Early Childhood Update
Sharon Walsh
Division for Early Childhood of the Council for
Exceptional Children (DEC) and
IDEA Infant Toddler Coordinators Association
(ITCA)
More Funding – FFY 2014
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Remember: Senate and House are $91 billion apart
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Head Start $1.6 billion increase
$1.4 billion increase for Early Head Start,
incorporating the new proposed Early Head StartChild Care partnerships
 $171 million for existing Head Start programs,
including $146 million for COLA and $25 million for
re-competition costs.
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CCDBG $176 million increase,
$110 million increase for new state quality
improvement grants
 $66 million increase for access.
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More FFY 2014…
Pre-K Development Grants: $750 for
proposed preschool development grants to
support states’ efforts to expand/create
high-quality preschool systems for 4-yearolds.
 Administration’s $75 billion/10 years
program would be mandatory funding
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Weekly Impact of Sequester Cuts –
Coalition on Human Needs
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http://www.chn.org/wpcontent/uploads/2013/07/Sequester-Impacts-7-7-712final.pdf
70 children will be denied services this year at the Cheaha
Regional Head Start Program, AL
Pratt, KS Head Start program eliminated, 14 children lost
Head Start services
Independence, MO, $750,000 cuts from Title I, Head Start,
and special education - eliminate kindergarten transition
class and some paraprofessional slots
Other health, housing, Meals on Wheels cuts
Child Care and Development Block
Grant Act of 2013
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S. 1086
To reauthorize the Child Care and Development
Block Grant (CCDBG) for the first time in over 17
years.
Bipartisan bill requires states to ensure that all child
care providers receiving CCDBG funding receive:
 Comprehensive
background check,
 Basic minimum training in health and safety practices,
and
 An annual unannounced inspection.
CCDF NPRM Out for Comment
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New proposed regulations governing the Child Care and
Development Fund (CCDF) program issued May 20, 2013
Public comments on the proposal are due by August 5, 2013.
First major update to the CCDF regulations since they were
issued in 1998.
Changes in four main areas:
 Health and safety
 “Family-friendly” policies
 Child care quality
 Program integrity
NWLC New Provisions in Proposed Child Care Regulations
Race to the Top Early Learning
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First year of the RTT-ELC competition, 35 states,
D.C., and Puerto Rico submitted plans
9 states funded (CA, DE, MA, MD, MN, NC, OH, RI,
WA)
In 2012, five more states (CO, IL, NM, OR, and WI)
funded
New awards - about $300 million in Fall 2013
Application package was just out for comment
More information about the Race to the Top-Early
Learning Challenge
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President Obama’s Plan for Early
Education for All Americans
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“In states that make it a priority to educate our
youngest children…studies show students grow up
more likely to read and do math at grade level,
graduate high school, hold a job, form more stable
families of their own. We know this works. So let’s do
what works and make sure none of our children start
the race of life already behind.”
President Barack Obama
State of the Union, February 12, 2013
Plan for Early Learning Released
2/13/13
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Secretary of Education Duncan
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“The answer, I believe, is that high-quality early
learning is the best education investment we can
make in our children, our communities, and
ultimately, our country. As President Obama has
said, it's the best bang for our educational buck.”
James Heckman, the Nobel prize-winning economist,
found a return of seven dollars to every one dollar
of public investment in high-quality preschool
programs in his analysis of rigorous, longitudinal
data from the Perry Preschool Project.
Administration’s Early Learning Proposal
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New Pre-K Proposal has two parts:
 $75 billion increase over 10 years for the Preschool for
All initiative (funded by a federal-state funding partnership
with the federal amount generated by a new cigarette tax).
 Another $750 million in discretionary funding is proposed in
the first year for states not yet ready for the Preschool for
All grant.
Home Visiting: $15 billion increase over 10 years for
home visiting (funded by cigarette tax).
Early Head Start and New Early Head Start-Child Care
Partnerships: $1.4 billion for Early Head Start and Early
Head Start-Child Care Partnerships to expand supply and
to improve programs and services for children birth-3
Pre-K Proposal
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High-quality preschool requirements for state
programs including:
 bachelor's
degree for teachers;
 low staff-to-child ratios and small class sizes;
 a full-day program;
 employee salaries comparable to those for K-12
teaching staff; and
 developmentally appropriate, evidence-based
curricula and learning environments.
Continued…
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Participating states would be required to contribute
non-federal matching funds.
The preschool initiative, as well as home visiting,
would be financed by raising the federal tax on
cigarettes and other tobacco products.
The federal cigarette tax would be increased from
$1.01 per pack to $1.95 per pack,
All other tobacco taxes would be increased by
approximately the same proportion, and the
tobacco taxes would be indexed for inflation after
2014.
ACF Programs and Early Learning
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The Administration remains strongly committed to
encouraging parent engagement.
Parents are at the foundation of healthy development &
academic achievement. Making sure parents are deeply
engaged in their child’s education, from birth through the
school years, remains a top priority.
Head Start will not be block granted. Providing investments
directly to local communities to care for & educate their
youngest children has been a successful approach for Head
Start programs.
The federal administrating body for Head Start & child
care will not change. The Early Childhood Office at ACF
within HHS will remain the administrating body of Head
Start, child care, & other programs & initiatives aimed at
birth to four.
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Administration’s Learning Initiative
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Fact Sheet | President Obama’s Early Learning Proposal
April 12, 2013
This fact explains the details of President Obama's early learning
proposal that would expand high-quality early learning
opportunities for children birth to age five.
Fact Sheet | President Obama’s Plan for Early Education:
Questions & Answers
April 17, 2013
President Obama has proposed a comprehensive plan to increase
access to high-quality early learning opportunities for children from
birth to age five. Here are answers to some commonly asked
questions about the proposal and about early care and education.
More Resources
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Fact Sheet | Governors’ 2013 State of the State Addresses:
Mentions of Early Care and Education
March 14, 2013
A total of 27 governors (as well as the mayor of the District of
Columbia) referenced early care and education in their 2013 state
of the state addresses—an increase from 22 governors in 2012 and
17 governors in 2011.
Fact Sheet | Expand Access to High-Quality Early Care and
Education for Infants and Toddlers
March 08, 2013
High-quality early care and education is essential for children in
their earliest years of life when they are first learning and
exploring, yet high-quality programs are in short supply.
Strong Start for Children: Building
America's Future Campaign
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http://www.nwlc.org/our-issues/child-care-%2526early-learning/strong-start-for-children-campaign
30,000 “Thank you” letters delivered to the
President
 Day of Action – May 29, 2013 to support the
initiative
 Many organizations have joined the
campaign
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Principles of the Campaign
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Every age from birth through kindergarten is
important and every component of the initiative
listed below is critical to children’ s success in school
and in life
Families are important and require support and
engagement in each component
Each component of this initiative deserves
increased financial resources for greater access
and quality
Resources should be focused on children in low income families, children with disabilities, children
who are homeless, children who are dual language
learners, and children with special needs
Rally4Babies: Learning Happens from
the Start
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Zero to 3: Virtual baby rally - Rally4Babies:
Learning Happens from the Start
Many partners
Monday, July 8th
Secretary Sebelius and Secretary Duncan both
participated
Rally4Babies web site at: www.rally4babies.org
Online petition at: www.rally4babies.org/petition
Goal of 10,000 signatures!
Farm Bill – SNAP or No SNAP
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The Senate Farm Bill passed 66 to 27 included
farming and SNAP provisions
Longstanding compromised balance between urban
and rural interests
House did not pass bill with both SNAP and farming
provisions largely because of SNAP issues
House passed 216-208 a version of the farm bill that
includes only the agricultural provisions
Presents a conference dilemma
Head Start Awards Grants
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150 agencies awarded grants for providing Head Start or
Early Head Start over the next five years.
125 Head Start grantees that failed to meet rigorous
benchmarks were required to compete for federal funding
with other potential providers of early childhood services in
their localities.
Grantees were required to show that they had made up for
all previous deficiencies in quality, and they will be
evaluated to ensure that they sustain their levels of quality
Second round of competition will begin this summer for a
group of grantees that was notified in January 2013.
Head Start Grantees
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A full list of the selected grantees for the first round
of competition is available at
http://eclkc.ohs.acf.hhs.gov/hslc/hs/grants/dr/cohor
t-1-awards-results.html.
A list of the grantees that will be required to
compete for continued funding in the second round
of competition is available at
http://eclkc.ohs.acf.hhs.gov/hslc/hs/grants/dr/pdf/
2nd-cohort-competition.pdf
Uninterrupted Scholars Act
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Signed into law January 2013
Amends Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act of 1974
Adds additional exception to sharing personally identifiable
information without parental consent:
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To an agency caseworker or other representative of a State or
local child welfare agency, or tribal organization legally
responsible, for the care and protection of the student, provided
that the education records, or the personally identifiable
information will not be disclosed except to an individual or entity
engaged in addressing the student's education needs
Affordable Care Act (ACA)
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Administration recently announced a one year
delay in the employer mandate requiring any
business more than 50 employees to provide
insurance
House has voted at least 38 times to repeal the
ACA
House announced it will consider new ACA bill to
delay implementation of individual mandate and
perhaps to authorize the delay in employer
mandate
ACA State Decisions
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Medicaid Expansion
 24
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states have agreed to move forward
 21 states not moving forward
 6 states still debating
Exchange Program
17 states plus DC have agreed to set up state
exchange
 27 States will have federal government run its
exchange
 7 states have a partnership between the two
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Kaiser has an interactive map highlighting states
status and profiles summarizing state's progress
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