| From the HSLDA E-lert Service: |
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| Date: From: Subject: | 7/21/2004 3:47:16 PM Home School Legal Defense Association Wyoming--Wyoming Wants Your Opinion! |
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====================================================================== From the HSLDA E-lert Service... ====================================================================== July 21, 2004 Wyoming--Wyoming Wants Your Opinion! Dear HSLDA members and friends: I want to thank everyone who called, wrote, or e-mailed your elected representatives this past legislative session to defend homeschool freedom. We have an opportunity to help shape next year's legislative agenda concerning children and families. I need your help to let the legislature know what Wyoming children and families really need. The Children and Families Initiative will work throughout the year to draft legislation for the 2005 legislative session. This is our chance to influence their deliberations. REQUESTED ACTION 1. The "Children and Family Initiative Survey" provides a real opportunity to make your priorities known. Please print out the survey and take some time to think and pray about it. We encourage parents to discuss the survey questions with their children. Click here for the survey: http://www.hslda.org/elink.asp?ID=1705 2. Once you have completed the survey, mail a copy to the Department of Family Services (the mail address is printed at the end of the survey) and send a copy to HSLDA, if you can. Please mail it to Scott W. Somerville, HSLDA, PO Box 3000, Purcellville, VA 20134. By collecting your responses, we can make sure that the Department does not ignore your input. 3. Please print out additional copies of the survey for other interested Wyoming citizens. We encourage you to hand it out to grandparents, church members, and other family friendly citizens. Forward this e-mail to other citizens who believe that faith, love, and freedom are Wyoming's best hope for the future. BACKGROUND During the 2004 legislative session, House Bill 33, the "Children and Families Initiative," was enacted and signed by the governor. It specifically outlines that "the Department of Family Services will develop a comprehensive plan to improve the lives and futures of all children and families in Wyoming." While HSLDA's members and friends worked hard to amend House Bill 88, which addressed similar issues, House Bill 33 was enacted with little controversy. The stated vision of Wyoming's Department of Family Services is that "families will assume more responsibility for raising their own children; communities will assume more responsibility for their own families; and the Department of Family Services will facilitate both." It should be clarified that "communities" is not limited to towns, cities, and county governments, but that churches and other voluntary associations can and should assume more responsibility for meeting the needs of their members. Christians, in particular, need to remember that each of us is "our brother's keeper," and that the church should be the first responder to family problems. Healthy families and strong churches can dramatically reduce the need for a "Department of Family Services." Question 7 of the survey lists a number of potential problem areas and says, "From each problem area listed, who would you first turn to for help[?]" Homeschoolers, in most cases, would list yourself as the first choice to solve these problems, with "faith based institutions/churches" as the second most likely choice. Feel free to list more than one answer on each line in this question, since we often need a combination of resources to meet our needs. Question 8 identifies a number of problems facing Wyoming families today. The survey fails to identify "moral collapse" as a problem. Feel free to write in additional problems if necessary. In part 2, Question 5 asks, "Have you had a personal experience with a non-profit organization like a senior center, domestic violence shelter, Salvation Army, boys and girls clubs?" Although the question does not list churches or church ministries, these would qualify as non-profit organizations of this type. Feel free to write in the name of the church or para-church ministry that helped you if you have had a positive experience with such an organization. If you know churches or para-church ministries that are actively trying to serve human needs in Wyoming, please make sure they get a copy of this survey so that they can distribute it to other people in their community. With your active participation and personal input, Wyoming has the potential to become one of the best states in the country for freedom-loving families. Thank you for your participation in this project! Sincerely, Scott W. Somerville, Esq. HSLDA Staff Attorney ---------------------------------------------------------------------- -> Will your friends stand by you in trouble? They will if you're an HSLDA member and your homeschool is threatened. HSLDA is ready to stand by your side along with 75,000 other homeschool families. More reasons to join HSLDA... http://www.hslda.org/elink.asp?id=1105 ---------------------------------------------------------------------- ====================================================================== The HSLDA E-lert Service is a service of: Home School Legal Defense Association P.O. 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If this is an invalid email address or you have other problems, please reply to webmaster@hslda.org. ---------------------------------------------------------------------- DISCLAIMER: This is considered a private and confidential message from HSLDA to its bonafide HSLDA E-lert Service subscribers. HSLDA cannot attest to the authenticity of copies posted, forwarded, or sent by any party other than HSLDA. ---------------------------------------------------------------------- NOTE: Please do not reply or otherwise use this email address; hslda@hslda.org is for broadcast purposes only and is not intended to receive incoming messages. We cannot reply to any email sent to this address. If you have comments or questions, please send email to info@hslda.org or call HSLDA at 540-338-5600. HSLDA members can also email staff directly through the Members website at http://members.hslda.org/contact.asp. Thank you for your cooperation. ====================================================================== | |
