Whatcom Prop. 5 – the Children’s Initiative – is our opportunity to support all families

I became a new mom in May of 2020. Just six weeks after lock-down orders at the beginning of the COVID pandemic. Already filled with anxieties and fears during this major transition in life that should be exciting and celebratory — I learned quickly that parenthood is not meant to be done in isolation. The adage “it takes a village” became the grief I mourned for the first year of my baby’s life.

During that same time, I came across a local news story that haunts me. A 3-month-old infant starved to death by negligence in Whatcom County. Young parents would leave a bottle of milk in the crib propped up as their method of feeding. Now having my own 3-month-old, my heart shattered. I could not imagine ignoring an infant’s cries for hunger. I felt anger at these parents. Judgment. Outrage. How could this happen? In our community, no less?

As a society, we function based on agreed-upon rules of conduct. A core feature of public safety is holding people accountable – for negatively impacting others or causing harm. This is important. By legal standards, these parents were held accountable. Both were sentenced to time in prison. Still, that baby’s precious and innocent life and all its potential is gone. Even with “accountability” in place, the outcome is the same. You have to wonder, what could have prevented that outcome from happening in the first place?

One view is that the parent’s actions are those of individuals who should have known better. I agree, and I don’t take their individual responsibility away from them. And, I also believe we can make a meaningful difference through prevention. If mom and dad had a nurse making home visits, weighing the baby regularly, or treatment for postpartum depression, or safe, affordable childcare so parents could go to work – that baby’s life could have been saved.

All of those resources are part of what Whatcom County Proposition 5 will build, expand, and provide to our community.

In our community conversation about crime and public safety, people say we need a new, bigger jail — and that will solve it all. But, the answers to complex social issues are rarely that simple, and I’ll never forget hearing a Judge say “yeah, you’re safer while they’re locked up for that week or so, but they get out, and then what?” After two failed jail proposals (2015 and 2017), I attended every jail listening session. I heard our community say they wanted to know Whatcom County was doing everything it could to keep people from entering jail in the first place before building a new one.

Currently, less than 2% of our local dollars go to prevention through support of children and families. Over 50% go toward public safety. What if that equation was a little more balanced? What if we made those upstream investments that result in significant tax savings, and increased public safety, in the long run?

Though this is an extreme story, this is not the only baby in our community who is at-risk, neglected, or struggling. These parents are not the only parents who are young, inexperienced, depressed, or struggling to stay employed with no childcare available. Being a new parent in the best of times can be hard. But, what would it look like if all families were supported from the start in Whatcom County?

Hundreds of people have been working to answer that question for many years. Parents, youth, providers, and a decade of research, community conversations, and needs assessments have been shaped into Prop. 5: The Children’s Initiative — an opportunity to make important investments we know we need — and for us to come together, with responsibility and optimism, to say yes to all kids and to a bright future for our community.