Personal Comment by Jack Lavine
Sunday’s Grandparent’s Day celebration is my first as Pop Pop Jack, my newest identity.
Our nine-month-old granddaughter Julianne’s birth last Thanksgiving morning was, to say the least, a truly glorious gift to our whole family. Her health and happiness are sources of joy without limit.
For 40 years, I have served as an advocate for family policies and innovate programs which are created to prevent problems at every age and stage of the life cycle.
A special focus of these efforts has been ways we can translate the science of prevention into practical steps in the right direction of budgetary investments, both public dollars and private philanthropy. The adage “an ounce of prevention saves a pound of cure” is a proven strategy which deserves one more add-on…timely prevention avoids a ton of punishment.
How dare we pay the cost of failure when we have proof positive of what works to keep bad things from happening? This concept is true for us as individuals and extends to our society as a whole. When we practice prevention, we save lives, dollars and a wide variety of community problems.
Ensuring healthy births, providing excellent care for toddlers, investing in quality preschool and understanding the value of support for parents are all important to reduce risk and enhance the odds for success emotionally, educationally and economically.
Having entered this grandfatherly stage of life, I feel well positioned to both look back and plan forward. It is now clear to me that aging is not just about celebrating more birthdays.
Now I more clearly understand that successful aging is defined by the concept of legacy…about what will we be remembered and judged?
Looking into the bright eyes of our sweet and smart baby Julianne, I know what others have called the great tomorrow we may never see.
As I have now joined the ranks of Florida’s great family of grandparents, I am dedicated to launch a “Grands for Children” campaign.
As voters and voices advocating the well-being of our families, communities, state and nation, it is in our best interest to leverage our power to assure the health, safety and security of all the young ones who will some day lead us into the future.
Florida has developed an impressive array of preventive policies, programs and partnerships which have proven their worth over the past few decades.
Here’s is a list of five Florida home-grown prevention and intervention programs which deserve our attention and support:
Healthy Start Coalitions – A community-based cost-effective system of service coordination for pregnant women and infants which has a 25-year track record of success in promoting healthy births https://www.healthystartflorida.com/
Ounce of Prevention Fund of Florida and its affiliates Prevent Child Abuse and Healthy Families – A public/private partnership providing tools and strategies for parents and communities to keep children safe and free from abuse and neglect https://www.ounce.org
Florida Association for Infant Mental Health – A collaboration promoting increased understanding by professionals, parents, and caregivers of the importance of the early years in a child’s prospect for life success https://www.faimh.org/
Children’s Forum – Provides advocacy for improved professional development in the field of child care and early learning http://www.flchild.com/
Guardian ad Litem – Recruits and empowers citizen volunteers to advocate for abused, neglected and abandoned children so our judicial system can better serve these most vulnerable young Floridians http://guardianadlitem.org/
It is my heartfelt and headstrong belief that all Floridians, especially my fellow grandparents, have the opportunity to shine a positive light on the value of preventive investments in the future of our children…all our children.
Jack Levine, founder of 4Generations Institute, serves a statewide network of family policy advocates. He may be reached at jack@4gen.org