Florida's Civic Health Index
In 2006, The National Conference on Citizenship launched an ambitious effort to establish a national index to measure the state of America's civic health. Since that time, developmental work on the Civic Health Index has been undertaken in partnership with the Center for Information and Research on Civic Learning and Engagement (CIRCLE), Harvard's Saguaro Seminar: Civic Engagement in America, Civic Enterprises, and a wide range of distinguished scholars and practitioners. The Civic Health Index is intended to help the nation chart its progress toward building and maintaining engaged, effective, and responsible citizens. In 2008, The Florida Joint Center for Citizenship - a partnership between the Lou Frey Institute of Politics and Government at the University of Central Florida and the Bob Graham Center for Public Service at the University of Florida - joined with NCoC and organizations in Ohio and California to begin the development of state-level civic monitoring systems. The first result of that partnership was Florida's Civic Health Index 2008, released in October 2008. The 2009 report was released in October 2009.
Recession May be Adding to Florida's Civic Weakness from www.knightfoundation.org
2009 Study by Frey Institute & Graham Center Shows Most Floridians are Cutting Back on Civic Involvement
MIAMI (Oct. 14, 2009) – A new report released today by the Florida Joint Center for Citizenship shows that Florida’s civic culture is in failing health, indicates that tough economic times are making the illness worse, and highlights the need for immediate action to treat the malady, said former U. S. Congressman Lou Frey, former Florida Governor and U. S. Senator Bob Graham and Michael Weiser, the chairman of the National Conference on Citizenship.
The report, prepared by the Florida Joint Center for Citizenship, found that the state has one of the worst civic cultures in the country, ranking 46th in the nation. It ranked Florida 34th in average voter turnout, 49th in percentage of citizens who volunteer, 48th in percentage of citizens attending a public meeting and 37th in percentage of citizens who worked with others to address a community issue.
“If this report doesn’t demonstrate the need to help Floridians, particularly our youngest generation, better understand the importance of active citizenship, nothing ever will,” said Senator Graham. “The Legislature is to be commended for recently requiring that middle schools teach civics, but we need to take the additional step of making civics a subject that is taught and tested.”
Florida Representative Charles McBurney (R-Jacksonville) has introduced legislation, known as the “Justice Sandra Day O’Connor Civics Education Act,” to add social studies, including civics, to the list of subjects tested in the Florida Comprehensive Assessment Test (FCAT). Also, the Joint Center, in partnership with Leon County Schools and the Florida Law Related Education Association, has launched a newly-developed civics curriculum in Tallahassee schools that it hopes to spread to other districts.
The 2009 survey, funded by the John S. and James L. Knight Foundation, indicated that the state’s collapsing housing market and impacts of the world-wide recession may be having negative impacts on citizens’ engagement, as well with 70 percent saying they have cut back on civic activities in the past year.
Equally troubling in this time of recession is a preliminary estimate in the study that puts Florida at 44th in the nation in the percentage of citizens who contributed at least $25 to charity in 2008.
“Simply put, Florida has a weak civic culture, one of the worst in the nation,” Congressman Frey observed, “But that doesn’t have to be the state’s future.”
Even in the midst of economic pain, weak citizenship is a statewide problem with a statewide solution, said Michael Weiser, chair of the National Conference on Citizenship, which helped develop the study as part of a national effort to measure the country’s civic health.
"Florida's leaders need to focus on such basics as civic education, teaching Florida history and encouraging Floridians to volunteer in their communities. These initiatives cost little but can yield highly leveraged results in terms of the future health of Florida's citizenship," Weiser said.
Some Florida communities – notably Palm Bay–Melbourne and Tampa–St. Petersburg – were found to have developed stronger civic cultures. And, the study shows, many who are already engaged in their community are doing more, with 46% of those who were highly engaged in the past year reporting that they are expanding involvement.
But overall, the report said, communities in Florida fall well below national averages and far from benchmarks set by communities like Minneapolis, Seattle and Provo, Utah.
Ranking at the bottom of the list in Florida are the Miami-Ft. Lauderdale and Sarasota-Bradenton areas. In fact, Miami-Ft. Lauderdale ranked 50th among the nation’s 50 largest metropolitan areas on three key civic indicators: volunteering, public meeting attendance and collaboration with others on local issues.
“Despite some bright spots and evidence of personal compassion among many of our citizens, the report makes it clear that community leaders throughout Florida face a significant challenge to not only improve the state of their civic health, but also to find ways to avoid further deterioration in these times of economic difficulty,” said Senator Graham.
The Florida Joint Center for Citizenship is a joint venture of The Lou Frey Institute at the University of Central Florida and The Bob Graham Center for Public Service at the University of Florida. The full study may be found at www.loufrey.org.
About the Florida Joint Center for Citizenship
The Florida Joint Center for Citizenship is a partnership between the Lou Frey Institute of Politics and Government at the University of Central Florida and the Bob Graham Center for Public Service at the University of Florida. Established in 2007, the Joint Center works on a variety of initiatives intended to strengthen civic education and improve the condition of Florida’s civic health
About the National Conference on Citizenship
Founded in 1946 and Chartered by Congress in 1953, the National Conference on Citizenship (NCoC) is a leader in strengthening our nation's civic life. In partnership with over 250 organizations, NCoC tracks, measures and promotes civic participation. Through this work, NCoC helps define modern citizenship in America. More information can be found at NCoC.
About the John S. and James L. Knight Foundation
The John S. and James L. Knight Foundation advances journalism in the digital age and invests in the vitality of communities where the Knight brothers owned newspapers. Knight Foundation focuses on projects that promote community engagement and lead to transformational change. For more, visit www.knightfoundation.org.
Contact:
Dr. Douglas Dobson, Executive Director, Lou Frey Institute of Politics and Government, 407-823-4018; 407-271-0150, ddobson@mail.ucf.edu.
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We should do our civic duty by Michael Weiser from Miami Herald
One of the best parts of my role as chair of the National Conference on Citizenship (NCoC) -- the only organization chartered by Congress to encourage Americans to become active and engaged citizens -- is the opportunities I get to thank Americans for their service.
I've just spent the last couple of days with two exceptional citizens, Bob Graham and Lou Frey. Graham, of course, is the former two-term Florida governor and three-term U.S. senator. Frey, who served on active duty in the Navy and retired as a captain in the U.S. Naval Reserve, represented an Orlando-area congressional district for five terms, until his retirement in 1979. Graham, a Democrat, and Frey, a Republican, co-head the Florida Joint Center for Citizenship and have worked cooperatively for years in the interests of civic engagement in Florida.
They have taken on a tough job.
Florida ranks 46th among the states in its civic health (according to the 2009 Florida Civic Health Index released by the Florida Joint Center and NCoC), taking into account rates of voter participation, volunteerism, contributions to charitable organizations and participation in solving community problems. Even worse, the Miami-Fort Lauderdale area ranks 50th out of the 50 largest metropolitan areas in the United States in civic participation.
But take it on they do, with all of the passion of two aging Vaudevillians who still know how to capture an audience. Neither Graham nor Frey has anything to prove. At ages that find most Americans with their feet up, these ``Sunshine Boys'' have taken on the job of rallying Florida's hodgepodge of immigrants, snowbirds, surfers, clubbers and seniors to take seriously their jobs as citizens.
They are at their best speaking to kids about the roles they can play. Their talk to 100 Miami Edison High students is relevant to 16- and 17-year-olds who tune into their message about working together to strengthen their Little Haiti community. It's a high compliment to their energy and passion that these kids, and the 75 or so Vista and AmeriCorps volunteers we met on Thursday, want their pictures taken with the Sunshine Boys.
In a state so obviously in need of civic leadership, they are the model and they are not alone.
Thursday, I also had the pleasure of sharing a panel discussion at Miami Dade College with Carmine Priore, the vice mayor of Wellington who has headed the Florida League of Cities for the past two years. Priore, too, has a passion that's hard not to admire.
After retiring as a dentist in 1992, he began a second career in public service by being elected to the Acme Improvement Board of Supervisors. Perhaps it is less glamorous than being a U.S. senator, but it was Priore's chance to serve. For 17 years, he has focused his energies on making local government work and his fellow Floridians are the better for it.
Like Graham and Frey, Priore chose not to slip into an easy retirement -- quite the contrary. Public service is his retirement.
"Everyone has something to contribute," Graham is fond of saying.
Imagine how much stronger Florida -- indeed America -- could be if other seniors and other Floridians followed the lead of Priore and the Sunshine Boys.
Thank you, gentlemen, for your service.
