This week the public got a stark affirmation that the needs of average families and children don't count with legislatators. One of their first acts was to pass a law to protect the trust that funds handguns and other weapon purchases. Now that's amazing. They are the ones who authorized in law all these State Trust Funds: the Lawton Chiles Endowment for Children and Elders, the Sadowski Fund for affordable housing, environmental trust funds, etc. They don't even pause when it comes to invading these important safety net funds rather than make tough budget decisions. But the gun fund. That's a whole different matter. Why? Because the gun lobby has bought the votes of the legislature with the coin of the realm. Too bad the kids couldn't afford to pay to play.

Miami has a rich tradition of powerful community leadership. Over the years, advocates have successfully tackled homelessness, education, health care and community safety. Additionally, the magic city has led the way in establishing a Children’s Trust, a special district supported by local taxes and entirely dedicated to children.

During our time in South Florida, the Worst To First team toured a world class facility, the United Way Center For Excellence in Early Education. This center is a phenomenal laboratory for cutting edge early learning and has partnerships with fourteen universities including Harvard. On top of running their own exemplary early learning school, the staff trains, certifies and provides resources to early learning schools throughout the region as well.

Visiting the center helped me understand the challenges and opportunities for early learning in South Florida and also underlined the need, statewide, to leverage this marvelous resource and all that they have learned about how to prepare our kids for success in school and life.

"Walking across the state can be tiring," said Bud Chiles, as he continued putting one foot in front of the other on his walk through Miami today. When asked about what keeps him marching on, he states, "Florida's kids." At the teams first stop, the Miami Children's Museum, he had ample opportunity to spend time with that motivation; about 50 young children. He bumped into someone special as well, The Cat in the Hat. As one of Dr. Seuss's most beloved storybook characters, The Cat in the Hat stopped by the museum to celebrate his creator's birthday and interact with the children present.

Geoff Chiles, Bud's son and a Worst To First team member, said, "The museum was an inspiration to me. To see the incredible exhibits for kids and spend time celebrating Dr. Seuss's birthday, a man who has inspired so many young minds, was fantastic. Dave Berry, a famous author, was also in attendance and he read to all the kids gathered there."

In addition to the Dr. Seuss celebration, the Worst To First team got a tour of the museum and learned that the museum is also a charter school to about 270 children. All in all, the day was special and the company purrr-fect!

During my statewide walk, everyday on the road seems like a great day when inspired by the work being done by wonderful children's advocates in the cities and counties I visit. For example, on a trip to Fort Lauderdale last week, I met with The Children's Services Council of Broward County, United Way, and a number of other community organizations and leaders. Learning about the work these groups are doing, in addition to others around the state, often leads me to conclude that local community problems can be solved locally. If this is true, it would seem that control over education and social services be retained at a community level.

Do you agree? Should local control over education and social services be retained at the community level?

Five years ago, Akin came to the Boys and Girls Club of Central Florida, the Osceola branch. He was, by his own admission, a troubled kid; failing classes, in trouble at school, acting out at home, angry and mistrusting. After half a decade, however, Akin has changed. He is now an A student, model citizen, and recognized as a national teen representative at international Boys and Girls Club conferences! He is also living proof of how effective local community-based after school programs can be in terms of turning lives around.

Stories like these teach us some powerful lessons, ones that must be heeded. From them, we learn that young people need encouragement, a wholesome place to interact with peers, play sports and participate in character enrichment activities. Given Akin’s story, is it not foolish for the state of Florida to be so shortsighted when allocating resources to programs like Boys and Girls Clubs? The investment up front in programs like these, ones that yield such great return, need to be funded. Doesn’t Florida want to produce youth, like Akin, who dream about going to Ivy League schools, instead of teens pondering time behind bars?

Akin's hope is to attend Harvard University one day. After spending time with him and people like Andrew Kirkland, service director at the Osceola branch and a fantastic role model, my bet is on Akin.