SCBWI

SCWBI is a highly reputable organization; local chapters are often very helpful and the conferences are highly respected. Your questions are best answered by looking at the website.

The quarterly bulletin appears to be mailed to you in hard copy, as well as accessible online.

It's a good place for beginning children's writers to learn more about the kidlit world, but just paying your $80 (or whatever the current annual fee is) so that you can say you're a member is not going to make an agent more likely to sign you or a publisher to acquire your work, any more than joining any other writing organization will somehow make you more publishable. Only if you join and take advantage of the educational opportunities to learn about how to be a better write or illustrator for kids will it make a difference. At the end of the day, the only thing that will ensure a sale is a darned good manuscript, not the list of organizations you belong to.

What Marissa D said. Back in the day I joined the MWA, but it didn't help me sell anything.

Hit the library this weekend, read all the books you can find about writing kid books, read 200 kid books, then siddown and out-write ALL of them!

All your focus should be on writing something wonderful and ignore distracting side paths. Trust that there is no "in" to getting published, no angle to play. It's all on telling a good story. When you finish one, start another, rinse, repeat.

No, but they're good people who work really hard to support each other.

I've been a member of SCBWI Canada East Chapter for almost 20yrs now (and was the Illustrator Co-ordinator of the chapter) . Joining does NOT help directly in getting published, nor in attracting an Agent but indirectly is a different story. The industry can be very isolating and what I have found is, the personal friends you make with your peers, via the in person chapter conferences (and on line) can sometimes mean the difference from throwing up your hands and quieting the insanity of trying to create a career in the field or carrying on. No one will understand rejection, acceptance, and the tiny accomplishments in between the two, more then others going through it.
Now, you don't have to be a member to attend the Conferences BUT the difference in cost between member and non, is roughly the annual membership fee.
Now there are always the FEW exceptions, stories of a new writer having an Editor or Agent critique and then getting signed afterwards. BUT those are the exceptions. Don't ever join or attend a conference (or pay extra for the critiques) with that assumption of being "discovered" in mind because that's not what going is about and you'll be terribly disappointed. Again, you go to learn!
The Conferences feature the BEST of the industries Agents, Editors, Authors and Illustrators on faculty and open, for a few months after attending, a window to submit your manuscript to the various houses typically closed to unagented Authors. But that's does NOT mean you will always hear back, nor get published. All of that hinges on your work. Still meeting face to face, making connections, getting to talk one on one with an Agent or Editor during breaks or lunch, certainly doesn't hurt.

I don't want to invest my money into something if it doesn't exactly make getting published easier.

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There are people who invest 20K and more in a University education, with NO guarantee it will "get them a job" in that field. You can't "buy" a career but you can do everything possible to learn how that industry works (how it doesn't work) and making your craft the best it can be. THAT will improve your chances to be Published.
Check out your regions chapter on line. See what is being offered in the way of local meet ups (which are typically open to anyone the first few times and free) and go check it out

Barbara, did you sign up?

When I was bitten by the serious writing bug a few years ago and started reading forums and blog posts about writing for children, the recommendation for joining SCBWI came up repeatedly. I'm like you, I wanted to know if it was a good investment. I am a firm believer in educating myself, so when I saw the program for the 2016 fall conference I knew I had to try. I enjoyed that experience and learned a LOT. Since then I've maintained my membership, attended 5-6 workshops and gotten good value. That being said: if you aren't in a position to attend events, there isn't a lot to be learned from SCBWI online that isn't available elsewhere. However, when you are at the stage of writing query letters, you can mention you are a member of SCBWI in your bio, that's supposed to be a good thing.

In Chicago, there were many monthly meetings and that's where I learned about author and agent talks and other writer events, too. It was well worth it.