hr1266_LC_33_1244_a

hr1266_LC_33_1244_a_2.html

06 LC 33 1244

House Resolution 1266

By: Representative Manning of the 32nd

A RESOLUTION

Creating the House Study Committee on Children: Newborns to Age Five; and for other purposes.

WHEREAS, Georgiás children are Georgiás future; and

WHEREAS, preschool children are confronted with many crucial developmental tasks, including developing small and large motor skills, learning to speak and developing vocabulary, developing self-confidence, developing the ability to play cooperatively with other children, learning to share and respect the rights of others, developing hand eye coordination, learning to feed and dress themselves, learning to solve simple problems through reasoning, and learning to express feelings and ideas;

WHEREAS, to develop to their full potential, preschool children need a loving, nurturing relationship with their parents or guardians; good nutrition; screening for developmental and health problems; good role models; and adequate exercise, stimulation, play, and communication; and

WHEREAS, the youngest children cannot speak for themselves, and a preschool child who is experiencing a lack of some element vital for healthy development may not get the help needed; and

WHEREAS, one cost of our mobile society is that parents often do not have an extended family to advise and help with rearing children, and some parents need education about child development stages or other aspects of parenting to help their children develop to their fullest potential;

WHEREAS, better coordination of existing programs and services could help identify all of Georgiás children who need some assistance to thrive; and

WHEREAS, in 2005, HR 518 was passed originally creating the House Study Committee on Children: Newborns to Age Five, which worked over a five-month period in 2005 with the State Early Childhood Comprehensive Systems Planning Committee, a committee comprised of representatives from various agencies to implement the federal Early Childhood Comprehensive Systems planning grant awarded to the state, to complete a joint study of issues pertaining to Georgiás young children (newborns to age five); and

WHEREAS, the House Study Committee on Children: Newborns to Age Five created by HR 518 and automatically abolished effective December 31, 2005, agreed on 12 recommendations to serve as priorities for Georgia's three-year Early Childhood Comprehensive Systems Plan Implementation Schedule, and the first five of these recommendations include:

1. Develop navigator teams in each county to direct families to resources;

2. Provide affordable and appropriate parenting educational opportunities for parents of all backgrounds through a number of access points, including the early education system, pediatric health care system, community organizations, faith based organizations, and others;

3. Develop training standards and guidelines that provide a consistent, research based framework for the provision of training to all staff that work in programs that provide services to children from birth to five years old and their families;

4. Provide access to evidence based practices in early childhood through the development and maintenance of a clearinghouse that provides high quality information for parents and professionals; and

5. Develop a state-wide system of training and technical support for parenting education; and

WHEREAS, the State Early Childhood Comprehensive Systems Planning Committee has completed a draft document entitled Bright Beginnings and Healthy Futures: A Blueprint for Improving the Education, Health, and Well-Being of Georgiás Young Children (Newborns to Age Five) and Their Families which includes identifying current resources, best practices, and gaps and barriers related to the areas of access to medical home and insurance, social-emotional development and mental health of young children, early care and education, family support, and parenting education; and

WHEREAS, it is determined to be in the best interests of the state to reinstate the House Study Committee on Children: Newborns to Age Five for another year to continue its work with the State Early Childhood Comprehensive Systems Planning Committee to support its efforts in completing and implementing Bright Beginnings and Healthy Futures: A Blueprint for Improving the Education, Health, and Well-Being of Georgiás Young Children (Newborns to Age Five) and Their Families and to incorporate the recommendations of the House Study Committee on Children: Newborns to Age Five into the blueprint.

NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED BY THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES that there is created the House Study Committee on Children: Newborns to Age Five to be composed of five members. Five members of the House of Representatives shall be appointed to the committee by the Speaker of the House of Representatives, to include one member who has a child under age five. The Speaker shall designate a member of the committee as chairperson of the committee. The chairperson shall call all meetings of the committee.

BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the committee shall undertake a study of the conditions, needs, issues, and problems mentioned above or related thereto and recommend any action or legislation which the committee deems necessary or appropriate. The committee may conduct such meetings at such places and at such times as it may deem necessary or convenient to enable it to exercise fully and effectively its powers, perform its duties, and accomplish the objectives and purposes of this resolution. The members of the committee shall receive the allowances provided for in Code Section 28-1-8 of the Official Code of Georgia Annotated from funds appropriated to the House of Representatives. The allowances authorized by this resolution shall not be received by any member of the committee for more than five days unless additional days are authorized. The committee is authorized to use funds available from federal grants or other grants for the purposes of the committee. Staff support for the committee may be provided by the Department of Early Care and Learning and the Family Connection Partnership. The committee may call upon the expertise of the Family Health Unit of the Public Health Division of the Department of Human Resources, the Department of Education, the director and employees of Smart Start, the School of Family and Consumer Sciences of the University of Georgia, the Association of Pediatricians, the American Academy of Pediatrics, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Childreńs Healthcare of Atlanta, local Family Connection organizations, the cooperative extension service, persons with expertise in early childhood development, dieticians, child care providers, county health departments, pediatricians, the commissioner and staff of the Department of Early Care and Learning, the Barton Child Law and Policy Clinic of Emory University, the Family Connection Partnership, the Department of Education, and members of the business community. In the event the committee makes a report of its findings and recommendations, with suggestions for proposed legislation, if any, such report shall be made on or before December 1, 2006. The committee shall stand abolished on December 1, 2006.