Councilmember Christina Henderson Releases Statement on FY23 Budget Supporting Working Families

Washington, DC – Today, the Council held its first vote to pass the fiscal year 2023 budget. Councilmember Christina Henderson championed critical investments that will bolster the health and safety of our community, support students and our littlest learners, and advance good government.

“Throughout this year’s budget process, I have focused on our working families. Investments we voted on today support our most vulnerable communities and will take steps in ensuring every District resident has an opportunity for success no matter your zip code,” said Councilmember Henderson. “After a year of legislating through response and recovery, I deeply understand the potential our budget decisions carry for the 700,000 residents of the District of Columbia, our local businesses, and our visitors. When we invest in advancing the health of our families, supports for our students, and good government, we directly support a strong economic recovery for our residents and workers.”

Councilmember Henderson worked with colleagues, advocacy coalitions, and neighbors to secure funding new programs and specific enhancements that will greatly help DC residents. Below is a partial list of highlights from the fiscal year 2023 budget below. Find more details, committee reports, and legislative text on the DC Council’s Budget Office website.

Healthy Families and Communities

• $500,000 grant to support diaper bank programs serving District families. This will be the first time government funds will be available for programs that support vulnerable families through diapers and essential services
• $118,000 for a Perinatal Mental Health Task Force at the Department of Healthcare Finance that will study issues including access and barriers to care, screening and prevention of mood and anxiety disorders, and gaps in care provision and coordination, among several other important areas of need for new mothers and families
• $2.4 million enhancement for school-based mental health programs establishing an increase to Community-Based Organization (CBO) grants and ensuring a mental health professional is in every school
• $27.4 million across seven programs delivering 638 more units of housing, capital investment, legal services, and tax exemptions for housing stability
• $280,000 for new inspectors for the Lead-Safe and Healthy Housing divisions at the Department of Energy and the Environment to hire three additional Environmental Protection Specialists to undertake mold inspections and remediation
• Over $1 million to expand access to health food, supporting programs such as Produce Plus, Capital Area Food Bank, Food and Friends and Joyful Food Markets
• $4 million for the Department of Public Works to undertake a curbside compositing pilot at 10,000 District properties
• $7 million to the Office of Victim Services and Justice Grants for the Access to Justice grants programs, which include helping survivors of domestic violence, eviction diversion, and assistance in family law cases

Student and Educator Supports

• $5.3 million to DC Public Schools and $5.1 million to DC public charter schools to add two new 0.05 weights to the Uniform Per Student Funding Formula (UPSFF) for high concentration of at-risk students
• $1 million to DC public charter schools and $102,176 to DC Public Schools to increase the UPSFF weight for adult learners to 0.91
• $18 million over four years to increase the number of Safe Routes to School Action Plans and to fund the construction of safety infrastructure around schools as recommended by those plans
• $850,000 for the process to reassess, plan, and redraw the school attendance boundaries for DC Public Schools
• $6 million allocated for school nurses that will support a nurse in every school, increasing access to essential services for our students
• $300,000 for a study to determine the adequate fund necessary for a high-quality education in our public schools (the last study was completed in 2013)
• $2 million to the Department of Employment Services to provide employment to 1,000 students and make the School Year Internship Program permanent
• $1.35 million to support structured literacy professional development for educators
• Maintains investments for the early child educator pay raises and includes language will ensure no educator faces a benefit cliff as result of accepting their hard earned funds in fiscal years 2022 and 2023

Good, Transparent Government

• $4.4 million for 2 weeks of paid medical leave for all District government workers
• $429,350 investment that will support a public facilities work order dashboard for clear progress on work orders from the Department of General Services, when it comes to DC Public Schools and Department of Parks and Recreation maintenance requests
• Additional FTE at the Department of Insurance, Securities, and Banking supporting the work of the Student Loan Ombudsman
• $100,000 in hiring incentives for the Office of Unified Communications’ 911 call takers and call dispatchers
• $307,561 and five additional FTEs at the Office of Administrative Hearings to provide additional case management, resource center, and IT support
• $247,000 and four additional FTEs to the Department of Public Works boot crew, to increase compliance with the District’s traffic laws

‍