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Dates
to Watch
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Nov.
18-20, 2009
"Meeting the Needs of Young Children and
Families" Conference
Tampa
Dec.
1, 2009
Children and
Youth Cabinet Meeting
Gainesville
Dec. 7-11, 2009
Legislative Interim Committee Meetings
Children's Week
Tallahassee
April 30, 2010
Regular
Legislative Session Ends
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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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 Rep. Ari Porth (D-Broward)
kicked off Florida's first-ever Early Childhood Caucus meeting in
Tallahassee on Tues., Nov. 3. A bipartisan group of legislators,
together with agency leaders and child advocates, attended the
organizational meeting to begin discussions on how Florida can make
smarter, more strategic investments in young children.
Porth presented two brief videos. The first, "Why Early
Investment Matters," highlighted economist James
Heckman talking about the critical need to adequately fund early
childhood programs to ensure the nation's future prosperity. The second
video was a news clip of
retired military officers raising early childhood
investments as a national security issue, and calling for immediate
action by policymakers. Full story.
 President
and CEO of the National Afterschool Association (NAA) Judy Nee
announced her resignation this week after deciding to come to work for
the Florida Afterschool Network (FAN). Effective Jan. 1, 2010, Nee will
direct the development of the FAN Professional Development System. "This is a great step forward for FAN and
our ability to impact afterschool issues in Florida," said FAN
Project Director Larry Pintacuda. "Because of Judy's national
reputation, FAN will be better able to address issues on a national
scale."
Nee became NAA President and CEO in 2006, after serving as the
organization's Board President. She was the first President and CEO in
NAA's 18-year history. Beginning with her work in Florida over 17 years
ago, Nee has worked at local, state and national levels to improve the
quality and availability of afterschool programs. Her experience
includes designing afterschool programs to reach the most underserved
populations with a combination of academic, social and recreational
programming. In addition, she led the development of an intermediary
organization and designed professional development components for
afterschool staff. At NAA, Nee worked in partnership with other
national afterschool organizations, and also led the vision and design
of the only convention in the field, supported 38 state affiliate
organizations, and traveled and spoke internationally. She serves on
numerous advisory boards.
Prior to NAA, Nee was President of the Florida Afterschool
Alliance (FASA), the Executive Director of Prime Time Palm Beach County
(an afterschool intermediary organization), and the founder of an
afterschool educational enrichment organization. Nee has an MA in
Community Psychology and is a Ph D candidate in Leadership and
Education. The FAN Board, along with the Florida CSC Board, is pleased
to welcome Judy as part of Florida's Afterschool Network. Her
experience and expertise will be invaluable in advancing the afterschool
field.
Governor
Appoints Two to Children and Youth Cabinet
Gov. Charlie Crist
last week announced the following reappointment and appointment:
- Judith
L. Schaechter, of Miami Beach, associate chair of pediatrics with
University of Miami, School of Medicine, reappointed for a term
beginning November 3, 2009 and ending August 27, 2013.
- Steven
J. Uhlfelder, of Tallahassee, attorney with Uhlfelder and
Associates, succeeding Dick Batchelor, appointed for a term
beginning November 3, 2009, and ending August 27, 2013.
Retired
Officers Push Early Childhood Benefits to Help National Security
A bipartisan group
of retired military officers says without more educational and health
investments in children the country will face a growing "national
security threat." The nonprofit group, Mission: Readiness, spoke
in reference to a recent Department of Defense study that shows 75
percent of 17 to 24-year-olds do not meet the basic minimum standards
required for military service. They are not eligible to enlist because
they fail to graduate high school, have criminal records or are
physically unfit.
Now, the group is pushing for significant investments in
early childhood education, parenting guidance as well as mental and
nutrition services. Congress is considering legislation for a new
initiative called the "Early Learning Challenge Fund"
designed to help states improve their early education programs and
expand access to include more at-risk kids. The House already passed
its version of the bill, which would fund $1 billion annually for eight
years in competitive grants to states. The Senate has yet to vote on
that bill. Read more atThe Hill.
TAKE ACTION: Contact U.S. Sens. Bill Nelson
and George Lemieux
and urge them to support HR 3221,
the Student Aid and Fiscal Responsibility Act, which contains the Early Learning
Challenge Fund language.
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FEDERAL WATCH
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House Democrats Unveil Healthcare
Reform Legislation
House Democrats unveiled comprehensive healthcare
legislation that aims to cover 96 percent of all Americans and
"keeps costs under $900 billion," according to House Speaker
Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.). The legislation, estimated to cost $894 billion
over 10 years and cover an additional 36 million Americans, will
"expand coverage and implement key insurance reforms,"
establishing a new health insurance exchange that will include a public
option and provide other benefits, such as ending discrimination for
people with pre-existing conditions, said Pelosi, flanked by members of
the Democratic Caucus on the steps of the Capitol Building. Read more on
ModernHealthcare.com
House
Committees Provide Information on Health Care Reform Bill
The three U.S.
House committees that wrote the Affordable Health Care for America Act
(HR 3962) have released fact sheets about the various provisions in the
bill.
* Committee on Ways
& Means
* Committee on
Energy & Commerce
* Committee on
Education & Labor
Early
Care and Education Group Offers Federal Information on Early Childhood
Issues
The Early Care and
Education Consortium has created a "Federal News" page on
their web site. The web page contains links to news and information
about federal funding, as well as legislation on child care and early
learning. Also, check out the latest information on the Early Learning
Challenge Fund. For more information, go to www.ececonsortium.org/federal.php.
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CSC NEWS
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Children's Board CEO Says Growth of
ASO Economic Culture Shift
Luanne
Panacek, CEO of the Children's Board of Hillsborough County, recently
talked to the Tampa
Tribune about how the economy is affecting families.
"What we're seeing," she says, "is a lot of middle-class
families who suddenly don't have paychecks. They are different because
they have never been in this situation and they cannot cope. Children
in these families are being told they might lose their homes or move
somewhere else. I believe we are seeing a genuine culture shift I never
would have anticipated." Read article in the Tampa Tribune.
Broward CSC Announces Ribbon Cutting and Tours for New
"Green" Building
The CSC of Broward County will hold the formal opening of
its new "Green" building at 6600 W. Commercial Blvd,
Lauderhill, FL 33319, on Thurs, Nov. 19 at 11:00 a.m. The ribbon
cutting ceremony will start promptly at 11:00, and tours of the new
building will follow and end at 3:00 p.m. Anyone interested in
attending is asked to RSVP: Melissa at msoza@cscbroward.org.
Broward
CSC Trainer Authors E-Book for Transitioning Youth
Kristen Mackey, a longtime
trainer for the CSC of Broward County, has released I AM Worthy of
Greatness, available as a free download (link below).
Authored with Scott Baker, the book was written especially for young
adults aging out of foster care at SOS Children's Villages - Floridain Coconut
Creek. It is applicable, however, to transitioning youth
everywhere and has already received positive feedback from
readers. It even inspired one to launch a creative project. The
short book is about healing, clarifying and creating a life aligned
with one's passion and vision. It also includes practical advice
and useful links in the toolbox at the end.Download
the free book.
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IN OTHER NEWS
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New Secretary Named at Agency for Health Care
Administration
Gov. Charlie Crist has
appointed Thomas W. Arnold of Tallahassee as Secretary of the Agency
for Health Care Administration (AHCA). Arnold replaces Holly Benson who
resigned last month. He has served as the agency's Chief of Staff since
2008. Arnold has a long service history in public health
administration. From 2004 to 2007, he served as AHCA's Medicaid
director. He also served as Florida Department of Health deputy state
health officer during 2008, deputy secretary from 2003 to 2004 and
director of administration from 1998 to 2003. Prior to his work there,
he served in various roles within the Florida Department of Health and
Rehabilitative Services from 1979 to 1998. Arnold also served in
the United States Marine Corps Reserve from 1970 to 1976. "I am
honored to have the opportunity to put my years of service to work as
head of Florida's Medicaid agency," Arnold said. "I
look forward to addressing the challenges and opportunities that lie
before us."
Senate President
Raises Concerns Over Loss of Federal Funds for Medicaid
Senate President Jeff Atwater, along with Sens. Alexander,
Peaden, and Rich, sent a letter this week to U.S. Sens. Nelson and
Lemieux expressing concern over the Federal Medical Assistance
Percentage calculation. "We are writing to you to bring your
attention to a serious flaw in the calculation of the Federal Medical
Assistance Percentage (FMAP), which represents the partnership between
federal and state funding for a state's Medicaid program, and to seek
your support in correcting this flaw," wrote Sen. Atwater.
"... the formula is not designed to account for artificial spikes
in a state's economy caused by one-time occurrences such as natural
disasters. During 2004 and 2005, Florida experienced some of the most
active hurricane seasons in memory, with seven major storms. The
economic activity that followed due to hurricane reconstruction
resulted in a significant temporary spike in Florida's per capita
income. This artificial inflation of Florida's per capita income
translated to an artificial depression of Florida's FMAP from 2007 to
2009, resulting in a notable loss of federal funds to Florida." Read the entire
letter.
Worst
to First Making Headline News Across Florida
The Worst to First
team recently went to Jacksonville as part of its "One Million
Steps" tour across the state. While there, they had a chance to
talk with people working every day to help Florida's kids get off to a
strong start in life. They spent some time in the downtown area at the
Salvation Army Child Development Center and Community Connections of
Jacksonville. Watch the video here to
see some great interviews with people making a difference in improving
the lives of Florida's kids - Kristin Smith, director of the Salvation
Army Child Development Center; Kathy Ingram, director of community
initiatives at Nemours BrightStart! and Latwanda Smith, director of
child care at Community Connections.
Also, listen to a
radio podcast of Bud Chiles on The Henry Raines Show on Newstalk AM 820
WWBA in Tampa. Listen the podcast here (starts at
31:30).
Governor Announces November as National Adoption Month,
Applauds Explore Adoption Initiative
In recognition of National Adoption Month, Gov. Charlie Crist
encouraged renewed focus on adopting teenagers from state foster care.
Teenagers are one of the hardest-to-place groups of children in foster
care. Last December, the Florida Department of Children and Families
(DCF) created the "Longest Waiting Teens" initiative to
encourage the adoption of teenagers. The goal is to find families for
the 103 children - including teenagers and their siblings. Since the
initiative began, 26 have been adopted. The governor commended DCF for receiving $9.75
million in federal bonus funds from the U.S. Department of Health and
Human Services. The federal adoption incentive rewards states for
adoptions of older children in foster care or those with special needs.
Under the Fostering Connections to Success and Increasing Adoptions Act
of 2008, a total of $35 million in adoption incentive bonuses is going
to 38 states and Puerto Rico, with the next highest award going to
Texas, which received nearly $5 million.
Additonally, last week Gov. Crist applauded
Florida's successes in transforming state foster care while addressing
child advocates, legislators and state child welfare system leaders
from 18 states in Tampa. Florida was chosen as the host state for the
National Governors Association Center for Best Practices policy
institute, Changing the Outcome: Achieving and Sustaining a Safe Reduction
in Foster Care, because of its success in safely reducing the
number of children in foster care, including the Governor's statewide Explore
Adoption initiative. Learn more at the Explore Adoption web site.
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Educational Consultant Shares 10 Concerns for Early Care
Education
At the close of a 2008 Working Forum for Teacher Educatorsin
Auckland, New Zealand, Educational Consultant Colin Gibbs made a
summing-up presentation, "Future directions for EC education: 10
concerns." His presentation has been reprinted in the
November issue of Exchange
and can be viewed online at
www.ChildCareExchange.com.
NWLC Releases 2009 State Child Care Assistance
Policies
The National Women's Law Center's has released "State Child Care Assistance Policies 2009,"
their annual analysis of state child care policies. The Center
finds that most states made no changes to their policies as of February
2009, but those that did moved backward instead of forward. The report
is based on a survey of state childcare administrators in all 50 states
and DC of income eligibility, waiting lists, parent copayments, and
reimbursement rates.
A
Proven Return on Investment: Economists and the Business Community
Advance a Birth to Five Policy Agenda
Zero to Three: National Center for Infants, Toddlers, and Families has
released an article that examines the economic benefits of investing in
the earliest years, and provides a state example that demonstrates it
in action. It also provides tips and strategies for how states and/or
communities can work with business leaders and economists to establish
similar investments for infants, toddlers, and their families. Read the article.
Embedding Home Visitation Programs Within a
System of Early Childhood Services
Deborah Daro, with Chapin Hall at the University of
Chicago, issued a brief that explores the opportunity to extend
high-quality programs to more children and families through pending
legislation. The bill would mandate investments in continuous program development
and improvement through better quality control of implementations and
better evaluation methods. It also highlights the need for a system of
early intervention services, of which home visitation is a critical
component. Read the brief.
First
Focus Launches Interactive Website on Children's Budget Issues
ChildrensBudget.org,
a project of First Focus, provides visitors with
interactive tools to explore how the federal government invests
taxpayer resources in children. ChildrensBudget.org will enable visitors to
search for individual programs, compare categories of children's
spending, and even create a custom category of programs of greatest
interest.
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EVENTS
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Conference Focuses on "Meeting
the Needs of Young Children and Families"
The Early Childhood Council (ECC) and the Florida
Association for Infant Mental Health (FAIMH) will be co-hosting a
conference, "Meeting the Needs of Young Children and
Families," November 18-20, 2009, at the Grand Hyatt Tampa Bay.
Registration includes the pre-conference event on Nov. 18 and the full
conference program Nov. 19-20 with a reception Thursday night. For
more information, call (813) 837-7753 or visit www.ecctampabay.org.
Government
Communicators Conference Focuses on Social Media Tools: The New Speak
You don't have to
be a government communicator to yearn for the latest information on the
use of social media tools for your organization. The Florida Government
Communicators Association (FGCA) is hosting a conference Dec. 3-4 in
Palm Beach Gardens that focuses on the latest social tools - FaceBook,
Twitter, YouTube, etc. The conference is open to everyone, and will
feature experts from Washington, D.C., Tallahassee and elsewhere to
share the most up-to-date information on the use of social media.
Participants are sure to be impressed with the caliber of speakers.
Networking opportunities will be outstanding. Register soon to get the
early bird rate. Learn more at: http://conf.fgca.org.
NAEYC to Hold Annual Conference & Expo in
Washington, DC
The National Association for the Education of Young Children will hold
its annual conference Nov. 18-21, 2009, in Washington, DC. This year's
conference features more than 900 sessions on diverse topics and themes
reflecting both traditional strategies and cutting-edge practice. Look
for presentations on topics ranging from how to plan an effective
elected official's visit to your center, to the role of quality rating
systems in professional development, as well as what's on the early
childhood federal horizon. Housing and registration are now open.
Florida
Philanthropic Network to Hold Statewide Summit February 2010
The Florida Philanthropic Network (FPN) will host a 2010
Summit on Philanthropy Feb. 11-12, 2010, at the Peabody Hotel in
Orlando. The summit will bring together state leaders in philanthropy,
nonprofits, government and business to engage in a discussion and
exploration of how to work together in new ways. Discussions will also
focus on making adjustments to Florida's new realities - economic and
otherwise - both by overcoming new challenges and identifying new
opportunities. Learn more, and register
at the Summit
website.
Partnership for
America's Economic Success to Hold National Conference in March 2010
The Partnership for
America's Economic Success is planning to hold its National Conference
March 10-11, 2010, at the National Press Club in Washington, D.C. This
conference is open to all business, finance and economic leaders,
advocates, policymakers and philanthropists interested in furthering
early childhood development. The agenda will be posted and registration
opened in the late Fall. Please sign up for the listserv to be updated
on this conference.
National
Afterschool Association Convention Set for April 2010
Join thousands of
afterschool professionals for outstanding learning and networking experiences
at the National Afterschool Association Convention in Washington, DC,
April 19-21, 2010. The event will feature hundreds of workshops from
across the afterschool field. Those who register before Dec. 11 will be
entered for a chance to win a Utah Vacation Package in the Wasatch
Mountains. For details, visit www.naaconvention.org/registration.html.
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