URGENT Save Early Steps! Act today!

[Guest guest]

Subject: Save Early Steps! Act today!

Budget Negotiations Bumped to the Next Level - Your Voice is Needed Today to Save Early Steps

Lawmakers have entered the second phase of the 2012 Legislative Budget negotiations.

Senator Joe Negron, Chair of the Senate Budget Sub-Committee on Health and Human Services Appropriations, along with Representative Matt Hudson, Chair of the House Health Care Appropriations Sub-Committee, have put the decision for resolving several key funding issues in the hands of Senator J.D.

, Chair of the Senate Budget Appropriations Committee, and Representative Grimsley, Chair of the House Budget Appropriations Committee. Senator and Representative Grimsley will now be negotiating to reach an agreement on the issue of the future of Early Steps.

  *   The Senate position on Early Steps, would allocate $6,861,026 million to the program.

 *   The House position on Early Steps, would allocate 4.9 million and is not enough to keep the program going next year.Without this increase in funding, Early Steps will not be able to meet the entitlement under the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA) Part C.   This will result in a loss of $24 million in federal grant funding to provide services to infants and toddler with developmental delays and disabilities.

Early Steps could be lost.

Please contact Representative  Grimsley:http://r20.rs6.net/tn.jsp?et=1109441925739 & s=7170 & e=0012NsDVencFo98BOyqX5x8IvewpbvsSzhbajFBAgSR8pZ4xYna0Gy7cVNsXAGnA1jA4vBsBrnx3H6UDP59BPhSdFSeSLBo5iylyF7wqxZrXX515XQyn5t4oK3swSFKVk2MhZTJgpxDBZy-_FWT5K3ODrG_azoHaEk7yAkxjZSeG4XofiNFREZqPksiAT0XBsPIH5wqa6A8K-fTz_Y7Y7fbf5D4c5EhSRrE

and Senator J.D. :http://r20.rs6.net/tn.jsp?et=1109441925739 & s=7170 & e=0012NsDVencFo8P2bb_WX3q-KIQXmX5RCSW9ePirSq6GGpMTlHmVHVVtsW2ph_BOD2qcHBLO7FmChkPRyWVo3colWN5dnNYLIOxTX5NP0VsPsP080T1WmDhdvyxyoh-OvqHSEwvOfxBobo=

to let them know your opinion about Early Steps, please do so as soon as possible. Their names link to their e-mails.  If you have already called, call again, today. This is not something that should wait until Monday.

Call: Joint Committee on Budget

Chair: Sen. JD

Vice...: Rep. Grimsley

Call: Leadership

Senate President, Sen. Mike

Haridopolos<http://www.facebook.com/senatormike>(850) 487-5056 Speaker of

the House, Rep. Dean Cannon

***Rose just called all the phone numbers above and got their voice mail.

It took less than five minutes to leave all those people a  message.

Please, if you believe in Early Steps, take the time to do it now.

Let them know how valuable Early Intervention is for children with

disabilities. Help them to understand why more than 45,000 Florida families

need this vital program and let them know you want to see Early Steps FULLY

funded with $6.9 Million

Click this link to see a great 2 minute video about Early Steps.  The mother

in the video became a friend of Rose's when they went through the FLDDC

Partners in Policymaking class.  Her daughter is on the front of FL

Crossroads Magazine this month.  Please take a look.

www.youtube.com/watch?v=JJUgpqFv2Jw<http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JJUgpqFv2

Jw>

 Here's the Facebook page for Save Early Steps...

http://www.facebook.com/SaveEarlySteps

Below is a photo of  Rose Lumm, with Senator Negron, Chair of the Senate

Budget Committee.  She met with him in Tallahassee to share her endorsement

of Early Steps.[cid:X.MA1.1330889347@...]

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-- Regards,Ven Sequenzia, Jr. 

PresidentAutism Society of AmericaState of Florida Chapter