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May 2010 • VOLUME 14 ISSUE 1 |
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Another Lean Budget, Most Children's Programs Escape Cuts
AUTHOR: Florida Children?s Services Council, Capitol Connection
In another tough budget year, the Legislature focused on little else besides more cuts, trust fund raids (33 of them), reform measures, and finalizing the Seminole Gaming Compact ($435 million this year and at least $1 billion over the next five years). For most lawmakers, the upcoming election season provided strong incentive to pass the state's nearly $70.4 billion budget and get to "sine die" on time.
Although efforts for major Medicaid reform did not happen this year, lawmakers vowed to bring the issue up again next year. They did approve a few tweaks, including a 7 percent rate reduction for hospitals and nursing homes (5 percent for nursing homes if FMAP money comes through). However, two children's hospitals - Miami's Children's Hospital and St. Petersburg's All Children's Hospital - were spared the rate reduction. Additionally, services for pregnant women between 150 percent and 185 percent of the poverty level will be fully funded.
While very few programs or agencies were spared the budget ax, a number of Florida CSC priority areas managed to escape significant cuts (see table below). Especially important was the restoration of funds for VPK, which had been targeted for a 15-percent cut. With a great team effort led by AWI's Brittany Birken, the Association of ELCs, the Florida CSC, and many child advocates and childcare providers, proposals were scrapped to reduce funding for the base student allocation and increase the VPK class size from 1:10 to 1:12. Thanks also go to Chairs Rep. Anitere Flores and Sen. Stephen Wise, as well as members of the Pre-K-12 committees, particularly Sen. Rudy Garcia who held the line on VPK.
It is important to note that in addition to General Revenue, the 2010-11 budget was pieced together using remaining stimulus funds, anticipated federal Medicaid matching money (FMAP), and more than $500 million in Trust Fund sweeps - all one-time, non-recurring money. This does not bode well for next year's budget and beyond.
| FLORIDA'S 2010-11 BUDGET |
| ISSUE |
FY 09-10 |
FY 10-11 |
COMMENT |
| School Readiness |
$615.4M |
$615.4M |
Funding maintained at current year level |
| VPK (Non-admin.) |
$366.8M |
$404.4M |
Funds enrollment growth; Base Student Allocation is $2,562 for the year and $2,179 in summer; reduces admin to 4.5% (was 4.85% in 09-10); Teacher, student ratio remains 1:10. |
| Healthy Kids (KidCare) |
$237.8M |
$245.2M |
Fully funds expected enrollment growth |
| Healthy Start Coalitions (GR) |
$26.3M |
$23.6M |
Total $4.7M reduction in services, $2.7M in GR and $2.1M in Health Federal Grants Trust Fund sweep. Coalitions will be given permission to apply for grants to make up the difference. |
| Healthy Start Coalitions (TF) |
$5.9M |
$3.7M |
| Healthy Families |
$27.4M |
$18.1M |
$9.3M reduction, nearly 35% cut |
| Early Steps/Part C |
$11.5M |
$11.5M |
Fully funded |
| Children's Medical Services |
$125.3M |
$149.1M |
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| Child Protection Investigation |
$38.2M |
$37.4M |
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| Community Based Care (CBC) |
$740.7M |
$740.9M |
Fully funded |
| Community Based Care Equity |
$ - |
$10.3M |
Uses remaining stimulus funding |
| Independent Living |
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Held harmless, but no funding for growth. Monthly stipend to be determined in DCF rulemaking process |
Maintenance Adoption
Subsidies |
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Fully funded, including growth |
| Juvenile Assessment Centers* |
$4.7M |
$4.7M |
$1M original cut was restored to Leon, Pasco, Polk and Marion JACs |
| PACE Centers |
$10.9M |
$11M |
Fully funded |
| CINS/FINS |
$30.7M |
$30.8M |
Fully funded |
* While the front end of the juvenile justice system (JACs) was virtually held harmless this year, besides a cut of $188k to Community Based Intervention, cuts to residential beds ($7.8M non-secure and $3.4M secure) resulting from fund shifts to the corrections system still call into question the Legislature's priorities on public safety.
Counter-Advertising Will Become a Best Practice in Childhood Obesity Prevention
AUTHOR: David Caruthers, 180 Change
Most folks in public health are familiar with the counter-marketing / counter-advertising strategies used by the national "Truth" campaign and numerous state "Truth"-style campaigns aimed at reducing teen tobacco use. Tobacco counter-advertising changed the way society views tobacco companies - it even led to the labeling of the industry as "Big Tobacco". The measurable gains achieved in reduction of teen tobacco use would have not been possible if not for the aggressive, strong approach of the counter-advertising.
I believe such counter-advertising will be as important in childhood obesity prevention as it has been in teen tobacco prevention, eventually becoming a best practice. This is not good news for the industries creating ads and marketing that target children containing exaggerations, half-truths and outright lies. The simple truth is that if a company is behaving in a responsible manner, there is no fodder for me to create a counter-advertising campaign.
Without counter-advertising in obesity, most parents and kids make many of their food decisions based almost solely on the misleading and deceptive advertising of what we call "Big Fat Industries" (fast food, soft drink, and junk food industries) and "Couch Potato Companies" (national TV networks and video game companies). Counter-advertising not only offers valuable information to help kids and parents make better food decisions, it helps them understand how Big Fat Industries and Couch Potato Companies value profits far more than the health of our nation.
When we created our counter-advertising campaigns, we did not know for sure whether it would be effective in childhood obesity prevention. Preliminary results show that kids ages 9-12 understand our counter-advertising, and that they are capable of communicating these counter-advertising messages to their friends, families, neighbors – even elected officials.
Our counter-advertising campaigns funnel into the "Kidz Bite Back Movement" – a kid-created, kid-led, kid-spread movement for 4th and 5th graders that has involved more than 5,000 kids in Florida. It is being formally and independently evaluated, and preliminary results are very favorable in many areas. A three-year evaluation study will be completed at the end of this school year.
We chose 4th and 5th graders as our target audience for two main reasons. First, our research revealed that kids younger than 9 years old could not fully understand counter-advertising, nor could they effectively spread the word as part of a grassroots movement. Second, teenagers are too old to make positive nutrition and activity behavior changes at the success rates we are striving for (it is true that the older you get, the harder it is to change). We have a much better chance of getting an overweight child to not become obese than we do with an overweight teenager.
As our program matures, we are also seeing that counter-advertising provides for personal responsibility, which I believe is the cornerstone of reversing the childhood obesity trend. The power of misleading and deceptive advertising of fast food, soft drinks, and junk food undermines personal responsibility. It is designed to confuse the consumer.
These examples illustrate why a recent study showed that only 1 in 10 people can identify the healthier option when given a few choices from fast food chains.
Even dieticians are baffled by Big Fat Industries’ misleading and deceptive
advertising and marketing. Another recent study found that dieticians consistently underestimated the calorie content of
restaurant menu items, often by hundreds of calories each. The 2007 study was done by New York University and Dr. Margaret Wooten, Director of Nutritional Policy at the Center for Science in the Public Interest.
After being educated with our counter-advertising, kids and parents not only
make better, well-informed decisions, but they become educated consumers who know how to see through the deceptive and misleading
advertising that is making it difficult to raise a healthy family.
For more information on our Kidz Bite Back
Movement, or on our Big Fat Industries and Couch Potato Companies
counter-marketing campaigns, please visit www.kidzbiteback.com. For information on our non-profit organization, please visit www.180change.org.
To learn more about 180 Social Marketing & Counter-Advertising,
contact Dewey Caruthers.
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Spotlight On...
Highlighting CSC funded agencies and CSC council members. |
Lalenya Robertson, Founder and Immediate Past President
Advocating for Kids, Inc.
Advocating for Kids, Inc. (A4K) was founded in May 2005, in response to the overwhelming needs of maltreated children represented by the Guardian ad Litem Program (GALP) of the Fifth Judicial Circuit which encompasses Lake, Sumter, Citrus, Marion and Hernando Counties. The GALP is a volunteer based organization appointed by the court to advocate on behalf of children in dependency proceedings and under court supervision. Most of the children have been removed from their homes by the Department of Children and Families (DCF) due to allegations of abuse, neglect or abandonment. In Florida, there are 20 circuit GAL Programs and 22 non-profits that bridge the growing financial gap between what the State can pay and the children’s needs.
Advocating for Kids, Inc. is a not for profit community organization that provides financial assistance, community resources and develops programs to address these unmet needs. Currently, in Lake County, there are 217 volunteer Guardians ad Litem and a small support staff that represent 448 children. In the Fifth Circuit, 700 volunteers represent almost 1,400 of the 1,800 dependent children.
Since volunteers are the heart of the GALP, consistent recruitment efforts are an absolute necessity to ensure children are given a voice in court. Volunteers are also trained and certified to identify the basic necessities of their assigned child such as medical, dental, psychological or educational needs that an overburdened and overwhelmed child welfare system may not have immediately identified.
In 2007, we received a National Court Appoint Special Advocate (CASA) grant which allocated funds to a dedicated volunteer recruiter which dramatically increased the number of volunteers who became certified and able to represent more children. In 2008, A4K was awarded 75% of the original grant from CASA for the volunteer recruiter. I applied for and received the balance of funding from the Lake County Children’s Services Council. Since the addition this position, the Fifth Judicial Circuit has led the state in volunteer recruitment with more children represented than ever before. In Lake County, volunteers currently represent 355 of the 448 children under court supervision.
Our goal, as well as the Guardian ad Litem goal, is that every child has a GAL to advocate on his/her behalf. My personal goal is that with prevention, no child would need to be under court supervision.
B.E. Thompson,
Chairman
Lake County Children?s Services Council
B.E. Thompson is a third-generation Lake County native who currently serves as Director of Development of LifeStream Behavioral Center. His wife, Carla, is also a Lake County native and teaches at Eustis High School. They are proud parents to three dogs, Willy and Baron (Newfoundlands) and Tebow (Black Lab). B.E. and Carla hail from large families – he with 6 brothers and she with 5 brothers and 3 sisters. Always community-minded, B.E. serves as chairman of the Lake County Children’s Services Council, vice-chairman of the Early Learning Coalition of Lake County and president of the Children’s Foundation of Lake County, among others. Outside of work and community service, he is an avid fan of University of Florida athletics and enjoys collecting Eustis, Lake County and Florida Gators memorabilia.
B.E. has served on the Children’s Services Council for over eleven years, with the past several as its chairman. His family instilled in him at an early age the value of giving back to his community. He is fortunate to work for an agency that also encourages his passion to help others. He is an active participant on all boards and committees to which he commits himself. B.E. believes serving on the CSC is an investment in our quality of life and the future of Lake County.
A list of his current community service activities:
- Lake County Children’s Services Council, Chairman
- Early Learning Coalition of Lake County, Vice-Chairman
- Lake County Safe Climate Coalition, Executive Steering Committee Member
- Mid-Florida Homeless Coalition, President
- Florida Coalition for the Homeless, Member
- Lake County Homeless Continuum of Care Committee, Chairman
- Lake County Shared Services Network – Steering Committee, Member
- Lake Tech – Early Childhood Education Program Advisory Committee, Member
- Children’s Foundation of Lake County, Co-Founder/President
- Lake County Human Services Grant Review Board, Member
- Healthy Living Magazine - Executive Board of Advisors, Member
- Lake County KidCare Coalition, Member
- Leadership Lake County – Class of 2005, Member
- Leadership Lake County Alumni Association, Member
- Lake/Sumter Grantsmanship Network, Member
- Humanities & Fine Arts Charter School, Inc. - Board of Directors, Member
CSC Volunteer Recognition
Commissioner Conner, Boys & Girls Clubs Unit Director Alicia Brinson, Volunteer Beulah Spencer, CSC Chair B.E. Thompson. |
Karla Gimsley, Guardian ad Litem Program Circuit Director, Commissioner Conner, Advocating for Kids Founder Lalenya Robertson, Volunteer Murray McMahon,
CSC Chair B.E. Thompson. |
2009 Annual Lake County Children & Elder Services Christmas Project
I would like to begin by apologizing for the delay in acknowledging those many agencies and citizens who came forward and made a difference in the lives of several Lake County families. Because of them, there were happy Christmas mornings across Lake County that would not have happened.
As in 2008, requests began pouring into Children & Elder Services a few weeks before Christmas. Some were families looking for financial help to keep a roof over their heads, and food on the table. Others from families who could not afford to provide gifts or even a Christmas dinner. As you can imagine, the stress of losing your job and/or your home is difficult enough, but how hard it must be trying to explain to your child there just isn’t any money for Christmas.
And, so the call for help was sent out to both the Children & Elder Services Distribution lists. And, once again, the belief in the magic of the Season was kept alive by the willingness of the community to come together and help perfect strangers.
Through the generosity of Lake County citizens, 19-families and 54-children received something they needed, and something they wanted for Christmas. Each family received a $50, or more, gift certificate for food, and four families received a fully decorated Christmas tree.
The families’ heartfelt thanks go to those listed below, as well as those who wish to remain anonymous (you know who you are), who made this possible by stepping forward to help.
- Audrey Greene & the Century Link Team
- Boys & Girls Clubs of Lake & Sumter
- City of Leesburg Finance Department: Lorrie Simmons, Colette Weber, Marie Cinicola, Jennifer Fort
- Caring Citizens: B.E. Thompson, Carol Clendenin, Cindy Moorhead, David & Vanessa Olive, Debbie Stivender, Isaac Deas, Jane Reich, John McGuire & Carol Wilt, Julie Yandell, Lisa Peterson, Niki Booth, P.J. Bopp, Rose Ernest, Sandy Stura & Susan Eddins
- Community Services: Allison Thall, Bill Gearing, Brenda Likely, Dawn Smith Anderson, Frostie Ross, Kathy Blanton, Mariela Baker, Stacey Kleinfeld, Tom Osebold, Trudy Blackstone
- DCF Adult Protection Department
- DCF Child Protection Department
- DCF Circuit 5 Administration
- Early Learning Coalition of Lake County
- Groveland Oak Tree Church
- Lake County Animal Control
- Lake Family Magazine
- Lake Sumter EMS
- Max Health: Jeff Nowling
- New Vision for Independence
- United Community Outreach, Inc.: Constance Brown
- Youth Outreach Department of LSCC
- And, of course, Children & Elder Services distribution lists, who in turn, got the word out throughout the community.
My thanks to each and every one of you for your generous and caring hearts!
Rebecca Foley-Kearney
Lake County Children & Elder Services
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Community Bulletin Board |
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Children's Services Council • Health & Human Services Division
Department of Community Services
Lake County Board of County Commissioners
1300 S. Duncan Drive, P.O. Box 7800 • Tavares, Florida 32778
www.lakecountyfl.gov/csc |
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