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Dates
to Watch
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Nov. 11, 2008
Veteran's
Day
Nov. 27, 2008
Thanksgiving
December 4-7,
2008
National Zero to Three 23rd National Training Institute
Westin Bonaventure Hotel
Los Angeles, CA
January 3, 2009
Start of 111th Congress
Children
& Youth Cabinet Meeting
January 20, 2009
New
U.S. President sworn in
Florida
Regular Session Convenes
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Send
Me More
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CSCs
strategically invest in primary prevention and early intervention
programs and services.
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TOP STORIES
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Obama
Becomes 44th U.S. President
Sen. Barack Obama became President-elect Obama last night
in an historic presidential race that landed him 338 electoral votes,
and clinched his place in history as the 44th president of
the United States. He carried Florida by roughly 200,000 popular votes.
Counties such as Miami-Dade, Broward and Palm Beach gave slightly
larger margins to Obama. Obama had larger victory margins in counties
like Orange, where he took 60 percent of the vote. In Duval, the votes
went to McCain. However, there were counties that flipped from
Republican to Democrat -- Osceola, Pinellas, Hillsborough, and
Sarasota. In all, it adds up to the first northern Democrat to carry
Florida since Franklin D. Roosevelt in 1944.
~ Portions excerpted
from Orlando Sentinel Political Pulse
blog
Jacksonville Leaders
Discuss Funding for Children's Services
David Lawrence,
board chair of The Children's Trust in Miami-Dade, traveled to
Jacksonville last week to share his insights with local leaders about
creating a dedicated source of funding for children's services in the
community. Nearly 50 people attended the meeting, including
Jacksonville Mayor John Peyton. Lawrence
shared experiences from the campaign to create The Children's Trust,
saying it was based on support from community leaders, elected
officials and business leaders. Voters approved it by a 2-1 ratio in
2002. When voters were asked in August 2008 to reapprove the program,
86 percent agreed. Read article in the Florida Times-Union.
OPPAGA
Releases Report on Early Learning Coalitions
Last
week, OPPAGA released a report on Early Learning Coalitions with a
focus on the local governance structure. The report addressed three
main areas, including coalition spending on administration and program
support, advantages and disadvantages of the current local governance
structure for early education programs, and alternatives the
Legislature could consider to the current local governance structure. Read the report.
FAN
Afterschool Video Airs on Cable in November
Working in
partnership the Afterschool Alliance, the Florida Afterschool Network,
Bright House Networks and the Florida Cable Association have produced a
30-minute cable television program to educate viewers about the
benefits of afterschool programs and what is happening in programs
around the country and in Florida. Scheduled dates for airing on the
SunSports Network are: Wednesday, Nov. 12 at 8 a.m., Wednesday, Nov. 19
at 8 a.m., and Wednesday, Nov. 26 at 8 a.m.
Governor
Reappoints Foster and Others to the Child Care Executive Partnership
Gov. Charlie Crist recently reappointed Barbara Foster,
deputy chief child advocate for the Executive Office of the Governor,
to the Child Care Executive Partnership (CCEP). Foster's term begins
Oct. 24, 2008, and ends Sept. 30, 2012. Other reappointments serving
the same term included: Andrew Daire, associate professor of counselor education at
the University of Central Florida; Linda Carmona-Sanchez, director of
A+ Early Learning Centers Inc.; and Veronica Valentine, president and
chief executive officer of Child Guidance Center Inc. The CCEP is an
innovative, public/private partnership program created by the Florida
Legislature in 1996 to help employers meet the needs of a growing
segment of their workforce-working parents. Learn more.
National Center for
Girls Launches in Jacksonville
Dr. Lawanda
Ravoira, one of the nation's foremost advocates for improving the
treatment of girls in the juvenile justice and child welfare systems,
will direct a new National Center for Girls and Young Women located in
Jacksonville, FL, according to the National Council of Crime and
Delinquency (NCCD). The Center
represents the creation of a new division of NCCD, the oldest criminal
justice research organization in America. Funded with a $500,000
start-up grant by the Jessie Ball duPont Fund, the National Center for
Girls and Young Women will focus on research, assessment services,
staff training and evaluation. Read more.
Children's
Week Launches Newly Designed Web Site
Children's Week has launched a newly designed web site at www.childrensweek.org. The web site contains all
the dates, times and locations of events taking place in the State
Capitol. Additionally, the web site contains information regarding 2009
Children's Week local events taking place across the state, including
information on free pedometers, t-shirts and lunch at the Capitol.
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CSC NEWS
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Jacksonville
Children's Commission to Release Racial and Ethnic Disparities Report
The
Jacksonville Children's Commission will release the 2008 State of Jacksonville's
Children: Racial and Ethnic Disparities Report on December 1, 2008.
The report provides a comparison of child and family outcomes by
race/ethnic categories. This is the fourth document in a series of Social / Health Indicator Reports
identifying the status of children living in Duval County. For more
information, contact the Commission at (904) 630-3647.
"Behind
Our Eyes' Exhibit Features Artwork of Afterschool Students
 United Cerebral Palsy of Broward County
held a special exhibit on October
16 that featured works by students ages 4-21 with varying
physical and cognitive disabilities. The student artists attend the
Unlocking Children's Potential Summer Programs at United Cerebral Palsy
of Broward County, which is funded by the Children's Services Council
of Broward. The gala opening exhibit, held in conjunction with the
national "Lights on Afterschool" campaign, offered visitors
the opportunity to mingle with the young artists and see their works
on display.
~
Submitted by the CSC of Broward
St.
Lucie CSC Recognized as One of Best Places to Work
The CSC of St. Lucie has once again been heralded as a
"Best Place to Work" in St. Lucie County. "Best Places
to Work" is a national award program developed to provide a
confidential forum for local businesses to participate in an evaluation
of various local workplace best practices and programs. Each
participating company answered a 40-question survey which was reviewed
by Personnel Dynamics Consulting of Fort Pierce before determining the
county's best places to work.
 New FCSC Brochure Now
Available
The Florida Children's Services
Council has produced a new brochure that provides basic information
about the organization, as well as Florida's CSCs. Download the brochure.
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LEGISLATIVE WATCH
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CWLA
Calls for a White House Conference on Children and Youth
The
Child Welfare League of America (CWLA) is calling for a White House
Conference on Children to bring together a cross-section of
policymakers, advocates, professionals (including the courts), and
families and children directly affected by the child welfare system to
create recommendations for policy and change. CWLA is calling on
Congress and President-elect Obama to reestablish this important
policymaking tradition. To support the effort, go to www.cwla.org/advocacy/whitehouseconf10.htm. At the
site, visitors may sign on to support CWLA's call for a White House
Conference in 2010, let members of Congress know of their support,
complete a survey about what areas they would like to focus on, see
which members of Congress are cosponsoring the authorizing legislation
for a White House Conference, and more.
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NET DATA
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Report
Says Investments in Disease Prevention Yield Significant Savings
A report titled, "Prevention for a Healthier America:
Investments in Disease Prevention Yield Significant Savings, Stronger
Communities," helps to make the case for investing in healthy
people and healthy communities. The study -- produced through a
partnership among the Trust for America's Health, the New York Academy
of Medicine, the Urban Institute, The California Endowment, the Robert
Wood Johnson Foundation, and Prevention Institute - shows that
community-based prevention saves money in addition to
lives. Read more.
Number of Uninsured Children in Florida Continues to
Climb
According to a new report released by Families USA, there
are 797,000 uninsured children in Florida-more than one out of
six children in the state (18.8 percent). The report, titled
"Left Behind: Florida's Uninsured Children," reveals that
Florida has the second highest rate of uninsured children in the
nation, and the number of uninsured continues to grow. The most recent
data are for the three-year period 2005-2007 and therefore do not
reflect the worsening economic situation in 2008. Read more.
Children's Forum Releases Annual Report
The Children's
Forum has released its 2007-2008 annual report highlighting the
accomplishments of various Forum programs and services. See the report.
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EVENTS
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Children's
Campaign to Hold Truth Tour Event
Florida
State University, together with the Children's Campaign, invites
interested parties to join in a ground-breaking event bringing
attention to the crisis in providing for the health and well-being of
children. The event, titled "Steppin' Up for Kids," will
feature food, fun, and live performances from local Tallahassee bands.
There is no cost to attend. Please RSVP to Raquel Bailey at
(850) 425-2600 or rbailey@iamforkids.org.
When: Friday, November 7, 2008 from 3:00 pm to 6:00 pm
Where: Union Green, Florida State University
75 North Woodward Ave. Tallahassee Fl 32306
9th
Triennial International Child and Youth Care Conference, May 26-29,
2009
The 9th Triennial International Child and Youth Care
Conference will bring together agencies, professionals and clients in
support of a global leadership endeavor toward advocacy, programming
and quality services delivery that will improve the lives of at-risk
children, young people and their families. Close to 2,000 child
and youth educators, healthcare providers, students, social workers,
researchers, teaching professionals and child welfare trainers are
expected to convene in Ft. Lauderdale from countries all over the
world, with a strong national representation. For more information,
visit www.icycc2009.com.
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