Just because kids cannot vote does not mean children’s issues are ignored during the Iowa caucuses.
That is, at least, the hope of E.J. Wallace, the state manager for Iowa’s chapter of the national group Save the Children Action Network (SCAN). Wallace and the rest of SCAN’s organization of volunteers are trying to send the message to presidential candidates that children’s issues are high on Iowans’ policy priority list. I sat down to chat with Wallace to find out more about his involvement with SCAN and its operations in Iowa.
Wallace said that his motivations for working with SCAN come from a deeply rooted belief in equity. Early education, according to Wallace, is a huge social determinant of success and health; therefore, Wallace is bothered by inequities that children and families face in access to early education. SCAN’s mission to hold politicians accountable to children attracted Wallace — when SCAN was founded in 2014, he was one of their first field hires.