August 26, 2005

LANSING – In her weekly radio address, Governor Jennifer M. Granholm today highlighted a variety of steps her administration has taken to protect children.   
 
“Whether it’s a big goal, like giving every child the opportunity to go to college, or something more basic, like keeping them safe, children are the focus of state government every single day,” Granholm said.  “We don’t always agree in Lansing, but we can agree on common sense ideas to protect our kids – like making sure that sex offenders can’t be within a certain distance of a school, or requiring daycare centers to run criminal background checks on their staff.”
 
In May, Granholm asked state lawmakers to pass a series of bills to keep children safe from sexual predators by closing critical safety loopholes.  This past week, the State House held hearings on some of the legislation called for by the Governor, and she applauded state lawmakers for their efforts.
 
This summer, Michigan was one of the first states in the country to join a nationwide effort to track felons who’ve been convicted of sex crimes.  Last month, the state established an Internet “do-not-call” list for parents who want to keep inappropriate material away from their kids’ email inboxes. 
 
“As kids go back to school this fall, I hope to sign legislation that makes Michigan, more than ever before, a safe place – in fact, the safest place in the nation – for families to live and for children to learn,” Granholm added.
 
The Governor’s weekly address is released each Friday at 10:00 a.m. and may be heard on broadcast stations across the state through an affiliation with the Michigan Association of Broadcasters.  The address will also be available on the Governor’s Website on Mondays as a podcast for general distribution to personal MP3 players and home computers.

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Broadcasters Note: Governor Granholm’s radio address can be accessed through Sunday evening exclusively through the Members Only Page of the Michigan Association of Broadcasters website: www.michmab.com.
 
Publishers Note: The text of today’s address is attached.