Healthy

• Secured passage in the 2011 Legislature a bill to create a Taskforce on Teen Driving Safety that will evaluate data, laws and current practices regarding teen driving in South Dakota. Taskforce members will provide recommendations for improving teen driving safety to the 2013 Legislature.
• Released the second edition of A Parent's Guide to Mental Health Services in South Dakota that includes updated diagnoses and treatment options.
• Updated and expanded mental health resources for South Dakota parents through the website - www.sdkidsmentalhealth.org - which includes a video version of A Parent's Guide, an on-line Mental Health Directory where families can find area clinicians and agencies, a listing of helpful books and the Wings for Life newsletter series for parents of children in grades K-8.
• Conducted a year-long learning mentorship in infant and early childhood mental health for selected South Dakota practitioners.
• Created referral forms to improve communication between mental health professionals and physicians referring young patients for evaluation and treatment.
• Secured expansion of the Children's Health Insurance (CHIP) program to include families up to 200 percent of the Federal Poverty Level, along with children up to age 21 who are leaving foster care.
• Advocated for changes in state law that have reduced teen smoking.
• Supported South Dakota Voices for Children Youth Advisory Council members' 2010-11 assessments of their own school tobacco policies along with policy improvement and implementation.

• Released the Starting Strong Report after the final year of Sioux Falls' Starting Strong three-year pre-kindergarten pilot program. Designed to prepare at-risk children for success in school, the pilot was annually evaluated by an independent researcher at the University of South Dakota, who reported statistically significant growth for the 3- and 4-year-olds enrolled.
• Initiated the Starting Strong Rapid City pre-kindergarten pilot in partnership with Early Childhood Connections and the John T. Vucurevich Foundation. Like Sioux Falls' Starting Strong, the pilot will be voluntary, market-based and parent-driven.
• Established the South Dakota Budget & Policy Project with funding from the Northwest Area Foundation. The project is part of the State Fiscal Analysis Initiative ? a network of state-level nonprofit policy organizations working for equitable, responsible and sustainable budget and tax policies. Its mission is promotion of responsible and equitable fiscal policies through research and education.
• Launched the South Dakota Afterschool Partnership, which aims to create a sustainable structure of local, regional, statewide and community-school partnerships focused on supporting policy development at all levels. South Dakota was the only state in 2009 to receive funding for the initiative from the C.S. Mott Foundation. The overall goal of the program is to increase the quality and availability of after-school programming statewide.
• Assisted community groups to improve the quality and availability of early care and education in Aberdeen, Brookings, the Northern Hills, Rapid City, Sioux Falls, Watertown and Yankton. Most assessed local child care needs and published those results and recommendations as a step toward meeting local needs. In some communities, quality pre-kindergarten programs have been expanded to include children whose parents would otherwise be unable to afford it.

• Convened summits focused on lifting children and families out of poverty and enhancing prosperity. Major achievements of the 2008 summit were identification of cornerstones and recommendations to combat poverty as described in the report "A Common Good," (sdvoicesforchildren.org). At the 2009 summit a coalition was formed to advance the recommendations. A third summit in 2011 will focus on building public will to support investing in people.
• Began, in cooperation with South Dakota KIDS COUNT, outreach to inform associations of city and county governments in the state about the status of children and teens.
• Developed the Bridge to Benefits Web site (sdbridgetobenefits.org) in cooperation with the Children's Defense Fund. The site links families and individuals to information about tax credits and benefit programs.
• Facilitated the Sioux Falls Disproportionate Minority Workgroup to increase community-based, culturally appropriate services for Native American children and families; increase cultural training for stakeholders in the juvenile justice system and identify gaps and special issues in the Juvenile Justice system that affect Native youth and develop ways to address them. Compiled and released the Native American Services Directory that provides information about culturally based services in Sioux Falls.
• Compiled a Juvenile Justice Guidebook for Youth and Parents to help court-involved youth and their parents understand and navigate the juvenile justice system. The fourth edition of this widely used and distributed Guide was released in early 2011.
• Organized and supports the Tribal Juvenile Justice Advisory Group, which now advises the Governor's Council on Juvenile Services. The Tribal Advisory Group includes representatives from the state's nine tribes and annually publishes an updated South Dakota Tribal Juvenile Justice Directory.
• Pushed for and was instrumental in bringing South Dakota into compliance with the federal Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention Act. That makes South Dakota eligible for nearly $700,000 in federal funding each year and encourages best practices for children in the juvenile justice system.
• Continues to ensure safe practices when dealing with court-involved children.
• Promoting seatbelt use by children and teens through an effective safety campaign that urges everyone in a vehicle to "grab, tug, click" seatbelts.
• Advocating in the state Legislature and the public concerning the use of booster seats for children ages 5 to 8.