9 Advocates of Children and Youth Recognized

Coaches and managers of the Waipio Little League team who championed the 2008 World Little League Series took a break from lunch to take a photo with state lawmakers (back left to right) Rep. Lyla Berg, Rep. John Mizuno, Speaker Calving Say, Rep. Cindy Evans, and Sen. Norman Sakamoto.

The Keiki Caucus, McDonald's Restaurant and Hawaii Children's Trust Fund honored Outstanding Advocates for Children and Youth today at a luncheon at Washington Place.

The winners:

Adult Friends for Youth has provided therapeutic, preventive, intervention, educational, and individual and group mental health support services to high-risk youth across racial divides for over 22 years to break the cycle of violence, despair and unhealthy lifestyles that are often passed down from generation to generation. AFY was nominated by Jean McIntosh.

Natasha Garcia has been an advocate for a diabetes cure over the past 7 years since being diagnosed with Type 1 or Juvenile Diabetes at 6 years old. She has participated in several awareness campaigns to educate people on this incurable condition and is driven to empower others to keep the fight and search for a cure alive. She helps to connect newly diagnosed families with veteran families to develop support networks. Garcia was nominated by Manya Levin, executive director of the Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation.

Principal Myron Monte (Dole Middle School) has been a visionary leader for education and has created a culture of achievement by using student-based education that instills in his students the confidence to excel in school and life. He was recognized as the 2008 recipient of the Masayuki Tokioka Excellence in School Leadership because of his extraordinary leadership and commitment to students and staff. Principal Monte was nominated by Keith Besario.

Minna Sugimoto volunteers as a coach for Special Olympics. She is a mentor and friend to children athletes, helping them discover their inner potential and self-worth. She was nominated by Zahid Arab.

The First Tee of Hawaii organization promotes youth development and education by its Life Skills curriculum through the game of golf. The program is free to 40 percent of participants who come from low-income families. Other participants pay only $25 annually. Since the chapter's founding in 2004 it has made a significant impact on approximately 800 of Hawaii's youth between the ages of 7-18 on Oahu, Molokai and Maui. The non-profit was nominated by Ken Zitz, Executive Director.

The Kalihi Education Coalition provides ten $1,000 scholarships annually to well deserving students from schools in the Kalihi District. The non-profit also sponsors the "Kids-in-Sports" program, which requires 5th graders to complete an academic assignment in order to participate in special volleyball, basketball and softball tournaments. Erwin Gabrillo nominated the organization.

Angela Thomas is a dedicated worker with the Good Beginnings Alliance Organization. She has coordinated many programs that help Hawaii children. As project leader for the Baby Steps Program, Thomas has been instrumental in the success of the Baby Basket Program on the Big Island, which provides new mothers and their infants with a start-up basket of essential newborn items. She was nominated by Representative Cindy Evans (D7-N. Kona, S. Kohala).

Gloria Tumbaga, a registered nurse and third-year medical student, is an active volunteer with Aloha Medical Mission, an organization that provides free medical treatment to underserved areas abroad and in Hawaii. She has been on goodwill missions to Micronesia, Laos,
Bangladesh, Philippines and Papua New Guinea. Tumbaga was nominated by Joanne Tachibana, President of United Nations Association Hawaii Division.

Waipio Little League 2008 managers and coaches, Timo Donahue, Kiha Akua and Gregg Tugawa, took their team of little leaguers straight to the world championships. They have been inspirational role models to our youth and have nurtured the confidence, skills and sportsmanship of their team. Ty Diaz Cullen nominated the coaches and managers.

Early Childhood Learning and Children Issues Discussed at Summit

At today's Children and Youth Summit, leaders from early learning, children and family organizations recommended a list of priorities to the Keiki Caucus that they would like addressed in the 2009 Legislative Session. Below is a list of their concerns. Give us your input and add any concerns you have in our comments section.

-Shortage of early child care providers.
-Cost of early child care (>$10,000/year).
-Lack of quality child care providers.
-Encourage legislators to prioritize, protect and provide programs and services that meet the needs of the "whole child", ie. social and emotional (equal to academic programs) so they can learn.
-Sustaining current early prevention programs.
-Support innovative financing.
-Fund Keiki First Steps.
-Update labor laws to support families with child care issues.
-More awareness campaigns to educate parents on the importance of early childhood development and available programs.

Youth share concerns with lawmakers

Apathetic: Lacking interest or concern, especially regarding matters of general importance or appeal; indifferent.

This is definitely not how I would describe the nearly 100 youth who participated in today's Children and Youth Summit. Zealous, informed and concerned would be the appropriate adjectives.

Photo (above): Students participate in a brainstorm of health and human services concerns at the Children and Youth Summit at the State Capitol.

Youth from across the state came together to brainstorm ideas on health and human services, education and environment issues. The high school students presented their concerns to state legislators for consideration as possible priority issues to focus on during the 2009 Legislative Session.

I sat in on the small group discussion on health and human services. Seated around a large conference table, students - resembling young legislators eager to get their voices heard - quickly identified three pages worth of concerns from cigarettes and alcohol to foster care and health insurance.

Brandon Antonius, a senior from Kihei Public Charter High School, took issue with the way tobacco and alcohol companies target youth through glamorized campaign ads. "It's been glamorized over the years," said Antonius. "We need rules to stop the glamorization of them." Antonius also raised a concern with tobacco companies targeting youth through flavored cigarettes. Another major issue that many students brought up was the exorbitant amounts of cigarette and alcohol ads in store windows. They suggested that laws be implemented to decrease the amount of ads permitted.

Tamara Tovio, a Kailua High School student, raised a personal concern about the frequency of social worker visits. Tamara, a foster care child, wants to see change within the Department of Human Services foster care program. "Don't throw kids into the program and then leave them there," she said. Case workers routinely visit foster care children at their homes once a month. However, Tamara and other foster children in the discussion group gave others the impression that sometimes visits are less frequent. She emphasized the fact that a lot of foster children want and need their case workers to see them often. They don't want to be forgotten. Another participant in the discussion mentioned that a lot of foster care case workers have heavy case loads.

Photo (from left to right): Casey-Lynn Hulihee, Rocksand Halima-Grammer, Tamara Tovio and Joe Taglies shared their concerns about foster care in Hawaii during a small group discussion on health and human services at the State Capitol.

Tamara also mentionedthe need for more family visitations. In a written abstract to the Legislature, Tamara writes, "I would propose that the Legislature either provide more opportunities for family members, biological if all possible, to become involved in our lives and care needs."

She also writes, "if this really happens, then there would be a possibility of decreasing many of us, of feeling that we are lost being tossed from location to location, there would probably be less runaways from program to program, and there would be more individuals, including me, knowing that someone cares about us and we are part of a family."

Tomorrow will be the second day of the Children and Youth Summit. The event will focus on issues related to children 0-12 years of age. The summit is sponsored by the Keiki Caucus.

Free interactive activities for kids and youth @ Capitol Sunday

Children, youth and families are invited to celebrate Children and Youth Day at the Hawaii State Capitol from 10 a.m. - 3 p.m. There will be over 200 free activities including Yu-Gi-Oh tournaments, physical fitness demonstrations, bungee trampoline, films, and a Teen Zone featuring paintball shootout, karaoke, martial arts demonstrations, culinary exhibitions and rock wall climbing. Live entertainment includes Brother Nolan, Jordan Segundo, Kapena, UH Rainbow Dancers and many more. Find out more here. Don't forget it's FREE!!

Children and Youth Day is sponsored by the Legislative Keiki Caucus, which was created in 1994. They sponsor "Children and Youth Month" each year and plan events that inspire children to learn and nurture their growth in a positive environment. Rep. John Mizuno and Sen. Suzanne Chun Oakland.

Put Keiki First During Children & Youth Month in October

This op-ed by Rep. John Mizuno on the "Children and Youth Day" celebration at the Capitol over the weekend appeared in Saturday's Star Bulletin.

Capitol Celebration Puts Spotlight on Children

Children's Day calls our attention to how we are still failing our children every day. Around the world, too many of them grow up knowing only abject poverty or terrible abuse. They cannot afford to see a doctor or attend school, and are often vulnerable to severe illness.

We're also witnessing this neglect in the United States. Last Wednesday, President Bush's veto of a bill to expand the State Children's Health Insurance Program sent the message that health care is not a priority of the administration. As a result, millions of uninsured American children will suffer.

It's also unacceptable that hundreds of children in Hawaii are homeless and left without health care, education or a chance at a better life. We must work together to build safer, healthier communities, address child homelessness and strive to make our health and education systems the best they can be.

Rep. Mizuno on the Bush veto

(Yesterday, President Bush vetoed a bill that would have expanded by $35 billion the State Children's Health Insurance Program (SCHIP) which provides health insurance to over 6 million needy children in the United States.)

By Rep. John Mizuno
Co-Chair, Legislative Keiki Caucus; Vice Chair, House Committee on Health

The President is misguided and his veto of SCHIP (State Children's Health Insurance Program) will hurt millions of children and families in our nation. The veto goes against Congress's bipartisan work and support to pass carefully crafted healthcare coverage for our uninsured childen.

Moreover, it may adversely affect Hawaii's newly passed Universal Healthcare bill to provide healthcare coverage for all children in our state.

Hawaii is a leader for access to healthcare, but Bush's veto of SCHIP sends a negative message that healthcare is not a priority and our poor children will suffer.

Mark Your Calendars for Children and Youth Day

The Keiki Caucus and its co-chairs, Sen. Suzanne Chun Oakland and Rep. John Mizuno, invite you to celebrate Hawaii's Children and Youth Month starting with "Children and Youth Day" on Oct. 7.

The fun starts at 10 a.m. and goes until 3 p.m. at the State Capitol, Honolulu Hale, Kalanimoku Building Grounds, Hawaii State Art Museum, Iolani Palace and Washington Place. Events include lauhala weaving, hands-on art activities with recyclable materials and a film festival featuring Hawaii's top young filmmakers. (You can even check out where we work on a free tour of the State Capitol.)

Click here for a full list of events throughout the month, including a 22-foot giant slide, cyclone swing, toymaking and robotics, train rides around the State Capitol and a Yu-Gi-Oh card game Tournament with a Nintendo DS giveaway. (Best way to find out what that means might be to ask your kids...)

The Keiki Caucus was created in 1994 and is made up of Senators and Representatives. They sponsor Children and Youth Month each year, dedicated to events that inspire Hawaii's keiki. The best part is, it's FREE.

For more information, please call 586-6130.

Photo: Students from Kalihi Uka Elementary School with Reps. John Mizuno and Karen Awana enjoyed Students' Day at the Capitol earlier this year. Photo courtesy of Rep. Mizuno.