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This edition focuses on
the 2009 AAP Child Health Advocate Award, the new StateTrack feature on
the State Government Affairs page of the AAP Member
Center, and the
Internet Safety Month activities of the AAP and the National Association
of Attorneys General.
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2009
AAP CHILD HEALTH ADVOCATE AWARD
AMY L. ROSSI, LCSW
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The AAP Committee on State Government Affairs is pleased
to announce Amy L. Rossi as the recipient of the 2009 AAP Child
Health Advocate Award. Ms Rossi was nominated by the Arkansas
chapter for her career-long efforts on behalf of children.
This annual award is given by the Academy to state public officials and state or local
advocates who are nominated by AAP chapters for their contributions
to children's health. Ms Rossi worked for Arkansas Advocates for
Children and Families (AACF) for more than 23 years, most recently as
its longest serving Executive Director. Since its inception
in 1977, the AACF has effectively advocated
for children in the child welfare and juvenile justice systems, low
income families, uninsured children, children with low educational
achievement, parental and community involvement in education, and a
fair state income tax system. Among the earliest supporters of
AACF were former AAP president Betty Lowe, MD, FAAP, and former first
lady of Arkansas (and now US
Secretary of State), Hillary Clinton.
Ms Rossi was instrumental in advocating for the creation of ARKids
First, passed in 1997, which extended Medicaid benefits to children
in families earning up to 200% of the federal poverty level. As a
result of her actions, the percentage of uninsured Arkansas children decreased from
19% in 1996 to 10% in 2003.
The Academy commends Ms Rossi for her commitment to
children, and thanks the Arkansas
chapter for their nomination of Ms Rossi for this award.
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NEW FROM THE AAP DIVISION OF
STATE GOVERNMENT AFFAIRS: STATETRACK
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A
new and exciting resource for AAP chapter advocates is now available on
the State Government Affairs pages of the AAP Member
Center. StateTrack
is the Division's portal for tracking legislation across the 50 states
on a wide range of issues addressing child health and pediatric
practice. This new site features tracking profiles and interactive maps
on many of the bills that the Division monitors throughout the year,
and provides links to full bill text, current status, scheduled
hearings, and more. Individual profiles are displayed by topic, and maps
allow users to click on their state to jump down to the bills of
interest to them.
Please log on to the AAP
Member Center
and visit StateTrack
today. It is our hope that StateTrack will help chapters monitor the
legislative proceedings within their own states as well as gauge state
policy trends across the country. The bills provided within the
StateTrack profiles are found via keyword search. Though
every effort is made to identify all bills within a
given profile, the word search process may not
always capture every bill that AAP chapters are
tracking. If your chapter is aware of a bill in your state that does
not appear in a report and you'd like to monitor it via
StateTrack, please contact the Division of State Government
Affairs at 800-433-9016 ext 7799 or stgov@aap.org
and we will add it to our profile. When you check back in the future,
the report will be tracking that bill. We appreciate your collaboration
in our ongoing state advocacy partnership.
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JUNE IS INTERNET SAFETY MONTH - NEW INITIATIVES FROM THE
AAP AND THE NATIONAL ASSOCIATION OF ATTORNEYS GENERAL (NAAG)
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Last
month, the National Association of Attorneys General convened a 2-day
meeting of state attorneys general, corporate and association leaders and
other stakeholder groups to discuss online technology and its safe use
by children. The meeting focused on the potential hazards posed to
children by social networking sites, cyberbullying, file sharing, and
other online technologies that may be used inappropriately by children
and adolescents, or that may be used by sexual predators attempting to
exploit children. More information about the NAAG meeting on online
safety can be found on the NAAG Web site,
or see
their press release on the meeting.
In
addition, the
Academy has posted new tips to help parents and kids avoid trouble
while using online technology. This guidance focuses on
"sexting," the rapidly growing phenomenon involving the
sending of inappropriate photos or messages by text, e-mail or other
electronic means. These resources are part of the Academy's SafetyNet online safety
initiative, and a recognition of June as Internet Safety Month.
AAP chapters can take advantage of the interest in these issues during
Internet Safety Month by reaching out to their state attorney general
and working together on state-level activities concerning online
safety. Attorneys general exercise jurisdiction over numerous other
issues concerning both children and pediatricians, and using this
opportunity to strengthen your chapter's relationship with the AG's
office may pay dividends for future advocacy work.
For more information on these issues, please contact the Division of
State Government Affairs at stgov@aap.org
or at 800.433.9016, extension 7799.
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The Division of State Government Affairs sends this update
to the Academy's Executive Committee, Board of Directors, District
Vice-Chairpersons, Chapter Presidents, Chapter Vice Presidents, Chapter
Legislative Contacts, Committee on State Government Affairs, Committee on
Federal Government Affairs, Chapter Executive Directors, and other
interested AAP members and staff.
For additional state legislative information, strategy suggestions,
in-depth resources on issues of pediatric interest, and past editions of
this update, log onto the AAP
Member Center
and see the State Government Affairs area at http://www.aap.org/moc/stgovaffairs/.
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2009 State Legislative Sessions
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In
Session:
AZ, CA, DC, DE, LA, MA,
ME, MI, NC, NH, NJ, NY, OH, OR, PA, RI, TN, WI
Adjourned:
AK, AL, AR, CO, CT, FL, GA, HI, IA, ID, IN, KS, KY, MD, MN, MO, MS, MT,
ND, NE, NM, NV, OK, SC, SD, TX, UT, VA, VT, WA, WV, WY
Source:
StateNet, 06/15/09
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