November 2022

November 2022 Newsletter 

Healthi Kids and Partners Tell Gov. Hochul That "Kids Can't Wait," Request More Early Intervention Support

This month the Healthi Kids Coalition joined our partners at The Children's Agenda and the Kids Can’t Wait Campaign in a letter to Governor Hochul urging an 11% increase in Early Intervention (EI) reimbursement rates in the next state budget.

This increase is important to ensure that infants and toddlers with developmental delays and disabilities receive the services and supports they need to thrive, such as speech-language therapy and audiology (hearing) supports. Currently there are not enough EI providers in our region and across the state to meet the needs of the thousands of infants and their families who qualify for these services and supports.

To learn more, read the letter we sent to the Governor.

Action Alert: Make Sure Kids' Health / Wellbeing Appears in the City Budget!

Your voice is needed today! Mayor Malik Evans is currently inviting residents within the City of Rochester to provide input into the upcoming 2023-24 budget. 

The budget is important – it sets priorities for the coming year and funds important programs throughout the city. Make sure you let the City of Rochester know your feedback to ensure these dollars prioritize the health and wellbeing of kids and families in our neighborhoods. Share with the city it’s important they invest in: 

• Racial health equity in community programming
• Improvements to local parks, playgrounds and athletic fields
• Continued investment in local libraries
• High quality recreation, education and enrichment opportunities
• Food security for residents across the city 
• Mental and behavioral health services for kids and youth
• Violence prevention and intervention program
• Job training programs for youth

The city currently has a survey that’s live and will host a telephone town hall meeting Telephone Town Hall meeting with city residents at 6:30 p.m., Tuesday, December 6. To register to receive a call click here.

Take the survey today! It’s open through December 7^th.

If you have any questions about our work related to building healthier neighborhoods across the City of Rochester, please reach out to Mike, Beatriz, or Jenn.

Healthi Kids Coalition Members Honored at ROC the Future State of Our Children 2022

Two members of the Healthi Kids Coaltion, Dina Faticone and Lydia Rivera, were honored this month with awards during ROC the Future's 10th Annual State of Our Children event.

Faticone, the Chief Program Officer at Common Ground Health, received the Jacque Cady Annual Advocacy for Children Award. This award recognizes an individual for extraordinary accomplishment in advancing public policy or funding decisions for the benefit of our community’s children, in furtherance of ROC the Future’s mission to improve cradle-to-career outcomes for Rochester’s children.

Rivera, an active parent leader and integral member of our coalition, received the ROC the Future Alliance Parent Leader Award. This award recognizes a parent who has exhibited leadership above and beyond expectations on behalf of Rochester’s children. The recipient has also demonstrated outstanding leadership in engaging and partnering with other parents and additional stakeholders in the community to support the success of our children and families.

Congratulations, Dina and Lydia! We are so proud of you.

Learn more about the ROC the Future Alliance

Global Recess Alliance Releases Statement that Urges Schools to "Make Sure Students Have Daily Time for Recess"

As Healthi Kids continues to push the Rochester City School District to #RescueRecess, the Global Recess Alliance released a statement explaining why daily recess is "necessary" for children's healthy development.

The Global Recess Alliance is a group of health and education leaders and researchers—including the Healthi Kids Coalition—focused on the importance of children's daily active play. Their statement is a "living document" that continues to be updated with the latest research on recess and policy recommendations.

To learn more, read the statement on the Global Recess Alliance website.

What We're Reading: "How Racism Can Affect Child Development"

Source: Center on the Developing Child, Harvard University

Learn more on Harvard's website.