Community News, Events and Online Calendars

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After-school Programs for children with Autism and other Developmental Disabilities

Act Now! The deadline is quickly approaching for the new educational programs for children with autism and other developmental disabilities presented by Progressive Pediatric Therapy Services.

Conversation Cues Enrichment Program is an afterschool program (2x per week for 7 weeks) for children ages 9-14 that will use video-modeling to target social skills.
Tuition: $250.
Registration Deadline: January 15, 2010.
Program Duration: January 25 - March 10

Project Learn & Grow is a community-based instruction program (4x per month for 4 months) for children ages 9 and up that will incorporate gardening activities and student presentations to target social and functional skills. Project Learn & Grow is in partnership with Cornerstone Learning Community and will have typically-developing students working with students with disabilities.
Tuition: $250.
Registration Deadline: January 8, 2010.
Program Duration: January 18 - April 24
For more information please call 325-6301 and ask for Barby or email barby@progressivepediatric.com.
Progressive Pediatric Learning Center
1915 Welby Way Suite 5, Tallahassee, FL. 32308
"At Progressive Pediatric... We believe every child has the potential to succeed."

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THOUSANDS OF CHILDREN, PARENTS AND CHILD ADVOCATES CONVERGE ON THE NATION’S CAPITOL TO DEMAND THAT MILLIONS OF CHILDREN ARE BETTER, NOT WORSE, OFF AFTER HEALTH CARE REFORM

Call on Congress to Become a Champion for Children’s Health by Supporting Senator Casey’s Proposals Announced at Gatherin

Washington, DC – Thousands of children, parents, grandparents, faith leaders and other child advocates took their walking shoes and baby strollers to the U.S. Capitol today to demand that Congress ensure pending health reform legislation meets the needs of the 8.1 million uninsured children―and millions more who are underinsured―before the process is over. The Champions for Children’s Health Stroller Brigade was led by Marian Wright Edelman, President of the Children’s Defense Fund, who welcomed Senator Bob Casey’s (D-PA) announcement that he would offer a “children’s amendment” when the health reform bill goes to the Senate floor to ensure that children will not be left out or left behind.

The Brigade participants delivered the message that the current health reform bills fall far short of the mark of real child health reform. Millions of children would be worse off than they are now if the Children’s Health Insurance Program (CHIP) is eliminated as the House proposes and turned over to a far more expensive new Health Insurance Exchange largely driven by insurance companies.

Earlier this year, Congress approved and the President signed with much fanfare the reauthorization of CHIP. Edelman said this was “another important step in the more than three decade journey toward ensuring all children a healthy start in life and a successful transition to adulthood. Now is an historic opportunity to finish the job once and for all. We believe that every child’s life is of equal value and that children should be assured a strong health safety net wherever they live in America. President Obama correctly said when he signed the CHIP bill in February that ‘in a decent society, there are certain obligations that are not subject to tradeoffs or negotiations―health care for children is one of those obligations.’ CDF could not agree more. We must ensure: All Children. All Care. Everywhere.”

The Brigade participants called for coverage and care for all children that is comprehensive, affordable and easily accessible. Currently, six million of the 8.1 million uninsured children are eligible for either CHIP or Medicaid but are not enrolled. Experts say this is largely due to state bureaucratic barriers that make it needlessly challenging for families to find their way into the system and to stay there. We know how to fix this by building on best practices and requiring all states to follow them. In addition, comprehensive health and mental health care are covered for children in Medicaid but only for some CHIP children, and no one knows what will be offered to children in the Exchange.

“We cannot simply force children into an untested, new and far costlier Exchange. The President has said that we should build on what works, and that principle ought to apply to children. We can save money and lives by keeping children in CHIP. We should improve and keep it― not kill it. The Exchange may be what insurance companies want, but health care reform should not be paid for on the backs of children,” said Edelman.

Every year, 28,000 children die before their first birthday. Today, 938 babies will be born at low birth weight and 2,224 will be born without health insurance. “It would be unconscionable for our leaders to bail out irresponsible bankers to the tune of hundreds of billions of dollars overnight, but fail to bail out our babies and children in need. They simply cannot let the health reform train leave the station until all of our children are safely aboard,” Edelman stated.

This sentiment was echoed in a letter sent by faith leaders to every Member of Congress: “Children cannot wait. Their brains and bones and spirit are being formed right now. We call on Congress and the President to act now with moral sense, common sense, and economic sense to ensure all children real health reform.”

The Children’s Defense Fund―along with 60 national supporting organizations and nearly 100 state and local organizations―kicked off the Champions for Children’s Health Stroller Brigades today with similar brigades being held in cities across the country when members return home to their districts, November 5–8. In each location, participants will call upon our political leaders to support improvements proposed by Senator Casey that will take doable, achievable and cost-effective steps to ensure children have the health care they need, no matter where they live, by expanding and improving CHIP. Specifically:

1. End bureaucratic barriers that keep 2 out of 3 of the 8.1 million uninsured children who are already eligible for CHIP or Medicaid from actually getting the care they need. A simple, seamless enrollment process would ensure children are covered and cared for immediately. “For years, officials in every state have said they will fix the problem but too few have actually done so,” said Edelman. “We have found a way to automatically enroll older Americans in Medicare. Surely we can find a family-friendly way to ensure that all eligible children are enrolled and actually get the coverage they need and deserve. ”
2. Guarantee children have access to the full range of health and mental health benefits they need which are now provided to all children in Medicaid but only some children in CHIP. “All children are of equal value and they deserve equal protections and equal access to all essential services,” said Edelman.
3. Eliminate the unjust lottery of state geography and establish an affordable national health safety net for all children whose family income is below 300 percent of the federal poverty level ($66,000 for a family of four). Twenty-two states and the District of Columbia already have 300 percent eligibility, and we should make it a national standard. “The current practice of every state setting a different eligibility level subjects children to an unfair lottery of geography,” said Edelman. “Children everywhere need a high quality national health safety net just as we provide to seniors in Medicare. A child in North Dakota or Mississippi is no less valuable than a child in Massachusetts or New York.”

For more information about the national event, visit www.childrensdefense.org/strollerbrigade.

Learn more about the Tallahassee Stroller Brigade at the Whole Child Event Calendar

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Budd Bell Passes Away; Florida Loses a Treasure

Florida's children lose tireless champion in Budd Bell at age 94 on Friday, October 16. "Budd Bell truly was the ULTIMATE champion for kids," says Florida Senate Candidate Loranne Ausley. "She was one of my heroes. There was a real essence about Budd Bell--brandishing her cane and commanding fear from legislators and staff as the ultimate authority on kids issues for many years--she was always her own person."

As Budd Bell said in her acceptance speech as she was being honored with the Leadership Tallahassee Lifetime Leadership award at the age of 93, We are “one inch, one day, one world at a time making life better for all of our children.” She also left us with, “before us, we have lots of things left to do.”

"Budd Bell was SO right," says Ausley, "Let’s continue to honor her legacy by carrying this important work for kids."

Learn more at Tallahassee.com. (Budd Bell, the unsung hero of Florida, dies at 94).

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Breast-feeding Support Group

Free support group for breastfeeding moms at Best Beginnings located at 1415 Timberlane Road in Tallahassee, FL 32312 every week on Wednesday at 10-11am. Check out their online calendar for a series of other support groups as well.

Call (850) 668-2119 for more information.

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Mommy & Me Ballet!

Brand new "Mommy & Me" Ballet and movement classes at The Tallahassee Ballet. Nurture your child’s spirit and have a blast with your little one. Weekly classes on Wednesday morning and Saturday morning. Contact The Tallahassee Ballet (located in the heart of Midtown) for more information, at (850)224-6917.

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Nutcracker Options

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