The Children’s Movement of Florida, a group of prominent leaders across the state who care about the future of children, is gaining momentum.

The non-partisan, citizen-led organization is hosting a series of “Milk Party” rallies in various cities (click here to read more). Alliance members are encouraged to attend and invite patients and their families.

The top two priorities of the Children’s Movement are right in line with those of the Alliance: making sure children have access to health insurance; and screening, treatment and services for healthy child development.

Below is a schedule of the Milk Party rallies.

Monday, Sept. 6 (Labor Day) - Pensacola
Time: 10 to 11 a.m. - Doors open at 9:30 a.m.
Location: Pensacola High School
Contact: Audra Carter - audra.carter@childrensmovementflorida.org

Tuesday, Sept. 7 - Panama City
Time: 9 to 10 a.m. (Community Discussion)
Location: Bay District Schools Headquarters
Contact: Margaret Tidmore - tidmoma@bay.k12.fl.us

Tuesday, Sept. 7 - Tallahassee
Time: 6 to 7 p.m. - Doors open at 5:30 p.m.
Location: Tallahassee-Leon County Civic Center
Contact: David Abrams - david.abrams@childrensmovementflorida.org

Wednesday, Sept. 8 - Gainesville and Ocala
Time: 6 to 7 p.m. - Doors open at 5:30 p.m.
Location: Santa Fe College
Contact: David Abrams - david.abrams@childrensmovementflorida.org

Monday, Sept. 13 - Daytona Beach (Volusia and Flagler Counties)
Time: 6 to 7 p.m. - Doors open at 5:30 p.m.
Location: Mainland High School Performing Arts Center
Contact: Leah Shepherd - leah.shepherd@childrensmovementflorida.org

Tuesday, Sept. 14 - Orlando and Kissimmee
Time: 6:30 to 7:30 p.m. - Doors open at 6 p.m.
Location: Dr. Phillips High School
Contact: Leah Shepherd - leah.shepherd@childrensmovementflorida.org

Wednesday, Sept. 15 - Treasure Coast (St. Lucie, Martin and Indian River Counties)
Time: 6:30 to 7:30 p.m. - Doors open at 6 p.m.
Location: Fort Pierce Central High School
Contact: Kerline Boursiquot - kerline.boursiquot@childrensmovementflorida.org

Thursday, Sept. 16 - Tampa
Time: 6 to 7 p.m. - Doors open at 5:30 p.m.
Location: Tampa’s Lowry Park Zoo
Contact: Adam Brown - adam.brown@childrensmovementflorida.org

Friday, Sept. 17 - Lakeland
Time: 10 a.m. to noon - Doors open at 9:30 a.m. (Mini-rally)
Location: Common Ground Park
Contact: Shawna Butler - shawna.butler@uwcf.org

Monday, Sept. 20 - St. Petersburg
Time: 6:30 to 7:30 p.m. - Doors open at 6 p.m.
Location: Calvary Chapel St. Petersburg
Contact: Adam Brown - adam.brown@childrensmovementflorida.org

Tuesday, Sept. 21 - Sarasota and Bradenton
Time: 6 to 7 p.m. - Doors open at 5:30 p.m.
Location: Riverview High School
Contact: Cheray Keyes-Shima - cheray.shima@childrensmovementflorida.org
Seana Mincy - seana.mincy@childrensmovementflorida.org

Wednesday, Sept. 22 - Naples and Fort Myers
Time: 6:30 to 7:30 p.m. - Doors open at 6 p.m.
Location: Seacrest Country Day School
Contact: Becky Newell - becky.newell@childrensmovementflorida.org

Thursday, Sept. 23 - West Palm Beach
Time: 6 to 7 p.m. - Doors open at 5:30 p.m.
Location: The Harriet Himmel Theater at CityPlace
Contact: Kerline Boursiquot - kerline.boursiquot@childrensmovementflorida.org

Monday, Sept. 27 - Jacksonville
Time: 6 to 7 p.m. - Doors open at 5:30 p.m.
Location: Ritz Theatre & La Villa Museum
Contact: Amy Rankin - arankin@smag.com

Tuesday, Sept. 28 - Ft. Lauderdale and Broward
Time: 7 to 8 p.m. - Doors open at 6:30 p.m.
Location: Bailey Concert Hall at Broward College (Central Campus)
Contact: Pam Gadinsky - pam.gadinsky@childrensmovementflorida.org

Wednesday, Sept. 29 - Miami-Dade County
Time: 6:30 to 7:30 p.m. - Doors open at 6 p.m.
Location: Miami-Dade County Auditorium
Contact: John Knight - john.knight@childrensmovementflorida.org

Thursday, Sept. 30 - Key West
Time: 6 to 7 p.m. - Doors open at 5:30 p.m.
Location: Key West High School
Contact: Kelli Brower - kelli.brower@childrensmovementflorida.org

Times-Union
Aug. 22

By Brandon Larrabee

TALLAHASSEE - With state budget-writers likely to face a shortfall of $6 billion or more in the next budget year, the incoming governor is likely to face the question of how to control Medicaid spending.

The state-federal program, which provides health care for low-income Floridians, is consuming an ever higher share of state spending. Legislative figures show Medicaid spending growing from 18 percent of the state budget in the 1998-99 fiscal year to 26 percent in 2009-10. It’s projected to reach 36 percent in a decade.

Republican gubernatorial candidate Rick Scott has proposed creating a voucher system that would allow recipients to buy their own insurance. His opponent, Attorney General Bill McCollum, plans to create savings through better managed care.

Some efforts to rein in the cost in Florida are already under way. Former Gov. Jeb Bush pushed through a Medicaid reform pilot program based on managed care, implemented in 2006 for Duval and Broward counties and in 2007 for Baker, Clay and Nassau counties.

The Legislature will also have a say on the way forward, and lawmakers balked at expanding that program in 2011, when it was tentatively slated to go statewide. House leaders wanted a plan that would have eventually brought the entire state’s Medicaid population into a revamped version of the managed-care system; senators pushed an extension of Bush’s reform plan to 19 additional counties. Some advocates are nervous about expanding the plan.

The proposal from the Scott campaign would be a fundamental shift in how care is provided.

“Rick would like to seek a Medicaid waiver in order to allow Florida to create a voucher program in which Medicaid recipients would be able to shop for insurance in the private market and purchase an insurance option that fits their needs,” said Trey Stapleton, a campaign spokesman.

Senators approved, allowing the state’s Agency for Health Care Administration to seek a waiver in their budget for the current fiscal year, but it was ultimately left out of the compromise spending plan with the House.

“If we were not able get that waiver, Rick would seek to expand, statewide, the current Medicaid reform pilot program that was created by Gov. Bush in 2005,” Stapleton said.

The Scott campaign points to a study by researchers at the University of Florida that suggests the program cut costs and improved outcomes.

Combined with changes to health care for state employees, the Scott campaign estimates his plan will save taxpayers $1.8 billion.

Figures by legislative staff compiled in the run-up to the past legislative session seem to suggest that care coordinated either by doctors or managed-care providers can reduce costs. Patients with coordinated care cost the state an average of $3,479 in 2008, compared with an average of $13,320 for those outside of the programs.

Those results are at the heart of McCollum’s plan.

“Better coordination through a primary care physician not only prevents the duplication of services but also the use of unnecessary services,” the attorney general says in his health care blueprint.

McCollum also lays out a half-dozen “principles” for his plan, from providing choices to Medicaid patients to measuring medical results and rewarding patients who take steps to manage their health. He also pledges not to cut rates to medical providers and says cost savings for health care plans should be shared with doctors.

The Florida Medical Association, which endorsed McCollum, has praised his plan - particularly the attention paid to providers’ rates.

“The Attorney General’s health care plan addresses Florida’s low Medicaid reimbursement rates, which have limited physicians’ ability to participate in the program,” Tim Stapleton, the FMA’s executive vice president, said in a statement when McCollum’s plan was released.

McCollum also promises to crack down on Medicaid fraud.

brandon.larrabee@jacksonville.com, (678) 977-3709

From the Coalition of McKay Scholarship Schools:

Under a new law, private school students who have attended public school since 2005 — but have not received state funds — can qualify for McKay Scholarships.

Also, students who have a current IEP, have a disability and can be identified through Child Find are also eligible for the scholarships, regardless of whether they attended a public school last year.

To learn more about the new law, go the the Coalition’s website at www.mckaycoalition.com.

From the National Early Childhood Technical Assistance Center:

The Center for Early Literacy Learning (CELL) has published 15 new CELL practice guides with adaptations for infants, toddlers and preschoolers, which show how to adapt early literacy activities so that young children with disabilities can participate. The guides can be used by practitioners or parents, or by parents in collaboration with practitioners. They describe everyday home, community, and childcare learning opportunities that encourage early literacy learning. All are available online at http://www.earlyliteracylearning.org/pg_tier2.php

Therapists, early intervention specialists and other providers are wrapping up surveys about Early Steps, Florida’s federally mandated early intervention program for children ages birth to three.

The surveys are being conducted by the Ounce of Prevention Fund as part of a much longer study into the long-term viability of Early Steps. The study commissioned by the Florida Developmental Disabilities Council, is scheduled to be completed by November (click here to read more).

The Alliance for Pediatric Therapies thanks the Ounce of Prevention Fund for the opportunity to provide much-needed input about the program and its challenges.

The Alliance advocates a program that recognizes and respects therapy providers and their role in providing needed services to children before the age of 3.

There has been some discussion about the state dropping the program along with the federal strings that are attached — such as the requirement that children receive services in their “natural environment.” The travel costs alone hinder the program’s ability to serve the thousands of kids that qualify for services.

A new report by Child Trends gives an outline of home visiting programs that work, those with mixed reviews, and those that don’t work. Click here to read.

From USA Today:

A federal government website that starts July 1 takes a step in that direction. The site, for the first time, will give consumers a list of all private and government health care plans for individuals and small businesses in their areas.

The nation’s new health care law requires the site (www.healthcare.gov). Initially, it will provide just basic facts, such as the names of companies, health plans and Web links. Beginning in October, it will list detailed cost and benefits information. Consumer groups and insurers already are clashing over exactly what information should be displayed.

To read the full article, click here.

While the Agency for Persons with Disabilities is doing a better job of tracking people on its waiting list for services, it needs to develop a multi-year plan to eliminate that list altogether.

That is among the recommendations outlined in a July 2 report from the Office of Program Policy Analysis and Government Accountability (OPPAGA).

As of March 1, 2010, the agency reported having 18,862 individuals on its waiting list for waiver services.

Three-fourths have been waiting for waiver services for five years or less. The majority (67%) have a primary disability of mental retardation; others include autism (17%) and cerebral palsy (14%).

The agency currently assesses all new eligible applicants using a questionnaire and plans to reassess all clients every 36 months unless it needs to gather this information sooner, the OPPAGA report states.

The Legislature required APD to assign priority categories to individuals on the waiting list. To do that, the 2009 Legislature required the agency to place all applicants for waiver services into one of seven categories by July 1, 2010. That is underway. But due to limited waiver slots, the agency provides waiver services only to individuals in Categories 1 (individuals in crisis) and 2 (dependent children in foster care), the report states.

APD administrators report that the new system will need to be operational for two years before they can collect sufficient information to develop a plan to address the waiting list.

To read the full report, click here.

The Society for Human Resource Management and the Partnership for America’s Economic Success have published a new brochure, Meeting the Workforce Needs of the Future Means Meeting the Developmental Needs of Young Children Today.

It includes data showing that investment in early childhood education is the best way to improve our nation’s workforce and economy.

It also says that one study found that an investment of just $6,692 in pre-K for disadvantaged children yielded a lifetime return of up to $69,937—a return on investment of greater than 10:1.

Click here to read the brochure.

The Florida Interagency Coordinating Council for Infants and Toddlers (FICCIT) will have a quarterly meeting June 22-23 in Jacksonville.

The meeting will take place at Four Points by Sheraton, 8520 Baymeadows Road.

The role of FICCIT is to assist public and private agencies in implementing a statewide system of coordinated, comprehensive, multidisciplinary, interagency programs providing appropriate early intervention services to infants and toddlers with disabilities and risk conditions and their families, according to its website www.floridaicc.com.

For more information, contact the FICCIT liaison Tameka Davis at 850-245-4444 extension 2268.

From News Service Florida

Calls for a veto of a far-reaching Medicaid overhaul awaiting a Senate vote poured in Wednesday as Gov. Charlie Crist acknowledged he too has concerns about the proposal.

Crist met Wednesday with two representatives of AARP, who told the governor the senior lobby is strongly against the legislation. “

“It’s such a huge reform proposed in the waning days of the Legislature,” said Leslie Spencer, one of two AARP officials who met with Crist. The group’s main concern is a House bill’s shifting of nursing home patients into managed care programs. “”It’s a big change,” said Spencer, who added that Crist didn’t give any indication of his thoughts on two companion bills, which have passed the House, but are awaiting Senate approval (HB 7223, HB 7225).

Crist did weigh in a bit, however, earlier in the day, acknowledging that he also is concerned. “I have some concerns about it,” Crist said. “I want to make sure whatever is passed doesn’t unfairly treat the most vulnerable in our society as well as our senior citizens.”

Meanwhile, more than 100 nurses planned to come to the Capitol on Thursday to urge Crist to veto the legislation, even as it awaits a Senate vote. “

“Low income children, the developmentally disabled, pregnant women and seniors would face delays and denials in care if they are forced into for-profit, managed-care Medicaid,” the Service Employees International Union, which represents many nurses, said in a statement announcing its opposition to the proposal.