News from Smart Start-Centre County

Dear Smart Start Supporter,

Around the state and the country, people who care for and about young children are planning celebrations, events, and activities for Week of the Young Child, April 11-17. Here in Centre County, we are celebrating too, with a Children's Art Show and a Community Reading Project.

Many community leaders will be volunteering their time this month to read the PA Library Association's One Book, Every Young Child 2010 book "What a Treasure!" to children in daycare centers and family daycare homes, thanks to the communication and coordination efforts of Caitlin and Rachael, our part-time interns. In honor of the One Book project, on April 6, the Centre County Commissioners officially declared April "Books--What a Treasure Month."

And thanks to Mandy Figard and Karen Sankey (teachers at the Child Development Lab) and Gail Guss (assistant director at the Bennett Family Center), children's art is on display in the lobby of the State College Borough Building at 243 South Allen Street all this month. Please stop by and sign our guest book.  You can also visit the State College YMCA to see artwork by Head Start children, displayed this month courtesy of Cindy Price.

Volunteers are at the heart of what we do at Smart Start, and most of our volunteers are people who are already working full-time. What motivates these busy people to give their time for our projects and committees? As the United Way funds distribution panel found out at our review meeting this month, the Ounce of Prevention Fund video clip "Change the First Five Years and You Change Everything" clearly shows, in the voices of young children, why so many of us are so committed to a "Smart Start" for children, whether through being read to every day or having a newborn nurse visit or attending a quality early care and education program.

You can voice your commitment easily, right now, by signing the PA Promise for Children declaration at www.papromise.org.

Smart Start Staff

info@smartstartcc.org

Public Events and Meetings

Smart Start Committee and Board meetings are listed under the 'Committee Activities" section below. To submit an item for this calendar, email kelly@smartstartcc.org.

April

All Month: Children's Art Exhibits
in the lobby of the State College Borough Building, 243 South Allen Street
at the State College YMCA, 677 West Whitehall Road

All Month: Community leaders will be volunteering their time to read What a Treasure! to children in daycare centers and family daycare homes in Centre County.

April 7, 14, 21:

Toddler Learning Center, 9:30 - 10:30 or 11-12, Schlow Library Children's Department; parent discussion and playgroup for children 18 m - 3 yrs. 235-7817 for info.

pril 9: Give Kids a Smile and Vision for the Future Day, sponsored by Pediatric Dental Care, Nittany Eye Associates, and Centre Volunteers in Medicine

April 11-17: Week of the Young Child

April 20: Public Reading of What a Treasure! featuring Anita Ditz, Children's Librarian, State College Borough Building, 10:00 a.m.

April 21: Directors' Forum for child care and preschool directors, 12:00 noon, St. Paul's Christian Preschool, Ann Walker, Program Administrator of the Child Development and Family Council will do a presentation on rate setting. Email eileen@smartstartcc.org to RSVP.

April 24: International Children's Festival at State College High School South Building, 2:00 - 6:00. Crafts, performances, silent auction, international foods, and more. Admission: $5 family or $3 individual. Sponsored by Global Connections and The Penn State Office of Global Programs

April 27: One Book Author Public Appearance at Schlow Library, 7:30 p.m., www.schlowlibrary.org

April 27: Webinar: Addressing Behavior in Early Intervention Plans,

3:30 p.m. to 4:30 p.m. D

escription: Chapter 14 regulations require the implementation of behavior support programs and plans when a child's behavior impedes his or her learning or the learning of others. This session will review the regulations regarding when it is appropriate to check behavior as a special consideration on the Individualized Family Service Plan (IFSP) or Individualized Education Program (IEP). The session also will list the critical elements of Functional Behavioral Assessment, how to collect behavioral information, and how to address behavior within the components of an IFSP or IEP. R

egister at www.pattan.net.

April 30: REGISTRATION DEADLINE for "The Future is Here: Developing Responsive Pre-K to Grade 4 Educators & Learners," to be held at the Penn Stater, May 24-25. Click here for registration information.

Member Article: "On Parenting"

by Charlene Friedman (Charlene Friedman is CFO of Friedman Real Estate and Chairperson of Smart Start-Centre County's Board of Directors.)

On Father's Day, the Centre Daily Times carried a column written by Mick Trombley. In it he wrote about a letter that he and his wife had written when each of their now maturing children were newborns. While the perspective is from that of the newborn lying in the crib , it contemplates the enormity of the task of bringing the child into the world. What are the ensuing responsibilities that accompany that arrival? What are the expectations from the child's view of what skills are needed to navigate the turbulent waters of childhood, adolescence and finally maturity?

The column ignited a fire of interest into how Mick and Cheryl decided to do this and then how they managed to accomplish it. Research supports that the days and weeks immediately following the birth of a child, particularly a first child, is the period in which new parents are most committed to doing the right things for t heir children. Research also supports how difficult that can be in the face of sleep deprivation and adjusting to life with a child.

"Commitment" is the operative word and what they have provided in their letter is a wonderful concept that opens the doors to creativity and communication in the family unit as they strive to agree upon the principles by which they will guide the child.

Mick and his colleagues in the local fathering effort, David Eggebeen, Marc McCann and Robert Orndorff have agreed to work closely with Smart Start-Centre County's Parenting and Literacy Committee to develop a template for use by new parents in writing their own "Newborn Letter" to be included in the welcome packets that are now distributed to new parents at Mt. Nittany Medical Center. If you have an interest in participating in that effort please contact the Smart Start office.

If you missed Mick's column and you want to read it, please go to the Centre Daily Times on-line.

Health Care Reform and Children

On March 21, 2010, the U.S. House of Representatives passed the Senate health care reform measure and a reconciliation bill making improvements to the Senate bill. The reconciliation measure now moves to the Senate for a vote (which will only require a simple majority to pass). The Senate bill now moves to the President for final action.

Based on a preliminary review of the bill by Pennsylvania Partnerships for Children, the bill would:

Preserve SCHIP and fund it through FFY 2015;

Streamline enrollment and renewal under SCHIP, Medicaid and insurance exchange;

Expand Medicaid coverage to 133 percent federal poverty income guidelines;

Extend Medicaid coverage to former foster youth below the age of 25;

Require coverage for screenings and preventative care under the American Academy of Pediatrics' Bright Futures Standard;

Prohibit insurers from denying children coverage due to a pre-existing condition; and

Improve premiums and cost sharing provisions contained in the Senate health care reform bill to make them more affordable.

Advocacy this Month: Children and the Census

The census data is used as the basis for distributing more than $400 billion in federal funds each year. Children, especially children under age six, are more likely than any other group to be under-counted. In the 2000 census, more than one million children under the age of 10 were not counted, including more than three-quarters of a million children under the age of five. The Census Bureau has partnered with Nickelodeon in an effort to use Dora, the Explorer, to help spread the word and explain the importance of counting each child. The Census Bureau flyer is available in English and Spanish.