Greetings!
Once again a new legislative session is upon us. This session is expected to revolve around three key areas: education reform, mental health reform and property tax reform. Do you get the idea that legislators are into "reform"?
A lot has happened leading up to session - On January 6th, Gov. Terry Branstad and Lt. Gov. Kim Reynolds held a press conference and released their final recommendations for reforming Iowa's education system.
At this press conference the Governor confirmed that he plans to leave preschool alone this year! The recommendations represent an overview of proposed education legislation that will be presented by the Governor and Lt. Governor in the 2012 session. The recommendations include three key areas previously outlined in a blueprint for education reform released by the Branstad administration in October: highly effective teachers and leaders, high expectations for all students with fair measures for results, and innovation that boosts learning.
There are a few areas found in the proposal that we are particularly interested in and will weigh in on and they are:
Kindergarten Readiness Measures (p.10)
Strategically Aligning Professional Development (p.8)
Statewide Literacy Program (p.12)
Statewide Parent Engagement Network (p.16)
On January 9th, DHS will present the final Iowa Mental Health and Disability Service System report to the Iowa House of Representatives Human Resource Committee. You can read a summary of the previously released report For those of you interested in tax reform, you can find a report on the Earned Income Tax Credit (EITC) here. Be prepared, it is quite wordy! EITC is one of our legislative priorities and we expect/hope it will be priority of the legislature again this year and the Governor will sign the legislation instead of vetoing it this time.
The Governor will give his Condition of the State Address on Tuesday, January 10th. His administration also announced that they will take the Condition of the State address on the road. You can find out if they are coming to your community here. Finally, we want to share Every Child Counts' legislative priorities for 2012. Once again the priorities are based on three overarching areas:
Quality Early Care and Education
Child Health and Well-Being
Child and Family Economic Success
You can find our detailed legislative agenda here. We are hoping for a much shorter session this year than last.
We are also looking forward to working with you during this legislative session. Sincerely,
Sheila Hansen & Danielle Oswald-Thole
P.S. Don't forget to keep in touch with us through social media!
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Coming January 10
The latest Iowa Kids Count Data Book
This annual CFPC publication, a companion to the Annie E. Casey Foundation's national Kids Count Data Book, reports on 20 indicators of child well-being for each of Iowa's 99 counties. Send an email to info@cfpciowa.org to request a copy. It will also be available for download on the website on Jan 10th.
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Early Childhood Iowa Congress andDay on the Hill
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Click on image for registration information
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February 8 & 9, 2012
Day on the Hill Speaker Nancy Amidei, Child Advocate, Seattle, WA. Nancy is on the faculty of the University of Washington School of Social Work, where she also directs the Civic Engagement Project.
Congress Morning Keynote Speakers Karen Brandi, Systems Officer, System Integration and Marsha Guthrie, Program Officer, both of Children's Services Council of Palm Beach County, Boynton Beach, FL
Congress Afternoon Keynote SpeakerSarika S. Gupta, Manager, Research, Pew Center on the States' Home Visiting Campaign, Washington D.C.
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Iowa Senator Introduces Children's Budget
State Senator Jack Hatch of Des Moines, chair of the Iowa Senate's Human Services Budget Subcommittee, outlined the budget proposal at a Statehouse news conference on January 4th.
The Children's Budget focuses on helping families by improving childcare services for working parents; improving health care for uninsured Iowans; and increasing help for children at risk of abuse and children in the foster care system.Here's how the Children's Budget helps Iowa's children and middle class families: - Helping working parents find quality child care for their children (increases child care assistance to 150% FPL and extends eligibility from 6 mo. to 12 mo.)
- Higher pay to attract and keep the best child care workers (increases provider rates by 4%)
- More services to help parents become employed and self-sufficient (increased funding for FaDDS)
- Improved child protection services
- More help for children in foster care
- More home visits for at risk children (increased funding for HOPES)
"Funding the Children's Budget requires a modest 1.2 percent increase over the current recommendations of Governor Branstad's Directors of Public Health and Human Services," Hatch said.
Every Child Counts looks forward to working with Senator Hatch and the rest of the legislature to ensure the much needed increases in funding for these particular programs remain in the final budget! ______________________________
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 House Republicans unveiled the new Iowa House video streaming project. Beginning in January 2012 in time for the next legislative session, video cameras will begin streaming debate live from the floor of the Iowa House. Iowans will be able to access the live stream when the House is in session on the General Assembly website, providing a unique opportunity to Iowa citizens to have direct access to live coverage of House debate. |
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