From Capitol to Community
United Way advocates for public policies that help Hoosiers build long-term stability and reach their full potential.
Our 2026 Agenda
United Way of Central Indiana focuses its advocacy on policies that affect households living in poverty and near poverty – known as ALICE (Asset-Limited, Income-Constrained, Employed).
Our Public Policy Agenda mirrors our strategic plan to tackle the root causes of poverty, prioritizing affordability in basic needs, early care and learning, economic mobility, and safe and affordable housing.
We Lead.
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Access to affordable, high-quality child care and early education is essential for parents to work and children to thrive. We advocate to:
Expand funding for early learning programs, including the Child Care and Development Fund (CCDF) and On My Way Pre-K programs ahead of the next budget session.
Support innovative employer-child care partnerships.
Strengthen sustainability for early childhood providers.
Increase data transparency in early learning programs.
Support better alignment of child care, pre-K, and K–12 outcomes.
Why it matters: Child care costs eat up more than 11% of the average Hoosier family’s income (the “affordable” threshold is 7%), and we don’t have enough high-quality seats to meet demand. Early educators are underpaid — more than half rely on public benefits themselves.
Partners: Early Learning Indiana, Early Education Works Coalition.
We Collaborate.
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Families need safe, reliable care after school and during breaks. We work with partners to:
Modernize policies and funding for before- and after-school programs.
Strengthen providers statewide.
Why it matters: For every one child in an Indiana after-school program, three more are waiting to get in. Many are home alone from 3 to 6 p.m.
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Many Hoosiers, especially hard-working ALICE families, struggle to find affordable, stable housing. We advocate to:
Increase the supply of quality affordable housing.
Expand pathways to homeownership, including down payment and homeowner education support.
End housing discrimination and promote fair housing for all.
Oppose criminal penalties for homelessness; advocate for access to resources and housing-focused solutions.
Prevent displacement as neighborhoods grow.
Why it matters: Rising housing costs outpace wages, resulting in high eviction rates and major barriers to home ownership. Black, Latino, senior and low-income families face the greatest burdens.
Partners: Hoosier Housing Needs Coalition, Prosperity Indiana, INHP, CHIP.
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We want fewer families pushed into crisis because of medical bills. We work to:
Strengthen hospital charity care policies.
Ensure medical debt can’t damage a patient’s credit score and that wages can’t be garnished to pay for debt.
Increase transparency in billing and collections.
Help patients get connected to insurance options.
Why it matters: Indiana leads the Midwest in medical debt – to the tune of $2.2 billion. Low-income, Black and Hispanic Hoosiers are hit the hardest.
Partners: Indiana Hospitals Association, Indiana Business Health Collaborative, the Indiana Community Action Poverty Institute, American Cancer Society, Leukemia and Lymphoma Society.
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We promote policies that help working families care for loves ones while maintaining financial stability, such as:
Paid family and medical leave.
Expand child tax credits so families can better cover basic needs.
Why it matters: Nearly 80% of Hoosier workers have no paid leave — and almost half of Indiana children live below the ALICE threshold, making child tax credit policies critical.
Partners: The Indiana Community Action Poverty Institute, Indiana Coalition Against Domestic Violence, the Pritzker Children’s Initiative.
We Support.
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We support strategies that help people access, train for and keep living-wage jobs, including:
Expanded apprenticeships for youth and a stronger talent pipeline.
Growth of the Center for Working Families model.
Why it matters: Apprenticeships boost earnings but have low completion rates due to many barriers. Data shows that participants in a Center for Working Families program increase their earnings.
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Healthy food is crucial to our health and well-being, and yet, far too many Hoosiers can’t afford or access it. We advocate for:
Stronger protections and streamlined access for SNAP and other federal food programs.
Participation in SUN Bucks, which provides greater opportunity for the state to access federal food grants.
Local public-private solutions for families who don’t qualify for SNAP.
Why it matters: Food insecurity is rising. More than half of food-insecure Hoosiers earn too much to qualify for assistance.
Partners: Indy Hunger Network, Feeding Indiana’s Hungry.
Our Commitment.
Across all these issues, United Way works with partners, listens to community voices and advocates for policies that move families from surviving to thriving.
Meet our Public Policy Team
Sam Snideman
Vice President of Government Relations
Aaron Gore
Director of Local Government Relations
Ryan Myers
Senior Manager of Government Relations & Public Policy
Public Policy Work Group
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Maddie Augustus
Faegre Drinker
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Caryl Auslander
Torchbearer Public Affairs
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Susan Brock Williams
Eli Lilly and Company
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Michael Budd
Indiana United Ways
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Tory Callaghan Castor
IU Health
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Betsy Delgado
Goodwill Industries
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Marlene Dotson
Indiana Latino Institute
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Mark Fisher
Indiana Association of Realtors
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Karen Gentleman
Gentleman McCarty
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Christina Hage
MHS Indiana
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Taylor Hughes
Indy Chamber
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Kelley Karn
Duke Energy
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Amy Levander
Krieg DeVault LLP
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Lawrence McCormack
Cummins
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Chris Paulsen
Indiana Youth Group
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David Sklar
Jewish Community Relations Council
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Connie Bond Stuart
Civic Leader
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John Willey
19th Star State Solutions
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Marshawn Wolley
Black Onyx Management
Get Involved
Sign Up
Elected officials need and want to hear from you. Join us in advocating for public policy that helps our community thrive. We’ll keep you up to date with what’s happening and how you can take action.
Who is my lawmaker?
Use the interactive tool embedded on this page to learn who represents your community in the Indiana General Assembly.
How does it work?
United Way of Central Indiana’s VoterVoice tool allows individuals to connect directly with their legislators for targeted calls to action.
United Way of Central Indiana's advocacy work is produced with support from the Alliance for Early Success, a 50-state early childhood advocacy resource that provides connections, expertise, technical assistance, and targeted investments to allies pursuing policies that improve outcomes for children birth through age 8.
Public Policy Milestones
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United Way and its partners secured some of the largest and most meaningful updates to Indiana’s early care and learning system since the General Assembly approved On My Way Pre-K. Additionally, we were successful in increasing both eligibility and cash benefit amounts for families who receive TANF.
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In partnership with Early Education Works coalition partners, we achieved passage of a bill that addressed the growing shortage of Indiana’s early care and learning education workforce. Additionally, United Way advocated to help address barriers to housing, access to mental health services and transportation.
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Indiana continues investment in On My Way Pre-K and expands to serve more families who otherwise would not have access to child care
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2-1-1 services were transitioned to the Family and Social Services Administration to better align state resources with community supports, early learning was incorporated into the Governor’s Workforce Cabinet’s education planning, and investments in mass transit were preserved.
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On My Way Pre-K became a statewide program and a statewide bias crimes law was enacted.