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I recognize these proposals are significant, and therefore will not pass without a great deal of <br />controversy and spirited debate. But Representative Wihard Munger told me two years ago, <br />and I quote, "If something isn’t controversial, it’s probably no damn good anyway." I tend <br />to agree with you, Willard. <br />WHAT WE ARE PROPOSING IS TO CREATE A NEW DEPARTMENT - THE <br />MINNESOTA DEPARTMENT OF CHILDREN AND EDUCATION SERVICES. <br />Let me repeat that. We are proposing to create a new department - the Minnesota <br />Department of Children and Education Services - to address the needs of the total child, from <br />infancy through the teenage years. Creating a new department will mean dramatically <br />changing, and in some cases, abolishing, existing agencies. But we cannot let long-standing <br />battles over turf and reverence for institutions stop us from taking meaningful steps for <br />children and their famil'r. <br />What will this mean to children and families who need help? It will mean that for the first <br />time, there will be a single agency responsible for cutting through the bureaucratic tape on <br />behalf of children. It will mean that a single agency head can be held accountable for <br />producing better results. It will mean that families can be more assured of finding and getting <br />comprehensive help in one convenient location. And it will mean that every child will have <br />a better shot at success. <br />Changes are already taking place in Minnesota that reflect this new approach of putting <br />children, not systems, first. This new department will support those community-based <br />efforts. We have learned that some of the most effective programs, such as Head Stan, <br />work best because they involve families in all aspects of the program and they rely on local <br />community involvement. <br />We will use this philosophy throughout the Department of Children and Education Services <br />as we bring in programs in addition to Head Start such as Early Childhood Family <br />Education, Early Childhood Screening, Learning Readiness, Way to Grow, Even Start, the <br />Children’s Trust Fund and a host of others that focus on those critical years in a child’s life <br />from birth to kindergarten enrollment. <br />By reinventing the way we serve these young children, we will begin to make some sense out <br />of a fragmented, disjointed system. <br />■7I