1. Federal budget cuts will impact children’s health and the press wants to hear your voice.
2. Disparities and children’s health: new research from Dr. Glen Flores on disparities in early childhood health and healthcare and new DFT PowerPoint presentation on disparities in children’s health on web site. 
3. DFT and BBCC develop local advocacy opportunities for network doctors.
4. New talking point for doctors and flyer for families on tax credits.
5. Network doctor, Dr. Danielle Dooley presents to local child care staff.
6. DFT Staff changes

1.  The President’s Budget for FY 2006 will be released Monday, February 7th.  In anticipation of severe budget cuts that will impact children, DFT is collaborating with other national child advocacy organizations to educate and organize stakeholders against budget cuts in public programs that help keep millions of children safe and healthy.  Budget cuts will effect discretionary programs such as education and health, and entitlement programs such as Medicaid, food stamps, and State Children’s Health Insurance Programs (SCHIP). Doctors are influential voices on behalf of children and the press will be interested in hearing your perspective and expertise on children.  DFT will connect you with organizations that will prepare you with talking points and interviewing strategies for interviews.  If you are interested in being contacted by the press for interviews, please contact George Askew as soon as possible at gaskew@docsfortots.org.

2.  Dr. Glenn Flores, a DFT network doctor, has released new research citing disparities in health and healthcare in early childhood.  According to Dr. Flores’ research, young minority children experience multiple disparities in health status, insurance coverage, and quality of service.  Dr. Flores’ research can be found at: http://pediatrics.aappublications.org/cgi/reprint/115/2/e183.  If you are interested in being contacted for interviews from the press regarding issues in children’s disparities from your personal experience in practice, please contact Alice Hunt at ahunt@docsfortots.org.  Docs For Tots will be increasing its work on disparities and will release a Special Alert on Dr. Flores’ research and a DFT PowerPoint presentation introducing disparities in children’s health status, access to care, and home environment. 

3.  As part of the Better Baby Care Campaign (BBCC) Support Initiative, DFT is beginning to work with local BBCC projects in New Hampshire, Greater Cleveland, and Texas.  These BBCC projects are child advocacy organizations that are looking for doctors to participate in advocacy events and projects.  We will be contacting DFT doctors in those regions with specific advocacy opportunities in the upcoming months.  Please visit our web page about the project for more information, insert link.  If you know a colleague in these states who would be interested in participating but is not yet signed up with DFT, please direct them to our site to register: http://www.docsfortots.org/Network.htm.

4.  As the tax season approaches, DFT has produced talking points on how doctors can inform their patients and others about federal tax credits which help offset child and dependent care costs.  As a complement to the talking points, we have also created a flyer for doctors to place in their offices for families about tax credits.  Please visit http://www.docsfortots.org/Links.htm to find “What Docs Should Know About Tax Credits” and “What Families Should Know About Tax Credits.”  For more information on state tax credits, please contact Sara So at sso@docsfortots.org.

5.  Dr. Danielle Dooley, a network doctor, recently gave a presentation on the effects of housing on asthma to child care staff through the Office of Early Childhood Development in the Department of Human Services in Washington, DC.  DFT has modified the talking points on local housing and asthma we provided for Dr. Dooley for our national network of doctors.  “What Docs Should Know About How Indoor Environment Effects Childhood Asthma” can be found at http://www.docsfortots.org/Links.htm. 

6.  We are sad to say goodbye to our Programs Manager, Kate Irish who has been an integral part of DFT for the past year.  We welcome our new Programs Manager,  Tracey Rush (trush@docsfortots.org), who comes to us from George Washington University.  We are excited to announce the addition of Alice Hunt to our staff who will be our first Advocacy Network Coordinator. In that capacity, she will primarily be responsible for communicating and coordinating with the network of doctor advocates.  Alice can be contacted by email at ahunt@docsfortots.org.