Council Meeting:    May 14, 1996                  Santa Monica, CA

TO:       Mayor and City Council

FROM:     City Staff     

SUBJECT:  Request for City Council Approval of a Resolution
          Proclaiming June 1, 1996, "Stand for Children Day" in the
          City of Santa Monica

INTRODUCTION
Attached for City Council approval is a resolution proclaiming June
1, 1996 "Stand for Children Day", a day of family and community
renewal, celebration and commitment to children in Santa Monica.  
 
BACKGROUND
"Stand for Children Day" is convened by Marian Wright Edelman,
founder and president of the Children's Defense Fund.  This event
will bring together more than 750 national, state, and local
organizations which together represent tens of millions of
Americans for a national day of commitment to and for children at
the Lincoln Memorial in Washington D.C. on June 1, 1996.   The
focus will be on concrete steps that every American can take to
ensure that no child is left behind.

DISCUSSION
Efforts in Santa Monica include an endorsement by Santa Monica
College (SMC) and Santa Monica-Malibu Unified School District. 
Connections for Children, a Santa Monica-based child care resource
and referral agency, is gathering names of those members of the
community who plan to attend the Stand for Children Day activities,
in Washington D.C.  It is hoped that these people can serve as a
liaison from the Santa Monica community. Connections for Children
and the Commission on the Status of Women (COSW) are working
together to send parents and child care providers to Washington
D.C.  The COSW has contributed $500 to Connections for Children to
support their efforts toward sending parents including two teen
parents from the School-Age Parent Infant Development (SAPID)
program.  North Bay Chapter of Southern California Association for
the Education of Young Children (SCAEYC) is sending members and the
Child Development Association of SMC has received money from the
Associated Student Body to send students along with a faculty
representative.  The Santa Monica Youth Athletic Foundation and the
Santa Monica Child Care Task Force have also endorsed June 1 as
Stand for Children Day.

BUDGET/FINANCIAL IMPACT
The recommendation contained in the report does not have any
financial or budget impacts.

RECOMMENDATION
City staff recommends that the City Council adopt the attached
resolution proclaiming Saturday, June 1, 1996 as "Stand for
Children Day" in the City of Santa Monica.

Prepared by:        Julie Rusk, Manager
                    Julie Taren, Sr. Administrative Analyst
                    Human Services Division
                    Community and Cultural Services Department