Lauderdale County Children's Policy Council

Do the children of Lauderdale County and the Shoals area need help? I'm sure many of them do. The salient point is what kind of help and who should provide it.

The Children's Policy Council consists of over 60 Lauderdale County citizens, each of them knowledgeable in his or her field. These individuals, under the leadership of Circuit Court Judge Jimmy Sandlin, have formulated policies with many admirable goals and some not so admirable. The council membership list and its agenda may be viewed at:

http://children.alabama.gov/CMS/Files/Downloads/Lauderdale%20all.pdf

After reading the council's policy, I am confident that this group excels in its ability to manufacture acronyms, if nothing else. Many of the council's goals are also the goals of the Lauderdale and Florence school systems; in other words, duplication again rears its ugly head. Other goals are nebulous or should not be the concern of the public at large.

While I'm sure adults with self-esteem and a good self image make better parents and caregivers, is it really the job of the general public (read: taxpayers) to make sure these individuals cultivate a positive image? Perhaps we could better understand this goal if the agenda provided specific examples.

The same could be said for the council's advocacy of character awards. If one expects an award for doing good, is it really a positive character trait or an example of the general moral deterioration in our society?

Somehow after reading the goals of the Lauderdale County Children's Policy Council I'm reminded of signs in fast food franchises that tell us coffee is hot. Yes, coffee is hot and corruption in government is theft.


What's up with this: It seems attorney John Caylor, husband of Alabama Board of Education member Mary Jane Caylor, is paid $60,000.00 a year to formulate policy for the CITY program. The state director of CITY says that Caylor's services are invaluable. I somehow doubt the taxpayers feel that way.