Vince Juaristi, director for the Nevada Institute for Children (NIC), announced Wednesday that after a single year of operation the institute experienced a "productive and successful legislative session for the children of Nevada."
"On our first birthday, I am happy to say that NIC has made a profound difference in the lives of many Nevada children," said Juaristi. "I can only hope that our second year is equally stellar. The fact that so many people supported us and so many people care about children makes our work easy and a real pleasure."
NIC, which is based at UNLV, had drafted three pieces of legislation and supported several others after conducting six studies in the last year.
The first piece of legislation (A.B. 181) sponsored by Assembly Pro Tem Jan Evans, D-Sparks, and Assemblywoman Sheila Leslie, D-Sparks, emerged after NIC released its report, "Helping Kids Kick Drugs." The legislation provides $1 million for drug treatment services for children, allows federal matching funds up to another $ 1 million, and starts three pilot projects at family resource centers to offer treatment services directly to children. The legislation also moves the state Bureau of Alcohol and Drug Abuse to the Department of Human Resources where it can collaborate more effectively with health, mental heath, and child family services.
The second piece of legislation (A.B. 302), sponsored by Assemblywomen Leslie and Vivian Freeman, D-Reno, and Assemblyman Wendell Williams, D-Las Vegas, emerged after NIC released a five-part series on child care. The legislation allows the state to adopt regulations to create a Child Care Quality Fund to improve the training of child care workers, encourage better wages and benefits for workers, offer small loans to child care facilities, and reduce children-to-child-care-worker ratios. It further includes an appropriation of $ 300,000 to the city of Las Vegas for the training of child care workers.
The third piece of legislation, also sponsored by Leslie, followed a draft study from NIC regarding school violence. The bill includes $50,000 to be distributed in small grants of $2,500 each to schools to begin peer mediation programs.
"NIC supported other legislation and budget initiatives as well, including Classroom on Wheels and Even Start, an expansion of the Nevada Check Up children's health insurance program, and mental health parity, especially for children," Juaristi said. "I am happy that these measures passed as well."
