Rep. Accavitti offered the following resolution:

House Resolution No. 15.

A resolution declaring 2007 as the Year of the Child in Michigan.

Whereas, Tax dollars are scarce and should be reserved for important public policy efforts which demonstrate results; and

Whereas, State government has expressed a desire to manage its resources based on principles of prioritizing spending and eliminating programs and services that are least valuable to the citizens; and

Whereas, Children and families with high service and resource needs depend upon a myriad of different public and private organizations to be successful; and

Whereas, The developmental period of childhood is a vital window of opportunity to foster growth and build resiliency which has a lifetime impact; and

Whereas, Families are the primary source of nurturing, permanency, and support for children and need the support of communities to be successful in raising children to be productive members of their community; and

Whereas, Local community-based collaborative planning to align local services is an efficient and cost-effective tool which maximizes the value of dollars invested; and

Whereas, Early assessment and intervention are proven to further enhance savings by preventing more costly services from being utilized; now, therefore, be it

Resolved by the House of Representatives, That the members of this legislative body declare 2007 as the Year of the Child in Michigan. We encourage all children’s agencies and organizations to hold focus workshops and conferences to strengthen the development and implementation of services to Michigan’s children and their families; and be it further

Resolved, That a copy of this resolution be transmitted to Governor Granholm, members of the Legislature, all state department heads whose responsibilities include Michigan's children, local Department of Human Services directors, local Department of Community Health directors, local family court judges, all intermediate school superintendents, and the Michigan Association of Counties.