~"tj ~o-om~ ~e g;~l SUSTAINABILITY - SHOULD THE LWVCC CONCUR? - Operational Program Administrator for Collier County and A Teen Guest in Foster Care

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1 If lidier(joiy Collier County Vol. 26, No. 5 League of Women Voters of Collier County December 2000 ; en-e,a/leetin-?~ Lo-n-dap~ g;ecem~, ~cf~ gooo ~"tj ~o-om~ ~e g;~l 10:45 a.m. - Lively League SUSTAINABILITY - SHOULD THE LWVCC CONCUR? Kathleen Slebodnik -.Government Chair 12:00 p.m. - Luncheon - Please make your reservation in advance 12:30 p.m. - Program II FOsTER care IN COLLIER COUNTY IS WERE A CRISIS? II Nadereh Salim Hallie Devlin Coordinator for Community Based Care - Operational Program Administrator for Collier County and A Teen Guest in Foster Care Both speakers are from the Department of Children and Families (Details on Page 2) Please Note The Change: Luncheon reservations are now $12, which includes the program. Call Miriam Kalett at ~or the League office, by Friday, December The public is always welcome. The cost for attending the program only, is $3 for nonmembers and reservations are.mt necessary. Members who make a lunch reservation are responsible for the $12, unless their reservation is canceled by December 15 th.

2 2 DECEMBER 2000 LWVCC Presiden.t's Message Dear League Members, It's wonderful to see so many of you back and taking part in the many League activities! T wish to thank Tammy Golden for her presentation last month, describing the Electoral College and how it is fonned. She also showed us how to bring up info on the internet concerning election activities. This of course, is a timely issue for all of us. As League members, we need to stay informedl There are many opportunities for exciting journeys with League members from allover the U.S. Some of the trips corning up are: Egypt, Vietnam, Mexico City, China Silk Road, South America, Turkey, TUnisia, among others. Ellen Norbom,. one of our International Relations members has taken several trips with the League and has found them to be much more informative than the usual tourist tours. If you are interested, you,may check with Travel' Concepts International, 5500 Bucks Bar Road, Placerville, Ca , or call tollfree and mention "Travel with the League" I am looking forward to seeing you and your guests at the Holiday Partyl Yours In League, League of Women Voters of Collier County 660 9th Street North, Suite 358 Naples, FL Office Phone and Fax: Iwvcc@naples.net Website: December's Lively L~gue and Guest Speak;.1. Lively League - Kathleen Siebodnik will inform and prepare members for voting to concur on Sustainability. Information is being mailed to members and you may also refer to the November VOTER article, page 4.,.. Program - During th~ summer, Dorothy Ferguson, former LWVCC Director and Justice Committee Chair, contacted Carol A. Hall, Director, Office of Community.Partnerships for District Eight, The Department of Children and Families, to arrange for a program on the foster care situation in Collier County. Thanks to Carol, we will have a compelling update on what is beginning to look like a "foster care crisis" in ~erms of needs and available placements. Our speakers will tell us about the process by which the Department of Children and Families will work to improve the Child Welfare program,including Foster Care. They will bring us up-to-date on the steps being taken to "privatize" foster care in Florida and explain what that means. In addition, a teenager who is in the foster care system will give us his/her perspective. If you have a copy of the "Study & Action" publication you should check on LWVF's.positions on Foster Care. ROSTER If you would. like to receive reminders, alerts and League only information (NO soliciting/ads) Please your request to: Iwvcc@naples.net You will be added to our roster Fascinating Facts Our. Earth grows by 80 million people per year Equivalent to a new United States every 3 years

3 INTERNATIONAL RElAIIONS Aida Pierce, Chair Come hear about the "Unification of Korea" and meet Mr. Don Healey, a former CIA associate. This meeting will be on Friday, January 5, 9:30 a.m., at 517 Regatta Road, in the Moorings area..as always, everyone is welcome to attend. Please call Aida for information at SOCIAL J'OLICY Ann Campbell, Chair Social Policy Committee Learns, About Mental Health Issues We are grateful to Vicki Freeman, board member, and Kathryn Hunter, Executive Director of the Naples Office of the National Alliance for t~e Mentally III, Florida (NAMI), our speakers at the LWVCC DECEMBER B-28Bl' Officers and Directors President Aida Pierce st Vice President Pat Clark nd Vice President Kathleen Siebodnik Secretary Claire MacMillan Treasurer{Interim] Pat Clark & Barbara Elliott Education Nancy Wolfe Government Kathleen Siebodnik Chris Straton Hospitality Elinor Bedell InternatlonalRelationsAlda Pierce Justice Katherine Todd Membership Beryl Paulson Natural Resources Leonore Reich Office Administrator Pat Clark Publicity Joanne Quinn Social Polley Ann Campbell Voter Editor Connie Norton Voter Service Jackie Gillespie Tammie Golden OFF BOARD POSTS Housing Tel/Reservations Hospitality Eleanor Wilson November breakfast meeting. Vicki and Kathryn provided an interesting and comprehensive overview of the mental health treatment issues in the community and the region. To see their weaith of information about the problems and NAMI's activities, you can go on line at Elaine "Toddy" Van Wieren Colonade Circle Many indigent individuals have problems: Naples, FL accessing mental health services in Collier County. On'y 20% of Florida's mentally ill are publicly,vernon R. Hastings funded. There are only 32 psychiatric beds in t 4436 Wilder Road Collier, 20 at Naples Community Hospital and 12 Naples, FL crisis beds at the David Lawrence Center. With the impending closing of G. Pierce Wood Hospital, the problem of access will get worse. Efforts are underway to find solutions. NAMI is out there providing support systems, resource information,. treatment, education and survival skills to those in need. They are advocates for increased brain disorder funding essential to the discovery of a cure for mental illness, they are actively working with the judicial system, the legislature and the public to promote understanding and help for the mentally ill WELCOME New Members WELCOME Kathryn L. Hastings 5020 Tamiami Trail North Naples, FL Ann R. Jacobson 170 Edgemere Way Naples, FL Chuck Mohlke Miriam Kalett * * * fax: ldo you have an interesting idea, suggestion, comment, something that needs to be addressed or question for your Board of Directors or Editor? Write and you will be heard and answeredl Send letters to our office, fax or at IWtlCC8lnaples.net --1he Board of Directors

4 4 DECEMBER 2000 LWVCC fcucaiio~l Nancy Wolfe, Chair International College Tour January 24th A ~our of the new north Nap~s campus of the International College ;s scheduled for Wednesday morning, January 24, 2001, from 10 to 11 a.m. Nancy Wolfe, Education Chair, invites all interested League members to participate. Dr. Lou Traina will conduct the tour and give us some information about the rapidly expanding programs of the college. After the tour League members are invited to Nancy Wolfe's home for a brown bag lunch. The new International College campus is located on the north side of Immokalee Road, just east of Interstate 75, Exit 17. League members wishing to attend should contact Nancy at ; nancewolfe@aol.com. Carolyn Jefferson-JenKins, Pres., LWVUS Speaks Out On the Florida Vote The i League of Women Voters of Soyth Palm Beach Coynty and West palm Beach Area have together received several hundred calls regarding the election in Palm Beach county As a community resource, we have endeavored to direct the callers to use the processes set up in the county and the state. The League's position is that the Florida Secretary of State should do everything in her power to ensure the integrity of the voting process and to promote public confidence in the Florida voter tally. The League has long advocated standardized election procedures and legal performance standards for all hardware, software and management elements of voting systems certified by the Secretary of State. The League also believes that the Florida Elections Commission should be responsible for investigating election procedures, hearing complaints and making recommendations for change. Should a re-vote be necessary, our Leagues will be available to assist in any capacity. The following statement has been issued by Carolyn Jefferson-Jenkins, Ph.D., President of the League of Women Voters of the United States, November 9, The uniquely Al1Jerican story now being played out in Florida illustrates two key points about our political system. First, in the age of the Internet, we still rely on a horse-and-buggy election system. Second, despite the uncertainty of and confusion surrounding the outcome of the presidential ejection, our ~AIURAL RESOURCES Leonore Reich, Chair Due to the holiday, our December 15th meeting is canceled. Next meeting will be on Friday, January 1 9, Speaker and details will be in January's VOTER. Happy Holidays to alii (continued from column 1) democracy is strong and stable. The League believes wholeheartedly that the current legal steps being taken to determine the outcome of the 2000 presidential election should be deliberately pursued to their final conclusion. There is no rush. There is no need to short-circuit that process. The rule of law must prevail. The process is proceeding appropriately and peacefully, and all parties have pledged to abide by the eventual result~ Even so, the American people are deeply and appropriately concerned. And that is why, after the outcome of this election is determined, we must make reforms to ensure a broadbased representative democracy in the 27st century. American elections are a crazy quilt. Ballots and administrative procedures vary from state to state, and even from county to county. Our system is a relic of the past that is lagging behind the rest of our 21st century democracy. For example, the next President of the United States may be determined by the placement of names on a ballot, made by one county's officials. Voters in several states who registered when they renewed their driver's licenses found their names missing from the rolls on election day. We needa technology upgrade. The course of american history has been an inexorable trend toward greater fairness, uniformity and inclusiveness in our democracy. Yet, the systems for electing the most important representative of the American people are stuck in a time warp. The Electoral College, a curious vestige of the 18th century, violates the principle of one person, one vote. The time has come to abolish it. It's time to bring our elections into the 27st century. It's time to streamline the confusing patchwork system that uhderminesvoters' faith in their government. It's time to ensure that the President of the United States is directly elected by the people he or she will represent. It's time to guarantee that, across the country, every person's vote counts -- and counts the same. " (Text forwarded from LWV South Palm Beach)

5 LWVCC DECEtvmER AROUND FLORIDA FERTILIZER POSITION IN BREVARD LOOKING FOR CONCURRENCE The Space Coast League, Brevard County, has adopted the following position: "Appropriate governmental agencies shall test fertilizers for heavy metals, persistent organic poisons, and other toxic substances. The results 01 those tests shall be printed on labels that are attachea to the fertilizer containers. Fertilizers that contain materials derived from toxic waste orsludge shall be labeled as SUCh. Our full report and annotated bibliography have been sent to State and we ~ill be requesting concurrence with our position at the State Convention in May Through our research we have found that American fertilizer companies routinely "recycle" toxic factory wastes of all kinds into fertilizers. Most farmers and home gardeners are not aware of this. Although fertilizer products must list beneficial materials, there is no requirement that toxins, such as arsenic, lead and cadmium, be included on these ingredient labels. The federal government does not regulate fertilizers at all, nor do most states have any regulations on toxins in fertilizers. The state that is most concerned, Washington, has not been able to pass legislation requiring the listing of toxic materials on fertilizers because of strong opposition from the fertilizer industry. There is a good case here for the fertilizer user's "right to know." This is a problem that affects the whole country and there needs to be national grass roots support if any changes are to be made. The League has always supported the cause of "truth in labeling." Fertilizer is another product, among many, that has the potential of harming many people without their knowledge and without the listing of all ingredients, consumers are deprived of their "right to know." The State League's position as stated in Study and Action ( ), is "The League supports toxins-use-reduction standards for industry and community right-to-know legislation on toxic and hazardous chemicals." Shirley Jin and Yvonne Hubbard Natural Resources Committee LWVSC - Brevard County JUSIICE Katherine Todd, Chair After a brief period of derailmeont following the unfortunate news of Dorothy Ferguson's resignation as Chair, the Justice Committee will get back on track in January with Katherine Todd, as the new Chair. Although new to Naples and the League, Katherine is no stranger to justice-related issues and agencies. A clinical social worker in the1970's, she designed and implemented a victim/witness assistance program and a diversion program for first-time felony offenders for a district attorney's office. Later she served as a consultant to a public defender's. office, conducting psychosocial evaluations, testifying' and forwarding re~ommendations. A specialist in children and adolescents, she has served on numerous child abuse and juvenile justice committees and panels. Katherine has conducted assessments and prepared disposition reports at the request of family court judges and case workers. While continuing its strong focus on juv~nile justice issues, the committee will also explore the over-representation of minorities in arrests and sentencing, and the availability of alternatives to incarceration and of mental health and substance abuse treatment. Katherine will contact each committee member of 'record in late December/early January when specifics regarding topic, speaker, date, time and location have solidified. She encourages anyone who may be interested in checking out the committee to give her a call at "A human being is part of a whole, called by us, the 'Universe' a part limited in time and space. He experiences himself, his thoughts and feelings, as something separated from the rest - a kind of'optical delusion' of his consciousness. This delusion is a kind ofprison for us, restricting us to our personal desires and to affection for a few persons nearest us. Our task must be to free ourselves from this prison by widening our circles of compassion, to embrace all living creatures and the whole ofnature in its beauty." - Albert Einstein

6 ~ndar Date Time Event Location Dee 13 Wed 8:00a.m. Social Policy Pacific 41 Restaurant 18 Mon IO:45a.m. Livelv Leat!ue/General Meetinl! Norris Room - The Denot 2001 Hannv New Year Jan 5 Fri 9:30a.m. International Relations AIda Pierce's Home 8 Mon 12:00o.m. Board Meetine: 1st National Bank 10 Wed 8:00a.m. Social Policv. Pacific 41 Restaurant 11 Thu Januarv VOTER Mailina Le82ue Office 19 Fri 10:00a.m. Natural Resources Le82Uc Office 22 Mon lo:4sa.m. Lively Lea2ue/Generai Meetine Noms Room - The Deoot 24 Wed lo:ooa.m. FIELDTRIP-Education INTERNATIONAL COLLEGE Feb 2 Fri 9:30a.m. International Relations AIda Pierce's Home 5 Mon 12:00o.m. Board Meetin~ 1st National Bank 8 Thu Februarv VOTER Mailina Le82ue Office 14 Wed 8:00a.m. Social Policy Pacific 41 Restaurant 16 Fri lo:ooa.m. Natural Resources Le82ue Office 19 Mon lo:4sa.m. Lively Leal!ue/General Meetinl! Norris Room - The Deoot Mar 2 Fri 9:30a.m. International Relations AIda Pierce's Home 5 Mon 12:00o.m. Board Meetin2 1st National Bank 8 Thu March VOTER Mailin2 Le82ue Office 14 Wed 8:00a.m. Social Policy ; Pacific 41 Restaurant 16 Fri lo:ooa.m. Natural Resources Le~ue Office 19 Mon lo:45a.m. Lively League/General Meeting Norris Room - The Depot.For more infonnatiod, please call the LWVCC office: or lwvcc@naples.net Thank you for your continued support League of Women Voters of Collier County 660 9th Street North, Suite 358 Naples, Florida Non-Profit Org U.S. Postage PAID Permit No. 139 Naples, Fl 341El and Jia pp 9 %lid year