Inside the yellow cottage in a Kendall compound behind a chain-link fence, the children are waking up from their naps. Babies are learning to sit up, toddlers are naming their colors and 4-year-olds are gobbling up their vanilla ice cream with a smile.

These are creation's most vulnerable children, those with special needs and learning disabilities. Not long ago they would have been lucky to get a few hours of specialized care, much less a full day.

But at ARC Project Thrive, children with Down syndrome, spina bifida, autism, cerebral palsy and other severe challenges are flourishing. They get speech therapy, develop their cognitive and motor skills, and benefit from physical therapy.

With a team of accredited teachers, therapists and aides, the 80 babies and preschool children in Cottage 7 -- and next door in Cottage 6 -- can get care more than just five hours a day, with state and federal funding. Now they can get help from 7:30 a.m. to 6 p.m. So, too, for older children in another cottage.

LEAP OF FAITH

It's all thanks to you, the taxpayer. Because in 2002, Miami-Dade County voters took a leap of faith and passed a five-year plan to start the Children's Trust.

''The difference now is definitely the continuum of services,'' ARC Site Director Irma Alvarez said Thursday as we toured the cottages. ``The extended hours enable the children to reach their developmental levels at a much faster pace.''

A typical homeowner spends $61 a year in property taxes to help these children and thousands of others -- about 50 cents for every $1,000 of assessed property value. The $100 million raised last year provided after-school and summer programs for 45,000 kids who might otherwise be unsupervised troublemakers, brought back nurses to many public schools and offered arts, sports and other character-building programs.

The Trust has proved the value of strategic spending. The gains children make in school -- thanks to tutoring during after-school programs or classes for new parents -- might not have the wow factor of, say, a new baseball stadium or arts center. But they are crucial to any community that wants to grow right.

We give a lot of lip service to being the Gateway to the Americas, a world-class destination, blah, blah, blah. Beyond the skyline, the nightlife and the beaches, we are nothing more than a dump if our children are lost to the streets.

ACCOUNTABILITY

The beauty of the Trust is public accountability. A board of pediatricians, law enforcement, educators, business people and a few politicians, too, provide the vision. But the pols don't let out the contracts -- the Trust does.

Each grant -- and there are hundreds -- gets evaluated before and during the program. There are on-site visits to ensure what was promised is being delivered.

Michael Messer, president and CEO of the Association for Retarded Citizens South Florida, remembers the days when the meaning of ''social services'' for children and teens was not much more than the juvie system dealing with delinquents. ''It's been just a wonderful change for our community, particularly today with the lack of funding in the school system,'' Messer says.

So on Tuesday remember to turn to the back of the ballot. That's where you can vote to extend the Trust's work in perpetuity. This is not a partisan issue.

Jeb Bush is pitching a ''yes'' vote in new ads, and our former governor never met a tax he liked. That's how worthwhile this is.

It's a small investment with a world-class payoff.

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