ounceofprevention.org
In This Issue
Historic Early
Childhood Proposal
Illinois General
Assembly Kicks Off
New Session
Early Intervention
Updates
Early Childhood
Construction
Grants
Head Start PreService Conference
Call for Proposals
Resources
Events
Stress, Poverty and the
Development of Executive
Functions in Children
February 20, 4pm - 5:30pm
Join us to learn about
executive function with Dr.
Clancy Blair at an event cosponsored by the Ounce and
the University of
Chicago.Learn more.
Historic Early Childhood
Proposal
Early
childhood
supporters
across the
country
applauded as
President
Barack Obama
used his State
of the Union address to propose an historic vision
of high-quality, accessible early childhood
programs for America’s infants, toddlers and
preschoolers. The president’s proposal would build
on the doubling of Early Head Start achieved in
his first term.
The president’s plan would:
Expand the evidence-based Maternal,
Infant, and Early Childhood Home Visiting
initiative
Launch a new Early Head Start and Child
Care partnership program to encourage
states to provide full-day comprehensive
care
Grow investment in Head Start
Early Childhood
Advocacy Day
Registration is now open for
our Early Childhood Advocacy
Day on April 16 in Springfield.
Sign up today!
Birth-to-College Model
The Ounce is partnering with
the University of Chicago
Urban Education Initiative to
develop a birth-to-college
pathway for the children at
our Educare School. Read our
latest case study.
Quick Links
Advocacy Action
Center
Receive Action
Alerts
Advocacy Toolkit
Connect With Us
Create a federal-state partnership to
provide high-quality preschool to all lowand moderate-income four-year olds from
families at or below 200% of the federal
poverty level
Include incentives for states to increase
participation in public preschool for middleclass families
Encourage states to expand the availability
of full-day kindergarten
This is an exciting development for young
children, their families and the providers who
serve them. Watch for more details when the
president’s fiscal year (FY) 2014 budget is
released in March and debate on the plan shifts to
Congress.Read more about the Plan for Early
Education for all Americans.
Unfortunately, the threat of sequestration on
March 1 is still very real as discussions continue
about how to resolve the FY2013 budget. To learn
more, see the sequestration toolkit developed by
the First Five Years Fund.
Illinois General Assembly Kicks
Off New Session
With the 98th
Illinois General
Assembly
session
underway,
we’re closely
monitoring the
budget
process.
The Illinois State Board of Education (ISBE)
proposed restoring $40 million to the Early
Childhood Block Grant, which would bring funding
close to 2008 levels. ISBE board members noted
the strong turnout of early childhood supporters
around the state at their budget hearings, the
most of any ISBE program. ISBE sent its budget
proposal to the governor and General Assembly
for their consideration. The governor is expected
to present his budget on March 6.
The Ounce of Prevention Fund unveiled our 2013
Illinois legislative agenda that calls for restoring
cuts to the Early Childhood Block Grant, which
funds Preschool for All and infant-toddler services,
and for protecting home visiting funding in the
Department of Human Services.
Other Ounce budget priorities include making
child care more affordable for low-income families
and restoring cuts to bilingual education. We are
also working with our health partners to promote
legislation that would provide dental care for
pregnant women to reduce premature births.
Early
Intervent
ion
Updates
Health &
Disability
Advocates
(HDA) filed a
state
complaint in January against Chicago Public
Schools for failure to properly transition children
from Early Intervention services to early
childhood special education. The complaint was
filed after 2½ years of efforts to improve the
stalled system. Read more from HDAA.
Recently, the Illinois State Board of Education
(ISBE) issued guidance to early childhood
programs regarding transition from Part C Early
Intervention to early childhood special education
services. The document answers common
questions to help programs and parents ensure
seamless services for very young children with
developmental delays and special needs. Read
more from ISBE.
Early Childhood Construction
Grants
Announce
d
On December
19, Governor
Quinn
announced the
award of $45
million in Early
Childhood Construction grants for capital
improvements at early childhood facilities in highneed communities across Illinois. The grants
program is the first program of its kind in the
country.
“The achievement gap begins before a child steps
foot into kindergarten,” Governor Quinn said. “We
know that investing in early childhood education
is the best way to ensure lifelong success for our
students.”
Fourteen early childhood providers received
awards to construct new facilities or renovate
existing facilities. Chicago Public Schools was
allocated $9 million of the $45 million in funds to
award to school and community-based early
childhood programs in the city.
Read the Governor’s Office’s press release to
learn more.
Head Start Pre-Service
Conference Call for Proposals
The Ounce of Prevention Fund is hosting a
conference for our Head Start and Early Head
Start agencies on August 9. We’re seeking
proposals for workshops in the areas of education,
disabilities, mental health, family and community
services, program design and management,
health and nutrition, and ERSEA.
Read the complete proposal guidelines. Proposals
must be received by March 8.
Reports and Resources
What Federal Budget Sequestration Will
Mean for Child Care and Head
Start (National Women's Law Center)
Illinois Kids Count 2013 (Voices for Illinois
Children)
The State We're In 2012: A Report Card on
Public Education in Illinois (Advance
Illinois)
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