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Tots 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- A.L. Mailman Family Foundation, Oregon Initiative, Early Childhood Comprehensive Systems Resources, Updated Resources page on Docs For Tots Web site
- DFT State Affiliate updates- DFT New York and DFT Washington State
- Advocacy Opportunities and State Advocacy Organization Profiles- California, North Carolina, Oregon, Profile of the Northwest Early Childhood Institute, Profile of Winning Beginning New York
DFT Organization Update
DFT Receives Grant from A.L. Mailman Family Foundation: Docs For Tots is pleased to announce that the Mailman Infant and Toddler Support Project will enter Year 3 as of May 1st, 2007. This phase of the grant is designed to help doctors across the country become more actively involved in advocacy for programs and policies that impact the well-being of infants and toddlers, including increased child care quality and parent education and support. In addition, DFT will work to engage the network in enhancing, supporting and promoting the ZERO TO THREE Policy Network. If you are interested in getting involved in advocacy right away—join the ZERO TO THREE Policy Network, which provides a venue for connecting and collaborating with advocates and early childhood experts about public policy. Coordinated by the ZERO TO THREE Policy Center, the Policy Network provides access to The Baby Monitor, a policy & advocacy e-newsletter; the latest policy research on infant-toddler issues; easy-to-use advocacy tools; and opportunities to get involved at the federal and state levels. For updated information on the project and related opportunities, visit the Mailman Infant and Toddler Support Project section of the DFT Web site, and contact DFT Project Coordinator, Bethany Colavincenzo at bcola@docsfortots.org if you would like to get involved!
Oregon Initiative:
Docs For Tots has partnered with the Northwest Early Childhood Institute (NWECI) to carry out the Maternal, Infant and Toddler Mental Health Advocacy Project, funded through the W.K. Kellogg Foundation, a national initiative seeking to address the impact of maternal depression and infant and toddler mental health on early learning and development and later school readiness. Docs For Tots looks forward to building this new relationship and collaborating with NWECI in innovative ways.
Resources by Topic:
Docs For Tots invites you to visit our updated Resources by Topic section on the Web site where you will find links to excellent research, innovative initiatives, and many organizations doing important work to support children's health and well-being. Let us know if the reorganized resources section is helpful; share your thoughts by e-mailing Docs For Tots at dft@docsfortots.org.
DFT State Affiliate Updates
Docs For Tots New York
With the Governor making clear his commitment to a "0-5" agenda, there is great optiism in New York. Let's now keep these issues front and center!
Children's Agenda- On April 20th, Governor Spitzer released his Children’s Agenda, to give each child the opportunity to achieve their full potential. It includes the establishment of a “Children’s Cabinet” and a focus on health insurance for children, universal pre-kindergarten, and other legislative priorities. Read Governor Spitzer’s remarks to learn more.
Virtual Advocacy Day On March 20th, network doctors joined together “virtually” to show their support for full-day, high quality pre-k for New York’s children. DFTNY designed an e-letter-writing campaign to elected officials to highlight the importance of pre-k in anticipation of the budget being passed. View a copy of the letter sent to NY legislators.
The National Institute for Early Education Research (NIEER) released The State of Preschool 2006 on March 14th. Dr. Dina Lieser participated in the press conference releasing the report and had this to say about the benefits of investing in Pre-K: “Indeed, quality preschool is like a vaccine that protects and boosts children and society. One that offers dramatic improvements in health and development, school and life success.” NIEER documented that New York’s Universal Pre-K (UPK) program met 5 of the quality benchmarks and but was one of the states that decreased inflation adjusted spending per child in 2005-2006. To read learn more about this document and areas of improvement for New York, visit the NIEER state profile.
NY Budget Update: The Legislature agreed to Governor Spitzer’s plan to set the nation’s highest income ceiling for state-financed health care for children. Specifically, the budget increases eligibility for subsidized coverage to families with incomes up to 400 percent of the federal poverty level in order to extend coverage to nearly all of the 400,000 currently uninsured children under 19.The budget also includes $438 million for universal pre-K. Docs For Tots would like to thank the many network doctors who shared their voice and gave their time and energy to various advocacy efforts to secure this important funding.
Advocacy Opportunity in New York: High Quality Pre-K Advocacy Day on May 15th, Albany, NY. Docs For Tots would like to announce an opportunity to advocate for high quality pre-kindergarten for New York’s children. Docs will have the opportunity to learn critical advocacy skills, meet with elected officials and network with early education advocates from across the state.
Advocacy Opportunity in New York: Docs For Tots would like to announce an opportunity to advocate for loan forgiveness as it relates to high quality early care and education in New York. Loan forgiveness would enable professionals who want to work with children to stay on the job, get better skills and provide quality early learning programs for children, while pursuing higher education. Take action: send a letter to your legislator.
Advocacy Opportunity in New York: Submit an Article to a Parenting Magazine with Docs For Tots Docs For Tots will support you with writing samples, materials, and through the submission process. If you are interested in learning more about this opportunity, please contact Kelly Bowes.
Contact Kelly Bowes if you are interested in the above mentioned opportunities or if you would like to write an opinion-editorial or letter to the editor of your local paper. Please check http://www.docsfortots.org/DFTNY.asp for current information and opportunities throughout the month.
Docs For Tots Washington State
From opinion-editorials, letters to the editor, press conferences and written and in-person testimony, it seems that the medical perspective has been a critical component in the early learning and school readiness movement in Washington State. We are thrilled with the way that doctors in Washington state have been involved in this legislative session!
Network doctors weigh-in in newspapers across the state:
"Day Care"(Dr. Amy Elizabeth Carter, Seattle Post-Intelligencer, 4/1/07) "State must invest in early learning" (Dr. Ken Gass, Bellingham Herald, 3/31/07) "Positive detail belies what headline implies" (Dr. Jill Sells, Seattle Post-Intelligencer, 3/28/07) "Community partnerships can give our kids their best chance to succeed" (Dr. Michael Tomkins, Yakima Herald Republic, 3/26/07) ·
On March 15th, Dr. Chris Olson, President of the WCAAP, and Dr. Jill Sells joined law enforcement and business leaders in a Spokane press conference encouraging state lawmakers to increase investments in early learning and child abuse prevention.
Fight Crime Press Release (3/15/07)
Coalition urges greater investment in kids (Spokesman Review, 3/16/07) Contact Bethany Colavincenzo if you are interested in future opportunities to write an opinion-editorial or letter to the editor of your local paper. Please check www.DocsForTots.org/DFTWA.asp for continually updated information and opportunities.
Advocacy Opportunity in Washington state: Take part in an innovative new program, called Talking Circles, offered through The Children’s Museum of Seattle to the more than 230,000 families that visit the museum each year, from a variety of backgrounds. The goal of this program is to partner with the early learning community in order to deliver messages about the importance of parents in the critical ages of birth to six years. Museum staff will provide child care so that interested parents can attend informational sessions on child-centered topics. The group will meet on the 4th Tuesday of each month, beginning around 9 or 10 a.m., and they are looking for a physician that would be willing to speak once per quarter about an issue related to child health and development, including, but not limited to:
- Sleep and how to support children in establishing healthy sleep patterns
- Attachment and infant mental health Nutrition, food allergies, and picky eaters
- Flu Shots and immunizations
- Teething and biting behavior
- When to take a child to the doctor/hospital/When is a problem serious enough for medical attention?
- Supporting a gifted child
Ideally, they would like the doctor to be available for about 45 minutes, with 20 minutes devoted to a presentation on the given topic, and 20-25 minutes allowed for questions from parents.
If you are interested in presenting to this group, either on an on-going basis or for a single presentation, please contact Bethany Colavincenzo with your availability and area of interest or expertise that you would like to present to the Talking Circles group.
Advocacy Opportunities and State Advocacy Organization Profiles
California
Attention Ventura-area Medical Residents: With a support grant from the David and Lucile Packard Foundation, Docs For Tots will be coordinating and funding two medical resident externships through a local child advocacy organization, First 5 Ventura County. The residents will assist in two efforts within First 5, including working on a survey and parent education campaign through the Born Learning program, and helping to pilot a new initiative called “Adopt an NfL (Neighborhood for Learning),” which seeks to facilitate partnerships between high-quality early education settings and the health community. The timeframe, schedule and duration of the externship can be flexible, based on your scheduling needs. In addition to the specific projects outlined above, there will be ample opportunity for more general exposure to the child advocacy field and the potential for other projects based on the your specific interests and background. Please share this information with your colleagues, and contact Bethany Colavincenzo if you are interested in learning more about this opportunity. Opportunity for Sacramento Doctors: Join other advocates at the Stand for Children Advocacy Day, May 2nd. Share your commitment to young children through a day of advocacy, information-sharing, and legislative visits, and encourage the parents of your young patients to join.
North Carolina
Reminder: Tuesdays For Tots Advocacy Day – Raleigh, May 22 Durham’s Partnership for Children would like to invite doctors to participate in the 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. In addition we are pleased to release the NC Prescription for High-Quality Early Care and Education. We encourage doctors to download and print the PDF, and use this resource when submitting in-person or written legislative testimony, making a presentation, or in another advocacy setting.
Oregon
Advocacy Opportunity in Oregon: The Childhood Hunger Initiative The Childhood Hunger Initiative is a group of health care professionals, anti-hunger advocates and other interested Oregonians, who are working together to educate the medical community, policy makers, and the general public about the medical, developmental, and psycho-social impacts of childhood food insecurity and hunger. To learn about the Initiative’s specific projects and ways to become involved, please contact Kelly Bowes.
State Advocacy Organization Profile
Through partnerships and excellent opportunities for doctors, Docs For Tots is happy to provide information on the following child advocacy organizations:
Northwest Early Childhood Institute, Portland, Oregon
Winning Beginning NY: An early care and education coalition
Docs For Tots
A Nationwide Network of Doctors
Advocating For Young Children!
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Recently Docs For Tots asked Dr. Michelle Terry, a network doc and active advocate in Washington state to tell us why she feels advocacy is important. Dr. Terry provided the following answers about her beliefs, work and experiences.
Why is advocacy important to you? Advocacy is important because it gives an organized voice to many concerns that may not receive adequate legislative attention. As a pediatrician, I can speak up for my individual patients in need, but it is much more effective to try and address systemic problems in children's health through a coordinated and organized approach. Advocacy raises awareness of children's issues, advances topics of discussion for action, and ultimately enhances the lives of children and families.
What has been your favorite advocacy moment or event to date?
The Children's Alliance, [Washington’s] statewide children's  advocacy organization, hosts "Have a Heart for Kids Day" every February in Olympia, our state capitol. This past February I attended with my three children 12, 9 and 2. It was absolutely delightful to take my children to the legislative buildings, write notes to our representatives and governor, march through the campus and rally on the steps of the capitol building. I hope that my children will remember that hundreds of people came together that day in the rain to "speak up" for children, and that being active in advocacy activities is both a significant responsibility as well as a lot of fun.
What do you feel are the biggest social issues affecting young children in your state?
The need for comprehensive medical, mental and dental health care for every child, the need for improvements in child care quality and early childhood education and the "wrap-around support" for foster children.
Do you have anything you'd like to say to other doctors thinking about getting involved?
Getting involved in small but significant ways does not usually take much time and is immensely rewarding personally. Docs For Tots offers a wealth of support via its Web site and outreach activities, and physicians may be surprised to find a well grounded and organized advocacy organization in their hometown that would love to have straightforward input on issues that matter to children. Opportunities to participate in larger advocacy campaigns are possible as well, while getting to know people outside of medicine who also care for kids and their futures is always helpful - both to realize the social determinants of health as well as to the practice of medicine.
If you would like to nominate a doctor advocate to be profiled in the next newsletter please contact dft@docsfortots.org.
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