Family Voices Indiana

The members of Family Voices Indiana are aware of the impact that our families' and children's life experiences can have on each of us individually and on the systems and services we care about. We were saddened to learn of the death of Jay Turnbull. Jayʼs father and mother are Rud and Ann Turnbull, Co-founders and Co-Directors of the Beach Center on Disability.Jay was the inspiration behind the Beach Center. He worked at the Beach Center from its beginning in 1998 and provided over 20 years of dedicated service. You can learn more about Jay's life and legacy by visiting their website: www.beachcenter.org Join us in celebrating the remarkable impact that Jay Turnbull had.

Gov. Mitch Daniels gave a speech to Indianapolis Rotary Club on January 6th outlining his budget proposal. FV members can view the speech in its entirety at http://www.indystar.com/article/20090106/NEWS05/90106049

Early Childhood Assessment ISTAR-KR Please distribute this information to those who are interested. Named ISTAR-KR (Indiana Standards Tool for Alternate Reporting of Kindergarten Readiness), the new Early Childhood Assessment is now available for review and comment at: https://ican.doe.state.in.us. Please forward this information to interested parties and encourage them to submit comment prior to the deadline of January 9th.

Indiana's 2009 Legislative Session Welcome to the 3rd edition of FV Indiana's Guide to the Legislative Session. This year brings a "long session" where a two year state budget will be set. The current economic downturn will create significant stresses on budget planning and resources. It will be more important than ever for Families to be involved, sharing your experience. This guide is intended to be a reference issue; in it you will find information on the budget process, how a bill becomes a law, definitions and translations of acronyms and information on the House and Senate leadership. If you are in a district with a new legislator, make the effort to introduce yourself and share your perspective. If your legislator is returning continue to build your relationship. Watch FV Indiana and other sources for action alerts as the session progresses. If you have information about the session to share please contact fv.indiana@gmail.com How a Bill Becomes Law Legi

The Center for Disease Control Focus on Disabilities: Beckett Family Lecture Now Available Online http://www.aucd.org/template/news.cfm?news_id=3399&id=16 The National Center on Birth Defects and Developmental Disabilities at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention sponsored a lecture by Julie and Katie Beckett on December 11, 2009 as a part of the Focus on Disabilities awareness event.