Lt. Governor Kottkamp Moves Children and Youth Cabinet Initiatives Forward

The Office of Florida Governor Charlie Crist has issued the press release below regarding Florida’s Children and Youth Cabinet.

A meeting of the Youth Cabinet was held today, Monday, July 14, 2008 in Fort Myers.  To view the agenda, click here. 

To view the Information Sharing Committee Proposal reviewed at today’s meeting, click here.

Should you have any questions or comments, please contact Frank Mayernick Jr. at (850) 251-8898.

 

Lt. Governor Kottkamp Moves Children and Youth Cabinet Initiatives Forward

Begins second year of working to improve coordination of children’s services

FORT MYERS – Lt. Governor Jeff Kottkamp today (July 14, 2008) convened the first Children and Youth Cabinet meeting of the 2008-09 fiscal year at Florida Gulf Coast University in Fort Myers.  Cabinet members continued to develop strategies to enhance agency communication and collaboration, as well as evaluate the Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act (FERPA) and the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA) laws and their impact on the goals of the Cabinet.

“In our first year, the Cabinet established priorities and goals to improve child and family outcomes in our state,” said Lt. Governor and Chairman of the Florida’s Children and Youth Cabinet Jeff Kottkamp.  “Now, we will work to accomplish those goals and priorities for Florida’s children and youth. We have a golden opportunity to bring about real change for Florida’s children.”

Today, Cabinet members also heard reports from the three subcommittees that have been established to investigate information sharing, state agency budgets and recommendations from other councils and commissions with the goal of implementing improved service delivery between and within state agencies and organizations that administer child welfare services.

One year ago, Governor Charlie Crist signed the legislation that created the Children and Youth Cabinet. The Children and Youth Cabinet consists of 20 members including Lt. Governor Kottkamp who serves as chairman, the secretaries of the Department of Children and Families, the Department of Juvenile Justice and the Agency for Health Care Administration, as well as the directors of the Agency for Persons with Disabilities and the Agency for Workforce Innovation. Other members include the State Surgeon General, the Commissioner of Education, the director of the Guardian ad Litem Office and the Chief Child Advocate. Additionally, the Governor appointed five members from around the state who are representatives of children and youth advocacy organizations, but who are not service providers. Rounding out the 20 are the five ex-officio members including: the President of the Senate, the Speaker of the House of Representatives, the Chief Justice of the Supreme Court, the Attorney General, and the Chief Financial Officer, or their appointed designees.

In their first year, the Cabinet created a vision, mission and strategic plan for better coordinating children’s services. The Strategic Plan, centered upon a long-term commitment to children and youth issues and the alignment of all public resources that serve children and youth and their families in a manner that supports the healthy growth and development of children, will help guide the Cabinet in achieving the goals of the shared and cohesive vision and mission. As directed by statute, the Cabinet communicated with incoming legislative leadership on an impact statement for evaluating proposed legislation, requested appropriations, and programs that may affect Florida’s children and youth. The Cabinet also began creating a children and youth budget structure and established public and private partnerships to help the Cabinet achieve their goals.

Continuing to meet around the state so that the public has an opportunity address the Cabinet on issues of concern, the Cabinet has planned meetings this year in Pensacola, Miami, Gainesville and Tallahassee.

To find out more information, the Cabinet encourages all Floridians to visit the Children and Youth Cabinet Web site at http://www.flgov.com/youth_cabinet.    The Web site provides information about the Cabinet, their work products and future meetings.