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Florida Children's Services Council
NEWS UPDATE 
Issue: #13 September 24, 2008
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Dates to Watch
 

October 1, 2008

KidCare Regional Briefing

1:00 to 4:00 p.m., Ft. Lauderdale

 

October 2, 2008

KidCare Regional Briefing

9:00 a.m. to 12:00 p.m., Sarasota

 

October 10, 2008

KidCare Regional Briefing

1:00 to 4:00 p.m., Daytona  Beach

 

October 10, 2008

Florida's People - Florida's Promise

Town Hall Meeting

9:30 to 11:30 a.m., Broward, Miami-Dade

 
November 4, 2008
General Election
 
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CSCs strategically invest in primary prevention and early intervention programs and services.

 

TOP STORIES
 

FAN Grant Extension Approved

The Charles Stewart Mott Foundation approved a grant extension request this week for the Florida Afterschool Network (FAN). The extension will provide grant funding for FAN for an additional three-year period beginning Oct. 1, 2008. The funding will enable FAN to continue providing unified leadership to advocate for the development, enhancement, and sustainability of innovative, high-quality afterschool programs and policies statewide.

 

Children's Services Councils are prime partners in this endeavor and have matched the Mott funds on a dollar-for-dollar basis over the past three years. Other funding partners include the Florida After School Alliance, the Children's Forum, the Boys and Girls Clubs of Florida, the Florida Department of Education, and the University of Florida. To date, the founding partners have invested more than $100 million in afterschool programs statewide. For information about FAN and its exciting accomplishments so far, visit the FAN web site at www.myfan.org.

 

Statewide KidCare Briefings Begin

FCSC attended the first regional briefing presented by the Florida Healthy Kids Corp. in Panama City on Sept. 22. Top KidCare staff, including Executive Director Rich Robleto, provided information in three key areas:

 

Transition to the new third party administrator: The massive undertaking, now in progress, will result in easier access to families and improved businesses processes. With tens of thousands of children, over a million records, and several state agencies involved, it has proven to be a challenge. Staff admitted that families are experiencing delays and miscommunication, but the hope is that the system will settle down in the next 60 to 90 days.

New Providers: With plan procurement finalized, a by-county list of continuing and new providers was distributed. Presenters emphasized that the families will not see any benefit changes or increases in premiums.

Legislative Report: Jennifer Lloyd provided a report on 2008 legislative actions affecting KidCare. She said the increased funding will underwrite the cost for 38,000 new enrollees and she reviewed some of the marketing and outreach efforts underway. With the Revenue Estimating Conference scheduled to meet again Oct. 24, she cautioned that funding cuts seemed inevitable.

 

Remaining meetings are scheduled for Oct. 1 in Ft. Lauderdale from 1:00 to 4:00 p.m., Oct. 2 in Sarasota from 9:00 a.m. to 12:00 p.m., and Oct. 10 in Daytona Beach from 1:00 to 4:00 p.m. Seats are limited and will be filled on a first-come, first-served basis. To request a registration form, contact Amber Floyd at floyda@healthykids.org. Forms must be submitted one week prior to the date of the preferred regional meeting.

 

Broward CSC and FCSC Honor Rep. Ari Porth with Stepping Up for Children Award

Rep. Ari PorthThe Children's Services Council of Broward County, together with the Florida Children's Services Council, honored Rep. Ari Porth (D-Broward) with a legislative award during its September 18 meeting. The award, titled "Stepping Up for Children," recognized Rep. Porth's support for children's issues during a challenging 2008 legislative session. CSC Broward Chair and Broward County Commissioner Sue Gunzburger presented the award.

 

"Rep. Porth is a great friend of the children and families of Broward County and we are grateful for his advocacy efforts on their behalf in Tallahassee and his support of the CSC," said Commissioner Gunzburger. "This recognition could not have gone to a more deserving legislator," she added.

~ Submitted by the Children's Services Council. of Broward County

 

Attorney General Holds First Regional Meeting on Gang Reduction

FAN Director Larry Pintacuda recently attended the first in a series of seven regional meetings across the state to address the issue of gangs in Florida. Organized by the Office of the Attorney General, the regional meetings are being held to share information and coordinate efforts at the prevention, intervention, community and law enforcement levels. In December 2007, at the suggestion of the Gang Reduction Strategy Executive Group, the Attorney General convened a summit of interested community leaders from around the state to help develop a gang reduction strategy. In July, the Florida Gang Reduction Strategy was published. For more information on the initiative, visit the Safe Streets website at

www.safeflorida.net/safestreets.

 

New Organization Launches Multimillion Dollar Issue Campaign for SCHIP

An issue campaign aimed at strengthening and reauthorizing the State Children's Health Insurance Program (SCHIP) has been launched by America's Agenda: Health Care for Kids, a new, non-partisan organization of labor and business leaders. Health Care for Kids has launched a bipartisan TV and direct mail campaign aimed at persuading a divided Congress to approve SCHIP legislation that will extend coverage to another 3 million low-income children. The first round of ads is "a substantial buy of several millions of dollars," Health Care for Kids' Secretary-Treasurer Mark Blum said. "We intend to extend the campaign based on our success in raising more funds from more donors."

The business and labor leaders who founded Health Care for Kids have a history of working together to win comprehensive health care reform for all Americans. America's Agenda: Health Care for All is an advocacy organization that has been building support for comprehensive health care reform, state by state, since 2004. For more information, visit the web site at www.americasagenda-kidshealth.org.

 

Children's Issues in the News

In the midst of budget cuts and dire economic forecasts for Florida, children's issues are finding center stage as policymakers, advocates and business leaders grapple with ways to address the state's budget crunch. Here are a few articles, op-eds and editorials pulled from newspapers across the state.

 
LEGISLATIVE WATCH

 

Senate Committee Recommends Retaining Public Records Exemption for CSCs

The Senate Committee on Children, Families, and Elder Affairs issued an interim report recommending that "children's services councils (CSC) and juvenile welfare boards retain the public records exemption that makes personal identifying information of a child or a child's parent held by a CSC, or by a service provider or researcher under contract with a CSC, exempt from public disclosure." The report comes after an extensive review, which is required every five years under Florida's Open Government Sunset Review Act. Thanks go to the Senate committee staff for their due diligence in studying this exemption and reaching out to the CSCs to fully understanding its implications. Thanks also go to the CSCs who provided information to Senate staff. Read the report HERE.

 

Senate Passes Fostering Connections to Success and Increasing Adoptions Act of 2008

The U.S. Senate passed the bipartisan Fostering Connections to Success and Increasing Adoptions Act of 2008 (HR 6893) on Sept. 23. As the U.S. House of Representatives passed this legislation, sponsored by Rep. Jim McDermott (D-WA) and Rep. Jerry Weller (R-IL), on Sept. 17, it is now headed to the President for his signature. Champions for this bill in the Senate include Sen. Max Baucus (D-MT), Sen. Chuck Grassley (R-IA) and Sen. John Rockefeller (D-WV).

 

Reforms in Adoptions Act of 2008 include:

  • Reauthorizing the Adoption Incentives Program, whereby the federal government allocates financial rewards to states that have increased the number of children adopted from their foster care system, through 2013;
  • Increasing the award amounts states stand to receive through the Adoption Incentives Program by establishing 2007 as the new "base year" against which future performance will be measured, and increasing the bonuses for special needs and older child adoptions;
  • Ensuring all children with special needs adopted out of foster care are eligible for federal adoption assistance regardless of family income by 2018;
  • Mandating that states inform prospective adoptive parents regarding eligibility for the adoption tax credit;
  • Requiring states to make reasonable efforts to place siblings together;
  • Establishing relative guardianship assistance payments in a way that does not creative incentives for relative guardianship over adoption; and
  • Allowing states the option of extending adoption assistance, foster care maintenance and relative guardianship assistance payments to children aged 18, 19 or 20.

Please contact these Senators and Representatives and thank them for their leadership on this issue.

~ Excerpted from National Council for Adoption report
NET DATA
 

Election 2008

Every Child Matters is working to place children's issues at the forefront of the 2008 Presidential election. This election season is an opportunity to raise awareness of the huge "investment gap" in federal support of children's services, as well as ensure the next President is committed to solving the critical needs facing children and families. Learn more.
FCSC NEWS
 

FCSC Board Elects New Officers

The FCSC Board of Directors recently approved its new slate of officers. They are:

  • Chair: Tana Ebbole, CSC of Palm Beach County
  • Vice Chair: Linda Lanier, Jacksonville Children's Commission
  • Secretary: Luanne Panacek, Children's Board of Hillsborough County
  • Treasurer: Dave Heaton, CSC of Martin County

The newly elected officers will serve a two-year term beginning January 2009.

 

FCSC Welcomes New Part-Time Office Administrator

The FCSC Tallahassee office is pleased to welcome Cheryl Beck to the team. Cheryl will serve as part-time Office Administrator, responsible for daily clerical and administrative duties for FCSC and FAN. She will also provide support to CSC public policy staff during the legislative session. Cheryl has a degree in finance from FSU and has worked with Piedmont/USAir, Florida Dept. of Banking and Finance and First Federal Savings & Loan. In recent years, Cheryl has held the very important position of full-time mom. Please join us in welcoming Cheryl to the CSC family. Cheryl's email address is cbeck@floridacsc.org.

 

Do you have an update for FCSC News Update?

Send your information at least three days prior to the issue date. FCSC News Update is published every other week on Wednesdays. Updates must be 200 words or less. Longer updates can include a link to more detailed information. FCSC reserves the right to omit, edit and/or adjust the content of your contribution for space considerations.

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FCSC News Update is a bi-weekly compilation of news and information relevant to the work of Florida's Children's Services Councils (CSCs). The Florida Children's Services Council is a statewide, non-profit organization working on behalf of the CSCs to promote policies that build effective primary prevention and early intervention systems of supports for Florida's children and families.
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