As many of you know, we tried to get a bill exempting breastfeeding mothers from jury duty introduced this year. Unfortunately, our sponsor felt there was not enough support for the bill, and he did not introduce it. The bill suggested by the West River women was also not introduced for the same reason. Their bill was much broader, exempting any caregiver of a child under the age of ten and those caring for disabled or elderly.

We also wanted to introduce a bill that would have required hospitals, doctors, and midwives to disclose their cesarean and induction rates. This bill did not get written, because of the time-consuming research that was needed to make this idea into a good bill.

We are getting a running start for the 2007 legislative session. Planning began back in 2005 for a successful 2007 session. The Legislative Workshop in April is key to passing our legislation. Our plan is to bring a bill that would allow CPMs to practice in South Dakota. Much research and thought will be going into this bill. Work has started on it already, but there is still a lot of work to do on it. We may also bring the bill exempting breastfeeding mothers from jury duty and the cesarean and induction rate disclosure bill back again next year as well. Right now we are keeping the door open for these pieces of legislation.

If SDSCO is close to your heart, volunteer for one of the open positions, listed below. The Board of Directors realizes that many of us are busy mothers with small children, but even an hour of work a week can make a big difference to the organization! Your help is needed in the following areas:

Coordinator for Region C (Rapid City)

Coordinator for Region E (Watertown) – Responsible for heading up the phone tree in their region. They may hold meetings of the general membership in their region. They may organize fundraisers in their region.

Fundraising Committee – Responsible for obtaining funds for SDSCO though methods such as membership dues, bake sales, garage sales, phone and mail solicitation, and more. Two to three volunteers are needed.

Legislative Committee – Responsible for hiring a lobbyist to advance our legislation and working with the executive committee and members of the SD legislature to write legislation to further our purpose statement. Two volunteers needed.

Prayer Committee – Prayer warriors are needed to pray for SDSCO, its members, board members, our causes, etc. At least two volunteers are needed.

Communication Committee – Facilitates networking between members by maintaining the membership list, and phone tree. At least two volunteers needed.

Public Education and Membership Committee – Responsible for setting up public education events such as booths at county, state, and health fairs, as well as public appearances for the Chair, Vice-chair, or other SDSCO members, and may draft news releases. Three volunteers are needed.

Finance Committee – Responsible for developing and reviewing fiscal procedures and the annual budget. One to two volunteers are needed.

If you are willing to help in any way, please contact onmembers.