Los Angeles, U.S.A. — As Derek O’Neill (www.derekoneill.com) reaches the world through his inspiring dedication in caring for humanity, the esteemed transformational therapist and philanthropist was recently named Celebrity Ambassador for Variety International – The Children’s Charity.

Renowned for receiving the prestigious Variety International Children’s Charity Humanitarian Award earlier this year, the selfless humanitarian generously donated $100,000 to the organization. Derek now joins the ranks of past Variety International Celebrity Ambassadors including: Princess Diana, Meryl Streep, Jim Carrey, Clint Eastwood, Michael Caine CBE, Sir Sean Connery, and Sir Roger Moore to name a few.

Appointed by the Variety International President, Peter Drummond, Derek was chosen to assist Variety in its role of helping to improve the lives of special needs children around the world. Variety International’s thoughtful stewardship, coupled with O’Neill’s extraordinary expertise as psychotherapist, will mark a powerful start of the betterment of humankind.

Through their network of 43 Tents (or Chapters) in 13 countries, Variety International – The Children’s Charity has reached into communities across the globe since 1928, offering support and assistance to children and organizations that serve kids with special needs. Hard work, stewardship, and single-minded focus on the needs of the young, are what strives the organization in making a lasting difference in the lives of children, their families, our communities, and the world, one need at a time. “We are more powerful than we think. But we are only powerful when we come together,” says O’Neill.

Inspired by 30 years of martial arts training, Derek’s teaching philosophy has enlightened individuals from celebrities to politicians. The professed Good Samaritan has received numerous awards, which bear testament to his unconditional empathy and care for humanity, including the coveted Variety International Humanitarian Award. Previous recipients of this award consist of: Sir Winston Churchill, Dr. Henry Kissinger, Bob Hope, Frank Sinatra, Audrey Hepburn, Sammy Davis Jr., Jerry Lewis, Sir Roger Moore, and Simon Cowell.

Image Courtesy of   Derek O’Neill

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Washington, U.S.A. — A five-month-old boy from Tennessee was the eighth child to die from heatstroke in a vehicle in the past days, bringing this year’s total deaths to 23. Safe Kids Worldwide is issuing a national alert to stop these heartbreaking and entirely preventable tragedies.

“Whether you are a parent, caregiver or just a concerned bystander, you can help save lives,” says Kate Carr, President and CEO of Safe Kids Worldwide. “We are urging everyone to ACT: Avoid hyperthermia-related deaths by never leaving your child alone in a car and always locking doors and trunks; create reminders and habits for you and your child’s caregivers to ensure you don’t forget your child; and Take action if you see a child unattended in a vehicle by immediately calling 911.”

According to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, this past July was the hottest month on record for the nation. With more hot weather to come and the record number of deaths in the first week of August, it’s critical to get the word out. Even on a mild day, temperatures inside a car can rise nearly 20 degrees in 10 minutes. Leaving a window slightly open has no effect on the temperatures inside a car.

Every year, children die of heatstroke, also known as hyperthermia, while unattended in vehicles. Safe Kids warns that these deaths can happen anytime, anywhere. In partnership with the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, Safe Kids and its network of 600 coalitions are focused on raising awareness to stop these needless deaths.

“More than 550 children have died this way since 1998,” said Carr. “Most people don’t think this could possibly happen to them, yet it does.”

Heat stroke happens when the body cannot cool itself fast enough and the core temperature rises to dangerous levels. Children’s bodies heat up three to five times faster than an adult’s.

“Kids react differently to heat than adults,” says Dr. Leticia Ryan of Children’s National Medical Center, Emergency Medicine and Trauma Services. “Infants and young children haven’t fully developed the internal systems regulating body temperature, putting them at much greater risk for organ failure and death when exposed to excessive heat. We see this all too often in the emergency room, and it’s absolutely devastating.”

Since 1998, more than half of fatalities occurred when a distracted caregiver forgot their child was in the car. Thirty percent occurred when a child was playing in an unattended vehicle and became trapped and seventeen percent were intentionally left.

Together, we can cut down the number of deaths and near-misses by remembering to ACT. Avoid heat stroke-related injury and death by:

• Never leaving your child alone in the car, even for a minute.
• Consistently locking unattended vehicle doors and trunks.
• Create reminders and habits that give you and your child’s caregiver a safety net:
• Establish a peace-of-mind plan. When you drop off your child, make a habit of calling or texting all other caregivers, so all of you know where your child is at all times.
• Place a purse, briefcase, gym bag, cell phone or an item that is needed at your next stop in a back seat.
• Set the alarm on your cell phone or computer calendar as a reminder to drop your child off at childcare.
• Take action if you see an unattended child in a vehicle:
• Dial 911 immediately and follow the instructions that emergency personnel provide – they are trained to determine if a child is in danger.

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Ann Arbor, U.S.A. – The Center for Healthcare Research & Transformation (CHRT) released a policy paper that shows how the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (ACA) in 2014 will streamline eligibility categories and may also help between 400,000 and 500,000 citizens to become newly eligible for Medicaid coverage. Currently, there are at least 40 different ways — each with varying eligibility requirements—to qualify for Medicaid in Michigan.

Whether or not Michigan decides to expand coverage for Medicaid, the paper shows that enrolling in Medicaid and maintaining that coverage should become easier for Michigan residents starting in 2014, when the ACA requires states to eliminate asset tests — a review of an individual’s assets to ensure they do not exceed certain limits—and consolidate existing eligibility categories.

“Many changes were included in the ACA that go beyond the Medicaid expansion. These changes were designed to make enrollment policies and processes simpler for those who have existing Medicaid coverage, and enable those newly eligible to go through an easier enrollment process than exists today. These enrollment changes alone should help ensure that more people have access to the affordable care when they need it,” says Marianne Udow-Phillips, CHRT’s director.

Under current federal rules, the Medicaid program provides coverage to those at or below a certain income level who also fit within certain categories, and states can opt to expand Medicaid eligibility.

In 2014, all existing eligibility categories—mandated or optional—will be simplified and consolidated into three categories:

• Parents and caretaker relatives of dependent children under 19.
• Pregnant women.
• Infants and children under age 19.

Additionally, those who receive Supplemental Security Income (SSI) or qualify as “medically needy” will remain Medicaid eligible to avoid gaps in coverage.

For states that opt to expand Medicaid, all non-elderly citizens and eligible resident immigrants with incomes at or below 138 percent of the federal poverty level will become Medicaid eligible, even if they are not categorically eligible.

While the Medicaid expansion is optional for states, streamlining eligibility criteria and simplifying enrollment processes is still required.

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Washington, U.S.A. – During a briefing with Congress on Attorney General Eric Holder’s Task Force on Children Exposed to Violence, Justice Department officials and task force co-chairs Joe Torre and Robert Listenbee, Jr. described their comprehensive work since the task force launch in October 2011 and discussed lessons learned through four public hearings held across the country over the last nine months.

The task force is a key part of Attorney General Holder’s Defending Childhood initiative to address children’s exposure to violence and will present policy recommendations in a final report to the Attorney General later this year.

At the briefing, Joe Torre, a Yankee legend, executive vice president of Major League Baseball and founder of the Joe Torre Safe At Home Foundation, described the impact of witnessing abuse as a child.

“It took decades before I finally started to talk about the violence in my childhood,” Torre said. “And as the task force has heard from one person after another, things haven’t changed enough.  Every child deserves a safe home, a safe school, and a safe community.”

The task force held four hearings from November 2011 to April 2012 in Baltimore, Albuquerque, N.M.,Miami and Detroit, and heard personal testimony from 65 people from 27 states and the District of Columbia. These included survivors of violence, young people, social service providers, medical personnel, researchers, practitioners, advocates, tribal and local officials, private foundation representatives, and community residents.

“Violence hurts children across the country—whether they live in urban, rural or tribal communities,” said Acting Assistant Attorney General for the Office of Justice Programs Mary Lou Leary. “The Department of Justice is committed to reducing this impact and identifying concrete ways to make our children and our communities safer.”

The task force is composed of 13 leading experts, including practitioners, child and family advocates, academicians and licensed clinicians.

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Ohio’s four voucher programs which benefit children in  low-income families  and students with special needs are now serving more than 24,000 children, according to the School Choice Yearbook 2011-12—the annual award-winning publication offering the most comprehensive data on the nation’s 27 private school choice programs—released by the Alliance for School Choice.

The school choice landscape in the Buckeye State saw significant expansion in 2011, after the state’s flagship Educational Choice Scholarship Program quadrupled its enrollment cap, the Cleveland Scholarship and Tutoring Program raised its voucher amounts, and the legislature passed a plan creating the Jon Peterson Special Needs Scholarship Program, which is slated to begin next year. Ohio is also home to a fourth program, the Autism Scholarship Program.

Across the nation, more than 210,000 children have benefitted from publicly funded private school choice programs – a growth of nearly 25 percent since 2007. Last year’s expansions also mean that Ohio joins Arizona as one of only two states in the nation with four school choice programs. All four of Ohio’s programs provide vouchers to disadvantaged children to attend the school of their parents’ choice.

The Alliance’s annual Yearbook is a collection of the nation’s most accurate data on private school choice programs across the country.  The release of the 2011-12 edition, which chronicles both new programs and expansion nationwide, recaps what The Wall Street Journal dubbed “The Year of School Choice.”

In addition to an analysis of trends and information regarding school choice, the Yearbook offers a directory of the accountability provisions and requirements for each of the 27 private school choice programs and a chronicle of the events from the past year.

“Ohio has for nearly two decades been at the forefront of education reform, and 2011 was no different,” said Yearbook co author Malcom Glenn, the national communications director at the Alliance. “With a new program on the horizon this year, even more families will finally be given a much-needed choice in their child’s education.”

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