At the November 15, 2008, National League of Cities' 85th annual Congress of Cities and Exposition, Charleston, S.C., Mayor Joseph P. Riley, Jr., Denver Mayor John Hickenlooper, Minneapolis Mayor R.T. Rybak, and Salt Lake City Mayor Ralph Becker unveiled the Mayors' Action Challenge for Children and Families and discussed innovative efforts in their communities to help children and families thrive.
Miami-Dade County offers a wide range of programs and services to improve the quality of life of our community's children. We're caring for them today and preparing them for tomorrow, understanding they are our future and the key to our prosperity.
This is why I have joined Mayors around the country to improve the lives of children and families by setting at least one bold, measurable, locally-defined goal in each of the following areas to ensure that every child has:
Opportunities to Learn and Grow
 I want to ensure that children participating in the state-sponsored Voluntary Pre-K program enter school ready to learn by increasing the number of eligible four-year-old children registered for VPK by 1,500 per year. The present enrollment is 19,766.
Actions/Innovations: The Voluntary Pre-Kindergarten Program (VPK) prepares young children for a successful kindergarten experience by focusing the Department of Education's efforts on early literacy. This legislation assigns responsibility for the day-to-day management of the program to the Agency for Workforce Innovation, licensing and credentialing to the Department of Children and Families, and the creation of standards, curriculum, and accountability to the Department of Education. All three agencies work together to provide leadership and support to the local early learning coalitions, school districts, and public and private providers to ensure the successful implementation of pre-kindergarten education programs for four-year-olds.
A Safe Neighborhood to Call Home
 I want to Increase the successful completion rate of participants in the Civil Citation Initiative from 83% to 90%.
Actions/Innovations: In Miami, the Civil Citation Initiative represents a systemic change in how the community addresses juvenile first-time misdemeanor offenders. All children who have committed a minor misdemeanor offense will have the opportunity to participate without being arrested. Police officers refer eligible children to the Juvenile Services Department of Miami-Dade County where they receive an assessment and appropriate interventions without being arrested. This is a cost saving initiative with great benefits to the children and youth of our community.
A Healthy Lifestyle and Environment
 Miami-Dade Parks will measure success of its Fit to Play initiative via 3 quantitative outcomes, all with a pre- and post-testing component: 1) Body Mass Indexing, 2) a physical fitness test, and 3) a nutrition, health and safety assessment test. The data will show that Fit to Play kids are more physically fit and educationally aware by the completion of the summer session.
Actions/Innovations: Miami-Dade Parks and Recreation's Fit to Play program provides a safe place for kids ages 6-14 to engage in a variety of sports and physical activities, laying the foundation for a healthy lifestyle. This comprehensive, year-round program operates as both a summer camp and an afterschool program, offering a variety of sports, performing and cultural arts, eco-adventures, and an educational component. Fit to Play is offered at 43 parks, registers more than 11,000 kids in its summer camp, and over 3,500 in its afterschool program. The county also offers camps to those with disabilities that include wheelchair sports, swimming, arts and crafts, and field trips.
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