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April 5, 2011 |
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In this Week's Issue of the Capitol Child Advocate: |
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CHILD ABUSE PREVENTION MONTH MISSOURI KANSAS |
EVENTS RESOURCES |
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“In 2009, 109 Missouri children died of child abuse and neglect, an increase of 11 percent over 2008, according to the Missouri Department of Social Services. Nearly one-third of the child abuse fatalities were inflicted by a parent or guardian. Ninety-two percent of those children were under the age of five, with an average age of three to eight months.” (excerpt from www.501Connect.com) These are sobering statistics but there is something that can be done to increase awareness and prevention efforts in our communities. April is Child Abuse Prevention Month and we wanted to acknowledge some of the excellent events taking place over the next few weeks and highlight valuable resources that are currently available. EVENTS Small Wins = Big Victories, Child Abuse & Neglect Prevention Conference Wear Blue Day Trends and Implications of the 2009 Child Maltreatment Data Webinar Stewards of Children: Adults Resolving Child Sexual Abuse in the Community RESOURCES Child Abuse Prevention Toolkit |
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The Week in Jefferson City: A Bird's Eye View from the Capitol |
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Now that Spring Break is over and there are only 6 weeks left in the session, it is getting down to the wire on many legislators’ priorities. The Senate still appears to be locked in a stalemate over filibusters on all kinds of issues. Last week the Senate refused the federal unemployment assistance sent to Missouri by allowing 4 senators to stop the funding from being used in Missouri. They argued that the funding should be used to pay off the national debt. However, the reality is that this funding will now be sent to other states to assist their unemployed workforce. The Budget flew out of the House last week rather quickly and is now in the Senate Appropriations committee. No word yet on when hearings will begin in the Senate. Lastly, hundreds of child advocates descended on Jefferson City last Thursday to share with lawmakers their thoughts on how to make children a legislative priority. Thank you to all of you who joined us. Your message was heard loud and clear. Read on for more details on PFC’s legislative priorities, for events and resources and to learn more about this week’s PFC legislator profile of Senator Luann Ridgeway. |
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| Budget Update | ||
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With relative ease, the Missouri House sent a budget over to the Senate this week after several hours of discussion and debate. In the end, the budget looked very similar to Governor Jay Nixon’s proposed budget. No word yet on when the Senate is looking to bring up the budget in Senate Appropriations committee, but we will keep you posted. One rumor we are hearing is that the Senate may be looking to cut another $200 million from the state budget. For what purpose, we are not certain. The budget the House approved is balanced given the projected revenues, so cutting an additional $200 million would be absolutely unnecessary. However, it may be that a select few members of the Senate want to continue their crusade against federal funding and reject $180 million in funding for public schools. Doing so would account for the $200 million cut. In our view, refusing to take federal funding to help support children is a dangerous and ill-advised idea. Not only will it help support the education of Missouri’s future, but the funding will also help get Missouri’s economy back on track. More on this to come. |
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| Mega-Tax | ||
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HJR 8 (Koenig) would expand and increase the state sales tax in order to replace the elimination of the state’s income tax. As we have said many times before, this is a very bad idea and would be harmful for Missouri’s children. The new tax would be added to items like child care, health care and many other services that children rely on. In addition, it would raise taxes on 95% of Missourians without generating another dollar in tax revenues. Check out PFC’s policy brief regarding this proposal by clicking HERE. This bill is set to be debated on either Tuesday or Wednesday, so please call your state Representative and tell them that you don’t think taxing pre-natal care, child birth, immunizations, well-baby check-ups, child care services and more is a good idea. |
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| Foster Care and Adoption (HB 431) | ||
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We have heard from many of you that have concerns about a small section of HB 431, the House bill that would create the Foster Care and Adoptive Parents Recruitment and Retention Fund and establish the Missouri State Foster Care and Adoption Board. We can assure you that Partnership for Children did not propose the language that would completely privatize resource development for foster and adoptive parents. We are working with people in the House and the Senate to see if we can find a way to remove this language and keep the rest of the bill moving. More on this soon. |
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| Farm-to-Table Update | ||
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Two of PFC’s priorities have now passed unanimously out of the House of Representatives. The first was HB 431 (mentioned above) and the second is Rep. Guernsey’s HB 344 that establishes the Farm-to-Table Advisory Board to increase awareness of local agriculture and promote the incorporation of locally grown agricultural products into school and state institution cafeterias. An identical bill has already passed out of the Senate and is set for a hearing in the House of Representatives this week. We are cautiously optimistic that we will see at least one of the two bills pass both chambers in the coming weeks. A big thank you goes out to our friends at the American Heart Association, the American Cancer Society and the Missouri Council on Activity and Nutrition for actively partnering with PFC to help make this happen. |
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| Legislator Profile of the Week: "Get to know me!" | ||
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Luann married her husband, Richard in 1984 and they moved to a rural area near Smithville, Missouri, where they currently reside. Luann began her own law practice in Smithville in 1987. She handles a wide variety of cases in her general practice. In addition to operating her business, Luann has served as a volunteer for many local organizations. Luann and Richard attend the Mt. Zion Baptist Church where Luann served as a pianist. In 1992, Luann became State Representative for Missouri’s 35th Legislative District. She served on the House Judiciary Committee from 1995-2002, and served as the Ranking Republican from 1995-1999. Luann also served as a member on the Joint Committee on Administrative Rules, the Energy and Environment Committee, the Civil Law Committee, the Criminal Law Committee, and the Urban Affairs Committee. Luann served as the Assistant Minority Whip of the House Republican Caucus from 1995-1999. She was appointed to Chair the House Republican Interim Committee on Crime Prevention and Corrections which developed the Republican platform on these issues for the 1996 legislative session. In 1997, Luann was appointed to serve on the Joint Interim Committee on Family Law and Domestic Relations. Click HERE to find Senator Luann Ridgeway's contact information and a list of her committees. |
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Thanks to our partners at Kansas Action for Children for their update from Topeka on policies affecting Kansas kids. Click HERE to see their most recent e-newsletter. |
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The Budget Fight, The Census and American Children |
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Early Childhood Workshop: Promoting Educational & Economic Success Through Early Learning |
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Building Positive Youth Development in Kansas |
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In Pursuit of Strengths and Possibilities: What We Have Learned about Effective Therapy and How We Can Get Better |
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| Resources | ||
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KIDS COUNT Data Center Updates Diversity in the United States Continues to Grow Language Abilities Improving Among Children in Immigrant Families |
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County Health Rankings |
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Tell Your Friends! |
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Forward PFC’s newsletter to your friends! Sincerely, The Partnership for Children Team For questions about our legislative activities in Jefferson City, please contact our Director of Public Policy, Jeremy LaFaver, at lafaver@pfc.org or 816-531-9200, x 225. |
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Luann Ridgeway was born and raised in Moberly. She attended undergraduate school at William Woods and Westminster Colleges in Fulton, Missouri where she graduated with a double major in political science and history. During her undergraduate career, she spent a semester at American University in Washington, DC. While there, she attended college full time and worked on Capitol Hill as a legislative aide. Luann received a scholarship to study at Oxford University, Oxford, England. Luann graduated from the University of Missouri, Kansas City Law School in 1981 with a Juris Doctor Degree. She subsequently passed the Missouri Bar exam and began practice of law in Kansas City, MO. 
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Partnership for Children | www.pfc.org | infopfc@pfc.org | 816-531-9200
