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Tot’s Talk is an e-Newsletter of Docs For Tots; a nationwide network of doctors advocating for young children. This update, distributed to more than 1,500 advocates nationwide, provides the latest in news and information including requests for doctor advocacy and examples of efforts to change the social policies affecting children’s health and development. In This Issue:
- DFT Announcements- Interim Executive Director, Special Edition of the DFT Newsletter to come out in April for Minority Health and Disparities Month, CME Credit Opportunity, Resident Advocacy Rotation Experience, NIEER features DFT in publication article
- DFT State Affiliate updates-DFT New York and DFT Washington State
- Advocacy Opportunities and State Advocacy Organization Profiles-Nationwide Opportunity through the National Women's Law Center, California, North Carolina and Kansas advocacy efforts and opportunities
DFT Announcements
DFT Board Announces Interim Executive Director
The Docs For Tots' Board of Directors is pleased to announce the appointment of Dina Lieser, MD, FAAP as Interim Executive Director of Docs For Tots. Dr. Lieser, Director of the Community and Child Advocacy Rotation at New York Presbyterian Hospital: Cornell Pediatric Residency Program and currently the Director of Docs For Tots New York (DFT NY), has a longstanding commitment to child advocacy and a great passion for ensuring that the mission of Docs For Tots is realized and we continue making great strides for our youngest children. For more information please read the announcement.
Minority Health and Health Disparities Special Edition Newsletter
A "Special Edition" of the Docs For Tots Newsletter will be sent in mid April to all network doctors, drawing attention to National Minority Health and Health Disparities Month. The newsletter will focus on the causes of disparities and how these can affect children's health and development.
Minority Health and Health Disparities - CME Opportunity
For up to 9 credits of free CME- docs can log on to https://cccm.thinkculturalhealth.org/, a program through the HHS Office of Minority Health which addresses health disparities and clinical cases including several pediatric examples.
Resident Advocacy Rotation Experience
To learn more about advocacy in the Pediatric arena, resident Dr. Shafkat Anwar participated in a month-long advocacy rotation at Docs For Tots. Dr. Anwar met with policy directors, doctors, and principals in leading child advocacy organizations to discuss advocacy and the potential role of physicians. He shares his insights and encourages other physicians to get involved through his article entitled Childhood Advocacy: Lessons Learned. Dr. Anwar’s rotation marks the second of what we hope will be a series of residents joining us for an advocacy experience. If you are a resident interested in advocacy, please contact trush@docsfortots.org for more information.
NIEER Article Features Docs For Tots
Docs For Tots: A Fresh Voice for Quality Early Childhood Education. NIEER’s Preschool Matters features an article about Docs for Tots and our efforts to advocate for quality early childhood education. To read the article, click here, or sign up for NIEER’s online newsletter.
DFT State Affiliates
Docs For Tots New York
Create a Winning Beginning: A NY Children’s Art Project. New York’s children have been taking part in a very creative and special advocacy initiative through a joint project of Docs For Tots and Winning Beginning NY (http://www.winningbeginningny.org). In waiting rooms across the state, children have been creating art work for Governor Spitzer to show him what an important time early childhood is for learning. Crayons, paper, and educational materials for parents were provided by Docs For Tots. This collection of art will be presented to the Governor at an event in the spring. Contact your Elected Official about Early Care and Education. Educate your official on the need to invest more in quality early care and education, and of its many benefits for young children and society. Use the Winning Beginning NY Legislative Asks and the Docs For Tots Advocacy Toolkit as guides to frame and communicate your message. Opportunity to Get Involved with Early Childhood Centers. Please consider serving on a Health Advisory and/or other planning boards of early childhood centers (including Early Head Start or early education/child care centers) . Doctors input is always helpful. For more information on the activities mentioned in New York, please contact Kelly Bowes, DFT Project Coordinator.
Docs For Tots Washington State
Pediatricians in Washington State believe young children lack opportunities for a good start in life: The results of Docs For Tots’ survey of 229 WA pediatricians are in! Download the one-page summary of the major findings from the poll. Network Docs Participated in Have a Heart for Kids Day. On February 19th, Dr. Jill Sells and DFT Network doc, Dr. Michelle Terry attended Have a Heart for Kids Day, organized by the Children’s Alliance. The event drew more than 600 children’s advocates from across the state and provided a great opportunity to raise the visibility of children’s doctors in the early learning advocacy movement. We hope that other doctors will consider getting involved in next year’s event! “10 Ways to Advocate for Young Children in Washington State:” Explore this newly developed resource at www.DocsForTots.org/DFTWA.asp. We encourage doctors to refer to this list for some simple ways to start or increase their advocacy today! "Advocacy for Early Learning: How Pediatricians Can Collaborate with Public and Private Partners," a Washington State Audio Conference held on February 13th for doctors and early childhood partners. The call featured presentations by DFT WA Director, Dr. Jill Sells, Ms. Sangree Froelicher, Assistant Director of Systems Collaboration in the Department of Early Learning; and Mr. Garrison Kurtz, Former Director of Programs at the Foundation for Early Learning, who recently joined the public/private partnership for early learning, Thrive by Five Washington. An audio recording and transcript of the call are now available on the DFT WA Web site. The DFT WA “Prescription for Early Learning” is now available for viewing and downloading from the Web site. Download the prescription, and fax it to your Representatives and Senator today. See www.leg.wa.gov for their contact information, or contact us for assistant.
Advocacy Opportunities and State Advocacy Profiles
National Opportunity
National OpportunityNationwide- Many low to moderate-income families miss out on tax credits because they are unaware of their eligibility. Doctors can inform parents and families about the tax credits available to them, and how to use these credits to help offset the cost of child care. The National Women's Law Center (NWLC) launched a 2007 National Tax Credits Outreach Campaign designed to inform families about federal and state tax credits that can help pay for child care and other expenses. Visit the National Women's Law Center Web site for materials and resources that can be used to conduct outreach in your clinic or practice. Contact dft@docsfortots.org for more information.
California
Join child advocates in Sacramento for the 2007 “Kids' Day" policy and advocacy event on Thursday, April 19th, 2007. Take this opportunity to: • Learn about Current Legislation affecting families and children
• Gain insight into the legislative process
• Raise awareness of the issues affecting young children in California
• Break into Advocacy Teams and speak with a Legislator Contact Bethany Colavincenzo, Project Coordinator, for more information. Docs For Tots is planning to coordinate 2 pediatric resident externships in child advocacy organizations in California. If you work with a child advocacy organization that could benefit from a doctor’s participation in a project around advocacy for pre-k, Docs For Tots invites you to contact us to discuss possible collaboration. The externship, supported by a small stipend from Docs For Tots, can be tailored to the needs of the organization and resident. Please contact Bethany Colavincenzo, Project Coordinator, as soon as possible for more information!
North Carolina
Durham’s Partnership for Children- Durham's Partnership for Children (DPfC) was founded in 1994 to administer the Smart Start grant in Durham County. Smart Start is North Carolina's nationally recognized initiative to ensure all children enter school healthy and ready to succeed. Smart Start helps working parents pay for childcare, improves the quality of childcare and provides health and family support services in every North Carolina County. The Partnership works with 18 funded partners (affiliated organizations) to achieve its mission: “To mobilize and unify the Durham community to create and support innovative and successful approaches to serving the needs of children 0-5 and their families.” For more information about Durham’s Partnership for Children, please visit www.dpfc.net Potential Docs For Tots pilot project in Durham, North Carolina Durham’s Partnership for Children is seeking to increase the involvement of physicians in education and advocacy around early childhood issues through a pilot project in partnership with Docs For Tots. Through collaboration with local organizations such as the North Carolina Pediatric Society and the national Docs For Tots organization, this local initiative would partner with doctors on a variety of activities to build support and awareness for these important prevention issues. As the City of Medicine, Durham is the ideal location to begin such an endeavor with the goal that this local initiative will spark a statewide effort to engage the medical community in promoting high quality early care and education. Tuesdays For Tots Advocacy Day – Raleigh, May 22 One of the first activities Durham’s Partnership for Children (DPfC) would like to invite doctors to participate in is a Tuesdays For Tots advocacy day in Raleigh on May 22nd. This is an opportunity for doctors, with the support of DPfC staff, to meet with policy makers and increase the visibility of children’s issues at the General Assembly. As providers that see young children on a daily basis, you have an important role in conveying the benefits of investing in young children and influencing future policies. Please consider joining this effort, and if you are interested, please contact Bethany Colavincenzo.
Doctors in North Carolina- If you know any doctors in North Carolina that may be interested in participating in Docs For Tots activities, please forward this information to them and have them sign up for the Docs For Tots network at www.DocsForTots.org.
State Advocacy Organization Profile
Through partnerships and excellent opportunities for doctors, Docs For Tots is happy to provide information on the following child advocacy organization:
Kansas Association of Child Care Resource and Referral Agencies (KACCRRA)-
KACCRRA delivers information based services to its core constituencies of families, child care providers, and the community. When services to each constituency are carried out in concert with other services and supported by a comprehensive, accurate database, they build and improve the system that supports the care and learning of all children in Kansas. It is the mission of each of the 15 local Resource and Referral Agencies, covering all 105 counties in Kansas, to provide three core services.
1) Supporting families in the most important roles of nurturing their children and balancing the demands of family and work through active operation of a referral and consumer education service.
2) Supporting existing and prospective individuals and programs that care for and educate children through professional development and assistance to increase the availability, affordability, and quality of child care.
3) Supporting communities and the state to create appropriate policies on family and children’s issues and to generate additional resources for the care, development and learning of all children.
KACCRRA supports a network of Infant/Toddler Specialists who are housed in each of the 15 R&Rs. One of the roles of the Infant/Toddler Specialists is to provide information to local physicians throughout Kansas to educate young families about child care. KACCRRA is also working closely with the University of Kansas Developmental Disabilities Fellowship program to educate resident physicians in Pediatrics and Family Practice about child care issues. More information on KACCRRA, the Infant Toddler Project, and the role of Docs For Tots in these efforts will be presented at the NACCRRA Annual Policy Symposium on March 3rd in Washington, D.C. For more information visit www.naccrra.org/symposium/ or contact Bethany Colavincenzo at Docs For Tots.
We hope you will read what other advocacy organizations are doing throughout the country on our Web site by visiting our past profiles at: http://www.docsfortots.org/program/relationships/default.asp.
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