Florida Alliance of Children’s Councils and Trusts

🎙️ New from our Escambia partners!

The Escambia Children's Trust has launched their new podcast, Growing the Trust — and Episode 1 is officially live.

This first episode takes a closer look at who they serve, the impact they’re making, and why investing in children and families matters for the entire community.

We’re proud to see FACCT members continuing to elevate these important conversations and share the real stories behind their work.

👉 Tune in to Episode 1 on YouTube or wherever you get your podcasts, and learn more about the impact happening in Escambia County.

🎙️ Episode 1 is here!

We’re kicking things off with unpacking ECT—who we serve, the impact we’re making, and why this work matters for our community.

If you’ve ever wanted to understand the heart behind ECT, this is the episode to start with. Episode 1 is available on YouTube and wherever you get your podcasts.

🏛️ Capitol Connection: Final Week of Session

The final week of Florida’s 2026 Legislative Session brought a last-minute push to pass policy bills impacting children, families, and communities. While lawmakers approved dozens of measures, the state budget remains unfinished and will require a special session.

Here’s a quick look at what moved forward:

📚 Education & Early Learning
Lawmakers advanced measures reinforcing parental authority in education and health-related decisions involving minors, reflecting the Legislature’s continued focus on parental rights and school oversight.

🏥 Health Care
Several bills focused on clarifying parental consent and involvement in health-care decisions for children, part of broader efforts to strengthen parents’ role in medical decision-making.

👨‍👩‍👧 Child Welfare
Legislation aims to increase transparency and accountability in the child welfare system, including stronger engagement with youth who have lived experience in foster care and additional safeguards in abuse investigations.

⚖️ Juvenile Justice
Lawmakers approved updates recognizing the work of juvenile detention and probation officers, including creation of a state Medal of Heroism and administrative updates to juvenile justice processes.

📊 What’s Next
While 237 policy bills passed, lawmakers will likely return in April for a special session to finalize the state budget. Stay tuned!

Learn more and track the bills impacting Florida’s children and families through the FACCT Capitol Connection Bill Tracker:
🔗 https://facct.com/capitol-connection

📍 Capitol Connection — Week 8

As Florida’s 2026 Legislative Session enters its final stretch, lawmakers have shifted from committee hearings to floor debate and final negotiations on major policy proposals. At this stage, bills that didn’t clear committees are effectively off the table, and legislators are focusing on measures positioned for passage before adjournment.

Here’s what we were watching last week:

🎓 Education & Early Learning
Lawmakers continued advancing proposals related to curriculum requirements, parental involvement, and school accountability. Discussions also included stronger state monitoring of struggling schools and earlier intervention strategies for students facing attendance challenges, alongside ongoing negotiations around public school funding.

👶 Child Welfare & Family Services
Legislators reviewed measures aimed at strengthening oversight, transparency, and reporting requirements within early learning programs and the child welfare system. These proposals focus on improving accountability for organizations working with the Department of Children and Families and community-based care partners serving vulnerable children.

🏥 Healthcare
Several healthcare bills moved forward addressing Medicaid policy, workforce shortages, and interstate licensure compacts for professionals such as physician assistants, social workers, and emergency medical personnel. These discussions are unfolding alongside broader state budget negotiations.

⚖️ Juvenile Justice & Youth Policy
Lawmakers also considered measures impacting youth safety, school environments, and systems that serve at-risk youth, with many proposals now awaiting final floor votes or resolution through the budget and conference process.

💰 Budget Update
There is still no agreement on budget allocations for conference committees to begin crafting the state’s 2026-2027 budget — leaving uncertainty about when the Legislature will officially adjourn Sine Die.

🔎 Stay informed: Learn more and track the bills impacting Florida’s children and families through the FACCT Capitol Connection Bill Tracker:
https://facct.com/capitol-connection

📍 CAPITOL CONNECTION – WEEK 7

With just weeks left in the 2026 Regular Session, committees continued advancing proposals that will shape Florida’s education, healthcare, and child-serving systems — while budget negotiations are ongoing.

Here’s what moved this past week:

📚✨ Early Learning & Education
• Lawmakers advanced updates to Florida’s virtual school system, strengthening governance and accountability ahead of next school year.
• Work continued on child care and early learning standards — including safety updates, licensing changes, and funding concepts aimed at expanding access to quality programs.
• Education budget discussions remained active, reinforcing focus on workforce and school funding priorities.

🏥🦷 Healthcare Access
• Legislation moved forward to expand oral healthcare services in underserved communities, including through mobile delivery models.
• Broader conversations continue around aligning workforce capacity with statewide healthcare access needs.

👨‍👩‍👧🛡️ Child-Serving Systems
• A comprehensive Senate proposal continued gaining attention for strengthening oversight, requiring annual abuse prevention training, and establishing clearer standards for providers serving children.
• Stakeholders remain engaged as workforce and system support conversations evolve.

⚖️🚸 Youth & Family Policy
• Committees continued reviewing measures intersecting with juvenile justice and family systems, laying groundwork for broader debates in the weeks ahead.

🔎 What’s Next?
Committee deadlines are approaching and the decisions that shape next year’s investments in children and families are coming into sharper focus.

👉 Learn more and track the bills impacting Florida’s children and families:
https://facct.com/capitol-connection/

…and stay tuned for Week 8!

Week 6 of Florida’s 2026 Legislative Session is in the books — and with just weeks until the March 13 adjournment, the pace in Tallahassee is picking up.

🍎 Education & Early Learning: Lawmakers continued debating school workforce policies, K-12 curriculum oversight, higher education funding, and preschool and pre-K investments — while weighing instructional flexibility and accountability in public schools.

🩺 Healthcare: Committees advanced Medicaid and long-term care proposals, including enrollment reforms, provider oversight improvements, and recurring funding increases for nursing center residents.

👨‍👩‍👧 Child Welfare: Family stability proposals — including measures impacting grandparent visitation in dependency cases — remain in early stages but reflect continued focus on strengthening supports for vulnerable children.

⚖️ Juvenile Justice: Youth crime and sentencing reform discussions continue moving through committees as final deadlines approach.
With committees winding down and budget negotiations intensifying, key decisions on education funding, healthcare services, child welfare supports, and juvenile justice reforms are still ahead.

📌 Stay informed and track the bills impacting Florida’s children and families by following the FACCT Capitol Connection Bill Tracker: https://facct.com/capitol-connection/

Calling all Early Literacy Leaders! Register now and join us for the Florida Grade-Level Reading Campaign Annual Leadership Symposium & Literacy Expo in Tampa!

Registration page: https://floridaglr.net/meeting/

Capitol Connection – Week Five Update

As the Legislature reached the midpoint of the 2026 Session, week five reflected steady movement — with priority bills continuing through committee stops and major budget conversations taking shape.

📚 Education & Early Learning
Lawmakers advanced proposals focused on childcare regulation, early learning infrastructure, and new funding mechanisms to expand access. Conversations centered on balancing streamlined requirements for providers with strong health, safety, and accountability standards.

🏥 Health Care
Committees continued examining affordability, workforce flexibility, and implementation of federal health reforms. Discussions highlighted ongoing concerns around children’s coverage, access to care, and gaps between policy intent and program rollout — especially for low-income families.

👨‍👩‍👧‍👦 Child Welfare & Children’s Services
Momentum continued around prevention-focused, community-based service models designed to improve outcomes for children and families. Lawmakers emphasized cross-agency collaboration, upstream investment, and localized networks to address disparities and reduce long-term system involvement.

⚖️ Juvenile Justice & Public Safety
While fewer standalone bills advanced, conversations remained active around accountability, behavioral health, and service coordination — reinforcing the session’s broader focus on child well-being and public safety outcomes.

💰 Budget Watch
The House released a $113.6 billion proposed budget, while the Senate followed with a $115 billion proposal — setting the stage for significant negotiations in the weeks ahead.

As we head into the second half of session, committees are refining proposals and positioning priority bills for final movement.

🔎 Learn more and track the bills impacting Florida’s children and families by following the FACCT Capitol Connection Bill Tracker:
https://facct.com/capitol-connection/

FACCT partners, please join us on this week's Lunch 'n Learn from The Discovery Source. Learn about their Comfort-on-the-Go kit to help build resiliency using multi-sensory tools and a bilingual story.

Registration link: https://bit.ly/Feb19LunchNLearn

See you on Thursday, Feb 19th from noon - 1pm ET!

Capitol Connection | Week 4 of Florida’s 2026 Legislative Session

Week four marked a clear shift from introductory hearings to more substantive policy debate as lawmakers moved proposals forward across education, early learning, healthcare, child welfare, and juvenile justice – setting the stage for upcoming budget negotiations.

👶 Early Learning & Education:
Committees advanced legislation focused on expanding childcare access and strengthening the workforce pipeline. A major early learning package would reduce regulatory barriers for providers, allow more before- and after-care options in elementary schools, and invest in professional recognition and tuition support for early educators—aimed at boosting affordability for working families.

🏥 Healthcare & Child Welfare:
Discussions centered on system accountability and continuity of care for vulnerable youth, including proposals addressing oversight of psychotropic medications for children in state custody and expanded education and aftercare supports for youth aging out of foster care. Broader debates around parental rights and access to care for minors continued.

⚖️ Juvenile Justice & Public Safety:
Committees moved forward bipartisan measures tied to victim services, public safety, and system operations, reflecting a focus on operational improvements and support for youth-serving justice programs.

🔍 Overall, week four showed lawmakers refining bill language and positioning key proposals for appropriations review and future floor action.

💰 What’s next: Budget discussions begin next week as appropriations committees start building Florida’s 2026–2027 state budget…stay tuned!

Learn more and track the bills impacting Florida’s children and families by following the FACCT Capitol Connection Bill Tracker: https://facct.com/capitol-connectioCT

📣 Capitol Connection: Week 3 Recap

As the 2026 Florida Legislative Session entered its third week, committees across the House and Senate dug deeper into major policy areas affecting children, families, and communities — including education, early learning, healthcare, child welfare, and juvenile justice. These discussions are setting the stage for significant floor debates in the weeks ahead.

📚 Education: Lawmakers advanced wide-ranging proposals touching workforce and career education, dual enrollment, higher education structure, student supports for exceptional needs, and school library content — signaling that education funding and oversight will remain front and center.

👶 Early Learning & Child Care: New legislation was introduced addressing child care licensing standards and early childhood workforce supports, reflecting growing attention to quality and access in early learning.

🏥 Healthcare: A closely watched “Medical Freedom” bill moved forward in the Senate, proposing changes to school immunization opt-outs and certain provider and pharmacy practices.

🧒 Child Welfare: Both chambers advanced bills focused on child protective investigations, medical evaluations, and modernizing statutes governing services for at-risk children and families.

⚖️ Juvenile Justice & Related Issues: While fewer headline bills moved this week, committees continued discussions on custody, guardianship, and Medicaid eligibility — all with implications for youth stability and well-being.

Looking Ahead: With Week 3 complete, attention now turns to budget proposals and appropriations as the session approaches its one-third mark. Learn more and check out the FACCT priority bill tracker here: https://lnkd.in/eX-6MnJn

Stay tuned for Week 4 updates and deeper dives into the policies shaping Florida’s future.

Congratulations to Skyey for completing our recent US BookSmart Reading Journey grant! She and her daughter explored so many fun books over the past few months. Thanks to the Early Learning Coalition of Escambia County and our BookSmart Ambassador there, Melissa, for sharing their videos and some great literacy tips!

Visit booksmart.world/facct to find books to read with your family!