From the California Liaison:

It is a privilege to have the opportunity to tell you about Docs For Tots' most recent activities in California.  You may have already read about the organization's child advocacy efforts in states like New York and Washington, and here in California we are thrilled to be joining these efforts.  I have recently come on board as the California Liaison to Docs For Tots, and am working specifically on the promotion of universal preschool for California's children.

Although many children are enrolled in preschool in our state, in many communities it remains a luxury available only to those who can afford it.  It has been well-documented that preschool provides long-term benefits not only to the individual child, but to the entire community, in the form of increased social and economic success leading to decreased societal burden.  But despite a wealth of evidence, we have not yet made preschool available to the children who need it most.  In California, under a grant from the David and Lucile Packard Foundation, Children, Families and Communities program, Docs For Tots is actively participating in the promotion of pre-school for all three and four-year-olds.

Though pediatricians act as child advocates on a daily basis in their clinical practices, many of us are too busy to be more politically and socially active in our communities.  The mission of DFT is to make advocacy opportunities available o physicians, and to provide them with the necessary resources and materials to participate in these activities.  It is through these efforts that I became involved with DFT.  In search of a way to be more involved in children's health issues and more effective in advocating positive changes in our children's health and education policies, I came across Docs For Tots and learned more about them through their website.  After "watching from the sidelines" for a while, I was eventually granted the position of California Liaison.  The goal of our efforts thus far in California has been to join forces with other statewide organizations in promoting preschool for all and to grow the DFT network to make more physicians available to participate in these efforts-- whether through giving speeches, writing articles or simply making their voices heard.

In the short time that I have been involved with Docs For Tots, I have already learned a great deal and received a great deal of support and assistance from the organization.  For a doctor who is new to political advocacy in the arena of children's health and education issues, this support is invaluable.  I encourage all pediatricians in California to become members, and to peruse the website and DFT's various ongoing activities.  We all care about children and want to be the voice for those too young to speak for themselves.  It's nice to know that your involvement can be as much or as little as you desire, but that your contribution will still be great.

Rola Magid, MD                                                                  California Liaison, Docs For Tots

For more information please contact Dr. Rola Magid.