* WARNING: THIS IS AN UNOFFICIAL, INTRODUCTORY COPY OF THE BILL.
THE OFFICIAL COPY CONSIDERED BY THE CITY COUNCIL IS THE FIRST READER COPY.
INTRODUCTORY*
CITY OF BALTIMORE
COUNCIL BILL R
(Resolution)
Introduced by: Councilmember Clarke
At the request of: Advocates for Children and Youth
c/o Ken Strong, Deputy Director for External Affairs
8 Market Place, 5th Floor, Baltimore, Maryland 21202
Telephone: 410-547-8690
A RESOLUTION ENTITLED
A COUNCIL RESOLUTION concerning
Title
Maryland Can Do Better for Children! - In Support of Advocates for Children and Youth
FOR the purpose of endorsing the goals and solutions of Advocates for Children and Youth for improving opportunities for young people and addressing specific deficits in the areas of education, health, and safety, by 2010; joining the Maryland Can Do Better for Children! campaign; and urging all policymakers throughout Maryland to join the Campaign and an army for children to secure for Maryland's youth the support services they need to thrive and excel.
Body
Recitals
The Advocates for Children and Youth report that while Maryland is one of the wealthiest states in the nation, our children are only in the middle of the pack on areas such as education, health, and safety. The goal of the organization's Maryland Can Do Better for Children! campaign is to improve the outcomes in these areas and to open doors of opportunity for Maryland's young people, by 2010.
In joining the Maryland Can Do Better for Children! campaign and the army for children, the following specific goals and comprehensive solutions are endorsed:
· Keep Kids Safely in Their Homes and Communities by creating a continuum of community-based services so that abused, neglected, or delinquent children are not unnecessarily removed from their homes or placed in confinement;
· Raise the Education Bar by providing help to struggling students early, at the first signs of trouble with course work or behavior;
· Create Permanent Homes Faster by promoting child welfare case practice that builds family teams and links families with services that address underlying needs;
· Support Family Self-Sufficiency by helping working families to be economically self-sufficient and to have access to neighborhood-based primary prevention services;
· Prevent Child Illness by increasing access to preventive services that address dental general physical, and mental health needs; and
· Reduce Racial Disparities by implementing strategies to reduce racial disparities in child well-being, as identified by the Maryland Children's Action Network at the 2007 Convention.
The Advocates for Children and Youth's Summer 2007 Report Card documents that there exists the 3rd largest gap nationally between Maryland's wealth and the KIDS COUNT Child Well-Being Indicators; that Maryland has the 2nd largest achievement gap in the nation for low-income 4th graders and others in reading and math and that the gap is the 5th largest nationally for 8th graders; that 70% of low-income children have no dental care; that of the nearly 10,000 children who have been removed from their parents home because of abuse and neglect, 27%, or twice the number of a decade ago, are living in group homes; and there is a 53% recidivism rate for youth confined in Maryland's juvenile justice system 1 year after release - 62% recidivism for those confined to secure residential programs.
Those who embrace the Maryland Can Do Better for Children! campaign are asked to sign a pledge stating that "I want to do my part so that Maryland can transform itself to a national model for children. I want to use my influence to persuade decision makers to improve children's lives."
The Baltimore City Council joins the Advocates for Children and Youth in asserting that Maryland Can Do Better for Children!, encourages other policy and decision makers to support the goals and solutions of the organization, urges local, state, and federal elected officials to ensure adequate funding to achieve those goals, and entreats all citizens of the State to provide financial and volunteer services to improve education, health, and safety outcomes for Maryland's youth, by 2010.
NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED BY THE CITY COUNCIL OF BALTIMORE, That this Body hereby endorses the goals and solutions of Advocates for Children and Youth for improving opportunities for young people and addressing specific deficits in the areas of education, health, and safety, by 2010; joins the Maryland Can Do Better for Children! campaign; and urges all policymakers throughout Maryland to join the Campaign and an army for children to secure for Maryland's youth the support services they need to thrive and excel.
AND BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED, That a copy of this Resolution be sent to the Mayor, the Governor, the Maryland Delegation to the 110th Congress; the Baltimore City Senate and House Delegations to the Maryland General Assembly, the Deputy Director for External Affairs, Advocates for Children and Youth, the Baltimore City Health Commissioner, the Executive Director of the Mayor's Office of State Relations, and the Mayor's Legislative Liaison to the City Council.
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