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Kitzhaber pushes kids plan Mail Tribune / Drew Fleming Gov. John Kitzhaber hold 8-day old Aleccia Ottinger during a tour Friday or OnTrack's healthy babies program with Clinical Director Barbara Roth. Kitzhaber called for legislative support of his Oregon Children's Plan, which would provide $66 million for screening and services of first-born babies. In the background is Rep. Alan Bates. Visit to Medford shows benefits of intervention By Jonel Aleccia As the state�s chief advocate for early intervention with at-risk children, Gov. John Kitzhaber found more fuel to fire his cause during a Friday visit to a Medford treatment program. Sleeping babies and smiling toddlers � children of recovering drug addicts � greeted the governor as he toured the Healthy Babies program at OnTrack Inc. Grateful mothers such as Angela Navarro, 28, of Medford, described the impact of intervention. "The moms program saved my life," said Navarro, a former addict and mother of an 11-year-old daughter and a 7-month-old son. "I was a lost soul out there. I was." Kitzhaber has proposed the Oregon Children�s Plan, a $66 million initiative that would provide screening and services for first-born babies in Oregon. He listened intently, then called for legislative and community support of his program. "When you get these kids early and these moms early, it works," he said. His initiative targets new and existing money toward prevention rather than reaction, using a model that shows that every dollar invested in the first years of a child�s life saves $4.25 later in more costly services. Money alone won�t counter the crisis, said Kitzhaber, who estimated it would take $75 million beyond the proposal to expand the program to all state births. "The problem of substance abuse will not be solved by the war on drugs," he said. "We have to own it in our communities." Joined by local state Reps. Alan Bates and Cherryl Walker, Kitzhaber addressed a crowd of more than two dozen doctors and health care and social service advocates. He also spoke to a roomful of clients enrolled in the Healthy Babies program. The 4-year-old program last year fielded nearly 500 referrals from a wide array of sources and produced 92 drug-free babies. It and similar programs would be continued or expanded under the Children�s Plan. Kitzhaber downplayed criticism that his budget plan diverts money toward young children at the expense of seniors, higher education and other state priorities. He also dismissed concerns that the Oregon Children�s Plan pits the needs of younger children against older kids, forcing cuts that one local social service advocate has called "robbing Peter to pay Paul." "I guess I would disagree that that�s what this budget does," said Kitzhaber, who noted that state resources remain targeted to older kids through juvenile crime-prevention funds. "What we�ve done is make the pie bigger," he added. In Jackson County, where early intervention already exists and agencies have been lauded as models of innovation and collaboration, local officials worry that any new funds will bypass this area as resources spread to the rest of the state. Arnie Green, director of Community Works of Medford, said this week that some proposed cuts in youth programs may not occur under the governor�s revised budget released last week. "We may be making some headway," said Green, a vocal lobbyist for programs for older children. Carin Niebuhr, director of the Jackson County Commission on Children and Families, attended Kitzhaber�s presentation and was philosophical about the state�s tight budget. "There�s a chance it could be better," she said. "But it�s just a chance." Reach reporter JoNel Aleccia at 776-4465, or e-mail [email protected] Mail Tribune Home | Ottaway Newspapers, Inc. | Dow Jones & Co., Inc. | Privacy | Contact Us Copyright � 2001 Mail Tribune, Inc.