NAEYC Children’s Champions

December 11 , 2007

FEDERAL FUNDING STANDOFF

The Congressional leadership and the White House are in a stand-off on funding levels for the remaining eleven funding bills for fiscal year 2008 - including the bill that funds Head Start, child care, K-12 and higher education, health care and research, and job training programs. Much of the federal government is currently operating under a stopgap funding measure that expires December 14. The President has said he will veto spending bills above his budget request. Congressional leaders are working on a new bill, but the total amount and program-by-program levels were in flux as of last night. Congress is likely to pass another Continuing Resolution to keep federal funds flowing past December 14.

STATE DEVELOPMENTS - ALABAMA EXPANDS ITS INVESTMENT IN YOUNG CHILDREN

There has been a lot of press in Alabama about the state's expansion of its preschool investments. Alabama's state legislature approved $10 million for the state's prekindergarten program, which was an increase of almost $5 million over last year's allocation. The additional funding will pay for a total of 133 pre-k classrooms in the state, up from the 59 classrooms that were funded last year.

The money goes hand in hand with allocations that support the development and learning of young children including:

• $1.7 million for HIPPY, Home Instruction for Parents of Preschool Youngsters
• $1.27 million to the Alabama Child Care Subsidy program to increase the number of available slots
• $950,000 for the state's Head Start supplement

In addition, the state's governor, Bob Riley, has announced his plan to expand prekindergarten for four-year-olds throughout the state. The plan, called First Class, would increase the number of children served by pre-k in the state to 21,000 by 2011. The Governor will propose allocating $30 million to First Class in its first year. The program will use a combination of state funding, grants and State Supported Slots to keep costs affordable for families. Pre-K Excellence Grants of up to $45,000 will be awarded to public school systems, Head Start centers and child care centers to help them achieve and maintain program standards. Each classroom will be able to charge up to $300 per child per month but there will be a sliding fee scale for families, dependent on income. Under the program, a family making up to 200 percent of the federal poverty level (about $40,000 for a family of four) will pay $40 per month. A family of four with income between 201-300 percent of the federal poverty level (between $40,000-$60,000) will pay $100 per month, and those making between 301-400 percent of the federal poverty level will pay $200 per month. Those making above $80,000 will pay $300 per month.

NEW REPORTS

A new report by Zero to Three and Pre-K Now, "Common Vision, Different Paths," describes a common vision for comprehensive early childhood systems. The report looks at lessons learned from five states that are building a prenatal-to-five system and identifies how they were successful in this work. The report is available from both organizations: www.zerotothree.org and www.preknow.org 

"Taking Stock: Assessing and Improving Early Childhood Learning and Program Quality" is a report of the National Early Childhood Accountability Task Force, a distinguished panel of experts and state officials, funded by the Pew Charitable Trust, the Foundation for Child Development, and the Joyce Foundation. The Task Force recommends that states should:

• Develop a unified system of early childhood education that includes a single, coherent system of standards, assessments, data and professional development efforts across all programs and funding streams.
• Align high-quality and comprehensive standards, curriculum, instruction and assessments as a continuum from prekindergarten through grade three.
• Assure that all child and program assessments use valid and reliable instruments that are well suited for their intended purposes.
• Support the full inclusion of all children in accountability and improvement efforts, including children who speak English as a second language and disabled children.
• Provide adequate resources to enable programs to meet performance standards and to support accurate, credible and useful assessments and effective program improvement efforts.

Based on these core recommendations, the Task Force designed four approaches that states can use to collect data and report on program performance and child learning. Over the next eighteen months, the Council of Chief State School Officers, with funding from The Pew Charitable Trusts, will use the Task Force's findings to help states document and strengthen preschool program performance.

You can obtain a copy of the report at:
http://www.pewtrusts.org/uploadedFiles/wwwpewtrustsorg/Reports/Pre-k_education/task_force_report1.pdf

NAEYC: Comments on Major Legislation in 2005

CCDBG (Child Care & Development Block Grant)

Head Start

Higher Education