resources towards supporting the parental support needs of these students, which is required for a successful virtual education. Often these students need more hand over hand assistance and one on one supervision then typically developing children. Often, these kids would have nurses or attendants to help, but most are not being utilized in this pandemic environment as it is too risky to have additional people in the home. The virtual platform may not be the issue to target but we may need to consider that in this pandemic, parents are assuming childcare tasks that are making it difficult to assist the student properly in accessing the curriculum due to the level of support these special students require. We need to support parents in a better way and the cost of these resources need to be added to the education budget. With Thanks

Good afternoon. My name is Sonia Smith, and I come before you today as a resident of Chesterfield County, and President of the Chesterfield Education Association. I am also a parent of a high school student and a VCU Art Education student. Strong, well-supported public schools are vital for our children, our families, and our economy. The K-12 investments in the proposed budget do not fulfill Virginia’s constitutional obligation to ensure that every child receives a high-quality education. Schools are struggling, and now is the time to invest to meet new challenges, not add to our reserve funds to save for a rainy day in the future - as the Governor has proposed. It’s raining now. If the citizens of Virginia wish to see schools open again safely, it is imperative to give adults in the school system priority access to vaccinations. This is a critical component to meet the goal of fully re-opening our school buildings, safely, for in-person instruction. The CEA, alongside the VEA advocates that the Governor and General Assembly include teachers and all school support personnel as a priority group (Phase 1b) for administration of the vaccines for the suppression of Covid-19. The $26.6 million for counselors is an important step but falls far short of what Virginia’s schools need. The Virginia Board of Education has declared that Virginia schools are underfunded and has asked for more than $2 billion in additional investments over the biennium. The School Equity and Staffing Act filed by Senator McClellan and Delegate Aird would fully fund these needed investments. Governor Northam’s Budget Amendments invests $27 million in school guidance counselors, We applaud the inclusion of additional funding for school counselors, whose skills are so vital and desperately needed as we endure this pandemic, but this investment falls well short of the resources needed to fund the required ratio as prescribed by the Standards of Quality. Provide support for school counselors pursuant to the SOQ. This amendment would provide $26.6 million in FY22 to reduce the staffing ratio of school counselors in all Virginia’s public schools to 1:325 pursuant to the 2021-22 school year staffing ratio required by the Code of Virginia (§ 22.1-253.13:2). In FY21, school counselors are funded at ratios of 1:455 in elementary schools, 1:370 in middle schools, and 1:325 in high schools. The American School Counselor Association recommends a counselor-to-student ratio of 1:250. When schools do resume regular in-person operations, many students will return having experienced pandemic-related trauma and stress and school counselors will be more important than ever. The VEA will continue to advocate for the General Assembly to fully-fund the recommended ratio of 1:250 in all schools, as included in the re-prescribed SOQs adopted by the Virginia Board of Education (VBOE).

I would like to bring to lawmakers’ attention the urgent need to more adequately support our public K-12 schools in the coming year in the revised state budget. Reasons to increase school funding in the state budget and pass the School Equity and Staffing Act include: - Learning loss from the pandemic will most negatively impact students who already face the greatest barriers to learning, including Black and Latinx students. Extensive reporting during this time indicates that students learning English, with disabilities, who are homeless, and from American Indian and certain Asian ethnic backgrounds are also likely to experience significant learning loss. In economic terms, if this pandemic-related learning loss continues, Virginia is likely to lose billions of dollars in GDP over the coming decades from decreased productivity. Intervening immediately to stem this loss is critical for equity and protecting Virginia’s long-term economic interests. - Analysis by McKinsey and Company found that, as of fall 2020, students of color in the US lost, on average, three to five months of learning in math, and white students lost around one to three. Projections of learning loss over the rest of the school year indicate growing gaps. - The recently passed federal stimulus is insufficient to cover low-end remediation and reopening cost estimates for Virginia schools. Adequately funding schools in Virginia will require an additional state investment and will be hard for local divisions to cover over the short term. Fully funding the School Equity and Staffing Act would be a good start and would provide additional relief and flexible dollars for divisions to start adequately staffing schools to remediate for learning loss over the coming years. Even in a year with a budget shortfall, Virginia cannot afford to wait to start investing in the building blocks that will lead to a strong and equitable recovery for students in the years ahead.

It is absolutely paramount that the state budget fully funds the Standards of Quality (SOQ's) for our Virginia schools. The Standards of Quality set a floor that all school districts are required to meet in terms of what they have to offer their students. These are basic things that schools should be adequately funded to provide, but many aren’t, this greatly contributes to the unjust funding & education disparities across this Commonwealth. The K-12 investments in the proposed budget do not fulfill Virginia’s constitutional obligation to ensure that every child receives a high-quality education. Strong, well-supported public schools are vital for our children, our families, and our economy. We need to invest in ourselves, our children, and our schools right now. The hardships of this year exemplify the very reason Virginia has a rainy day fund. If we don't access those funds now, during a global pandemic, then why have the fund at all? The Virginia Board of Education has declared that Virginia schools are underfunded and has asked for more than $2 billion in additional investments over the biennium. The School Equity and Staffing Act filed by Senator McClellan and Delegate Aird would fully fund these needed investments. I urge the legislators in the General Assembly to support this Act, fully fund the SOQ's and provide the $2 billion investment that our schools desperately need.

Please support the components of the School Equity and Staffing Act. Our schools in low income areas - I'm from Southwest Virginia - struggle to provide the funding to hire enough guidance counselors, teachers and support staff. A student's quality of education should not depend on where they live in the Commonwealth. Our Constitution declares that public education is a responsibility of our state government in partnership with local governments. If the state neglects its responsibility, then our children and our families and our economy suffer. I am especially concerned that funding for guidance counselors increase. The COVID epidemic has exposed and exasperated many problems that our young children face. For their mental health and for their healthy future, please provide our children the support they need now. Thank you

My name is Roberta Johnson. I am a proud mother of a 35-year-old special needs adult son, who absolutely adores ALL SPORTS. Before the pandemic he would actually go to real games. He absolutely loves meeting and talking with people especially going out into the community. He loves his 3 Chihuahua pets. He loves to go camping with family and friends. I do not know what I would do if it had not been for sponsored residential. My son was actually abused because he was nonverbal when he was smaller by several babysitters who claimed they can work with special needs and later learned no they could not. This program brought my anxiety down extremely low to the point I was able to breathe again knowing my son was going to have a life again. I do criticize when we have numerous people who would love to open their homes up to the special needs community and take them in but the group homes are the ones that are soaking them up. It is totally unfair that the group homes get paid more. We are a 24/7 operation and would not have it any other way but why are they being paid more than we are and we do all the work and more. This system is failing the ones that are still out there that need the support to be funded priority one. I also have to mention I am highly disappointed that I even reached out to numerous members of the house, even Govern Northam's office with no response. Governor Northam said on live TV that sponsored residential will be getting Cares Act funds and we got 0 dollars because you allowed DMAS to put wherever they wanted to and it went to the provider not the one that provided the care. Also let's not mention Governor Northam also has given numerous bonuses to the institutions when the DOJ has ordered them to start closing or downsizing but they are getting bonuses. My family has absolutely done everything that our governor has told us to do to protect our loved ones to make sure it does not come into our homes. No one is allowed in and we wear our masks and wash and sanitise hands and social distance while out and temperature checks twice a day for everyone in household. Go out no more than twice a week and do a lot of curbside trying to give him some type of normalcy but he is not taking it well. He thinks he has done something wrong and he is being punished explaining no good. The same behaviors but the virus has made it absolutely the worst and I am not the only parent that has been experiencing this. I asked you, you need to make this fair across the board if I do the same work as group homes why are we not being paid the same or more? Why do we not qualify for the Cares Act? Thank you God Bless

Hello committee chairs and members, My overarching question when it comes to education is always, Is this (decision, bill, legislation, etc.) in the best interest of ALL children? With this question in mind, there are a few bills that have been introduced I am in support of and some that I deeply oppose. Support HB 1736 School nurses; excludes positions from certain requirements, school board to employ in each school." Public schools have needed a full time registered nurse (RN) at each school for far too long. Children with asthma, allergies, diabetes, obesity related issues, etc. are at risk of serious health related issues occurring at any time during the school day. For those who are pushing for students to return to face to face instruction during a pandemic, you must be willing to have in place the best safety protocols possible and a full time RN in each school is a good place to start. We are in a virtual world now and for the foreseeable future, and even when we're out of the Covid woods, virtual learning will still be with us. ALL Virginia students require access to high speed internet, up to date laptops and devices, and safe areas to use both in order to be successful in school. Oppose To any bills that refer to "education accounts" (HB 1770), "education vouchers" (HB 1742). These are ALWAYS attempts to siphon critically needed funding from public education and into privatizers hands. They have been proven repeatedly with evidence based research to increase segregation and hurt minorities, students of color, and special needs students.  Final thoughts Last year, two Virginia legislators attempted to bring the SOQs into the 21st century and ensure so many critically deficient education areas were adequately funded. Yet our legislature didn't feel public education was important enough to fully fund and only approved anemic financing to a few areas. Our children are the future. Yours, mine, all of us. Children who receive what they need as children grow to be competent, caring, critically thinking adults. We must provide them what they need now so these future generations--who will be taking care of us and our world 10, 20, 30, 50 years from now--will be well prepared. Our public education system was in dire straits before Covid. It's now teetering on the brink of ruin. For the privatizers I'm sure this is a miracle scenario. For the great many who depend on public education to help them rise out of poverty, to level the playing field for a successful future, this is completely unacceptable. Our students are in dire straits now, especially minority students, ELL students, and special needs students. Thank you.

The detailed analysis from DMAS on the impact of minimum wage increases, delayed because of COVID, will not be completed in time to provide information necessary to affect the rates before the increase to $11.00/hour projected for January 2022.  The increase should be delayed until July 1, 2022 to permit action by the General Assembly to adjust the rates. We are worried that if the minimum wage goes up to $11/hour in January 2022, we won't be able to compete with others to recruit and retain staff.  We get paid by Medicaid and can't raise our prices! Background - The minimum wage is scheduled to increase to $9.50 on May 1st 2021, and then again to $11.00 on January 1st 2022.  While we do not think the first increase will be difficult, and we do support the concept of better wages for our DSPs and frontline behavioral health staff, we think that $11.00 will be difficult to manage - competition will increase and wage compression will make the costs far exceed our rates.

My name is Deb Gribben. I live in Glen Allen, Virginia, and am a former Board Member of the Arc of Virginia. I respectfully urge you to recognize the need to FULLY FUND PRIORITY ONE and END THE INCLUSION PENALTY. As a mom of not one, but two adult daughters with adult disabilities, I know first-had how important this is to people like them and families like ours in the state of Virginia. While my daughter Beth was fortunate enough to get a waiver, there are a staggering 13,000+ still waiting for essential DD Medicaid Waiver services. Families are in crisis here in Virginia, and desperately need your help and support. Individuals wanting and needing a "Life like Yours" want choices for supported living, but due to the low reimbursement rate, there are very few Supported Living providers, leaving people without a choice other than a group home residence. This needs to change. When Beth got her waiver years ago, and I was working with the DOJ and the Arc of Virginia to improve these numbers through various means -- and at the time there were approximately 6,000 on the waiting list. I was hoping that by now, the numbers would have gone down -- not more than doubled!! This is a travesty that only you can begin to start fixing. Make it right. Make Virginia a state that treats its most vulnerable citizens in a way that other states will emulate. Vote to fully fund Priority One and end the inclusion penalty. Thank you for your time and consideration. Sincerely, Deb Gribben M.S. Ed.

Support of housing and services for individuals with a mental health concern is needed. Virginians ask that you approve funding to meet these needs.

As a home care provider I only make $9.87hr. The cost of living is more and more and I can't keep up with the salary I make. I am asking that the minimum wage be raised to $15hr.

I understand home care providers did receive hazard pay but a one time pay is not sufficient if you have been out of work because of the pandemic.

I am a homecare provider and paid sick days is essential for me during the Pandemic

My names is James Metz. I am a member of the Virginia Coalition for Human Rights. VCHR is a coalition of 18 organizations with a combined membership of over 10,000 Virginians. I appear before you today to request that the Virginia-Israel Advisory Board be decommissioned and its funding be removed from the state budget. The Virginia-Israel Advisory Board represents the interests of Israeli businesses. The Commonwealth provides the Board with a budget of $219,000 that includes the salaries of an executive director and administrative staff. The Board is also provided office space in the Pocahontas Building. But what is far more valuable is the inside track that the Board provides Israeli businesses to Virginia municipalities requesting economic development projects, and to the Commonwealth’s opportunity funds for underwriting these economic development projects. The businesses of no other foreign state have their own lobbying group operating from inside state government. In support of my request to remove the Israel Advisory Board from the state budget, I offer the Fiscal Impact statements from two bills (one in 2020, the other in 2014) that were introduced to create the Virginia-Korea Advisory Board. The Fiscal Impact Statement to the 2020 bill noted that, “The bill establishes a new fund in the state treasury to be used solely for carrying out the purposes of the Board.” In other words, under this bill the funding of the Virginia-Korea Advisory Board would have been separate from the general fund. Why. The Fiscal Impact Statement to the 2014 bill sheds some light on that question. That Impact Statement noted that “. . . the Virginia-Korea Advisory Board could be established similar to the Virginia-Israel Advisory Board, which employs a full-time director . . . the fiscal impact could be comparable, and a budget amendment would be necessary.” In 2014 as in 2020, the House Appropriations Committee had no choice but to table these bills. But tabling the bills does not address the fundamental problem. As long as there exists within state government an agency that lobbies on behalf of Israeli businesses, then businesses from other countries will pressure legislators to introduce bills to create their own in-house lobbying group. How many other countries have businesses that would like to have a group inside state government to lobby on their behalf? The House and Senate budget committees are faced with a dilemma: fund yet another lobby group for foreign businesses, or deny such funding to all but the Virginia-Israel Advisory Board. We contend that the solution is to decommission the Virginia-Israel Advisory Board and to remove its funding from the state budget.

My name is Nancy Wein. I am co-chair of the Virginia Coalition for Human Rights (VCHR) and I am writing to request the defunding and decommissioning of the Virginia Israel Advisory Board. I would like to remind members of the budget committee of the opposition to SB206 which was introduced in the 2020 General Assembly. This bill would have provided approximately $200,000 annually to establish and maintain the Virginia Korea Advisory Board. After active opposition by members of the Virginia Asian Advisory Board (VAAB), the House Appropriations Committee wisely left the bill in committee, effectively rejecting the proposal. The VAAB opposed the creation of the VKAB for several basic reasons as outlined in a petition that was signed by over 100 members of the Asian and Pacific Islander community. Members of VCHR believe that these same objections could be applied against the Virginia Israel Advisory Board. 1. It is duplicative. Korean business interests are already represented by the Virginia Economic Development Partnership (VEDP) which was established to solicit all foreign investments in the Commonwealth. The same case can be made for using the VEDP as the vehicle for Israeli foreign investments. 2. It is inequitable. VKAB would have received over $200,000 annually as does VIAB. The other advisory boards such as the Virginia Asian Advisory Board, the Virginia Latino Advisory Board, the African American Advisory Board receive no such funding. 3. It sets a bad precedent. If Korea and Israel can have advisory boards funded annually with $200,000 of taxpayer money, why shouldn’t many other countries be treated to these opportunities? So what appears to be a relatively small amount of money in the overall budget could now grow to be quite a large sum of money if and when other countries try to jump on the bandwagon. And if the General Assembly refuses to comply, this would look very much like discrimination. The General Assembly should take a closer look at legislation that was passed years ago when VIAB was established. We should examine whether this $200,000 annual investment is truly in the interest of the commonwealth. Just as SB206 was rejected upon close scrutiny in the House Appropriations Committee, I think that the same level of scrutiny should be applied to reconsidering whether it is in the Commonwealth’s interest to fund VIAB. I hope that upon a closer look at our priorities and in our efforts towards good governance, the General Assembly would see fit to defund and decommission the Virginia Israel Advisory Board.

My name is Jennifer Ruley, I'm from the Arc of Augusta, I have been working there for 15 years. I want to talk about how people with disabilities do not get jobs they can do and they need to get more money. If given a chance, people with disabilities can also live on their own so I am asking for the end of the inclusion penalty which would match the Supported Living Rate to Group Home rate.

My names is James Metz. I am a member of the Virginia Coalition for Human Rights. VCHR is a coalition of 18 organizations with a combined membership of over 10,000 Virginians. I appear before you today to request that the Virginia-Israel Advisory Board be decommissioned and its funding be removed from the state budget. The Virginia-Israel Advisory Board represents the interests of Israeli businesses. The Commonwealth provides the Board with a budget of $219,000 that includes the salaries of an executive director and administrative staff. The Board is also provided office space in the Pocahontas Building. But what is far more valuable is the inside track that the Board provides Israeli businesses to Virginia municipalities requesting economic development projects, and to the Commonwealth’s opportunity funds for underwriting these economic development projects. The businesses of no other foreign state have their own lobbying group operating from inside state government. In support of my request to remove the Israel Advisory Board from the state budget, I offer the Fiscal Impact statements from two bills (one in 2020, the other in 2014) that were introduced to create the Virginia-Korea Advisory Board. The Fiscal Impact Statement to the 2020 bill noted that, “The bill establishes a new fund in the state treasury to be used solely for carrying out the purposes of the Board.” In other words, under this bill the funding of the Virginia-Korea Advisory Board would have been separate from the general fund. Why. The Fiscal Impact Statement to the 2014 bill sheds some light on that question. That Impact Statement noted that “. . . the Virginia-Korea Advisory Board could be established similar to the Virginia-Israel Advisory Board, which employs a full-time director . . . the fiscal impact could be comparable, and a budget amendment would be necessary.” In 2014 as in 2020, the House Appropriations Committee had no choice but to table these bills. But tabling the bills does not address the fundamental problem. As long as there exists within state government an agency that lobbies on behalf of Israeli businesses, then businesses from other countries will pressure legislators to introduce bills to create their own in-house lobbying group. How many other countries have businesses that would like to have a group inside state government to lobby on their behalf? The House and Senate budget committees are faced with a dilemma: fund yet another lobby group for foreign businesses, or deny such funding to all but the Virginia-Israel Advisory Board. We contend that the solution is to decommission the Virginia-Israel Advisory Board and to remove its funding from the state budget.

My name is Robin Allman, from Richmond, Virginia, and I come before you as a private citizen to urge you to remove funding for, and decommission, the Virginia-Israel Advisory Board. Virginia has many Advisory Boards: the Virginia Asian Advisory Board, the Virginia African American Advisory Board, and the Virginia Latino Advisory Board, to name a few. None of them receive my tax dollars in significant amounts except for the Virginia-Israel Advisory Board. Besides Virginia taxpayers financing the director’s salary, the Virginia-Israel Advisory Board also enjoys an office within the Pocahontas Building, allowing their staff free access to my legislators, building relationships that are not available to the staff of other Advisory Boards. The other Advisory Boards seek to promote the welfare of their specific citizens, and work to promote their constituents’ businesses as appropriate. The Virginia-Israel Advisory Board is the only advisory board lobbying on behalf of a foreign nation’s businesses in the Commonwealth. It has created more business for Israel than for Virginia. In 2018, the last year for which data was available, the trade deficit for Virginia was calculated to be about $437 million dollars . Virginia imported about $550 million dollars of Israeli goods, but exported only about $113 million. This is not helping Virginians. If Virginia’s tax dollars are going to go to a lobbying organization, that organization should bring jobs TO the Commonwealth, not take them away, especially in the present economic environment. In the 2020 legislative session, a bill was brought forward to create a Virginia-Korea Advisory Board, expressly modelled after the Virginia- Israel Advisory Board. Due to strong objections from the Virginia-Asian Advisory Board, it was tabled, but its example still lingers. If legislation of this nature were to move forward, Virginia would soon be spending millions of dollars to support lobbyists from around the globe. That would be unsustainable. Again, I humbly request an amendment to remove the Virginia-Israel Advisory Board from the state budget, and house it in the Patrick Henry building with the other advisory boards. Thank you.

My name is William Walls and I am a registered voter in Arlington, Virginia. I am also a member of the Virginia Coalition for Human Rights. VCHR is a coalition of 18 organizations with a combined membership of 12,000+ Virginians. Throughout my life and now as a retired United States Government Foreign Service Officer, I know the importance of respect for all people and the Golden Rule, the principle of treating others as you want to be treated. It has come to my attention that the state of Virginia funds the Virginia-Israel Advisory Board (VIAB). VIAB advocates for Israeli businesses in the state of Virginia, some of which operate illegally on the Occupied Palestinian Territory. As a Virginia taxpayer and as an advocate for human rights around the world, I request that the Virginia-Israel Advisory Board be decommissioned and removed from the state budget, and that their office space in the Pocahontas Building be allocated equitably amongst all interested parties. The Virginia-Israel Advisory Board was created in 1996. Since then, at least seven bills have been introduced to create advisory boards for members of other ethnic groups. Three of these bills were tabled because they required a budget amendment to cover operating expenses comparable to the operating expenses of the Israel Advisory Board. In 2020 the latest of these bills was introduced to fund a Virginia-Korea Advisory Board. Not surprisingly, the bill was tabled. But what was surprising was that members of the Asian-Pacific Islander community opposed this bill. In an Op/Ed published in Blue Virginia, Laura Pho, Chair of Asian Americans Impacting Virginia wrote, “Creating an independent advisory board for only one specific country, in this case South Korea, is problematic.” The Op/Ed went on to list five reasons for opposing the bill. I will apply Ms. Pho’s reasoning to make the case that funding the Israel Advisory Board is unfair and unsustainable. 1. It is duplicative. The Virginia Economic Development Partnership (VEDP) was set up to solicit foreign investment in the Commonwealth. All other foreign businesses (including South Korean) come through the VEDP. Why do Israeli businesses warrant a separate agency? 2. It is inequitable. Why should the Israel Advisory Board receive greater support from the Commonwealth than the Asian Advisory Board, the Latino Advisory Board, the African American Advisory Board, and the Council on Women? None of these advisory boards has a budget of $219,000 and office space in the Pocahontas Building. 3. It sets a bad precedent. As long as the Israel Advisory Board exists, other foreign businesses will continue to approach legislators in the General Assembly to request bills to create and fund their own advisory boards. 4. It is preferential. Why is Israel singled out for special treatment by the Commonwealth? In 2018, the last year for which data was available, Virginia’s trade deficit with Israel was about $437 million. 5. It is divisive. The existence of the Israel Advisory Board pits the interests of one ethnic group against the interests of others. Sanctioning a state agency to represent, exclusively, the interests of Israeli businesses is duplicative, inequitable, a bad precedent, preferential and divisive. I, along with many others, request that the Virginia-Israel Advisory Board be decommissioned and removed from the state budget.

Support for The Arc of Virginia Budget Priorities.

I would like to speak on behalf of The Arc of Virginia Budget Priorities.

Dear Virginia State representatives and delgates, I want to offer my comments for the budget hearing in regard to the Virginia-Israel Advisory Board (VIAB). Just like when SB206, which sought to create a Virginia-Korea Advisory Board, was rejected upon close scrutiny in the House Appropriations Committee, I think that the same level of scrutiny should be applied to reconsidering whether it is in the Commonwealth’s interest to fund VIAB. When SB206 was rejected, it was opposed by many because it was seen as duplicating the work of the Virginia Economic Development Partnership (VEDP), and it was also opposed for being inequitable and for setting a bad precedent for future funding of similar advisory boards for other countries. Foreign business interests are already represented by the Virginia Economic Development Partnership (VEDP) which was established to solicit all foreign investments in the Commonwealth. The same case can be made for using the VEDP as the vehicle for Israeli foreign investments. For these reasons, investing Virginia taxpayer dollars to support VIAB is unfair and has set an unsustainable precedent. I hope that upon a closer reflection about Virginia state priorities, the General Assembly will choose to defund and decommission the Virginia Israel Advisory Board. Thank you. Sincerely, Jennifer Hitchcock Richmond, VA resident