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Federal Fiscal
Year 09 Appropriation
Federal funding levels for key early care and education
programs have been established by both the House Appropriations Committee and
the Senate Appropriations Committee. For
Head Start each propose a modest amount, House $242m, Senate $223m. In addition the Senate has set-aside $3m for
Head Start Centers for Excellence. This
amount is close to a one-year COLA, which is very welcome after an accumulated
11% in cuts since 2002.
In addition, the House/Senate purposed a $55m/$75m increase
for Child Care Block Grant, House a $50k increase to 21st Century
Community Learning Centers and $1m to Child Care Access Means Parents in
School.
As reported in the press, it is anticipated neither the
House nor the Senate will bring spending bills to the floor for final approval. The federal government will operate on a Continuing
Resolution (CR) from October until the 111th Congress meets in
January 2009. Head Start's 2007 reauthorization
bill called for spending levels for FFY 09 of $7.65b. If the final FF09 spending bill is passed
next year the high mark proposed by the House would be $7.12b, or $530m less
than the authorized level.
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Federal
Legislation: House PreK Bill Advances
In late June the House Education & Labor Committee,
under the leadership of Rep. George Miller, D-Contra Costa, passed HR 3289. This legislation, if it moves forward, would
increase the Federal involvement in State PreK by providing incentives to
States to increase quality and in some circumstances add access. The Bill's author Ms. Hirono, D-HI received
over 120 cosponsors, including 25 California Congressional Members.
This legislation would amend the Elementary and Secondary
Education Act and authorize $500m annually for grant based funding to eligible
or selected states. California would not be automatically
eligible under the legislation because of our CA Title 5 allowance of a group
size over 20. Head Start advocates have
expressed concern for the bills lack of connection to the 2007 Head Start
reauthorization with the exception of State Early Learning Councils. As the bill advances, efforts to insure links
between State PreK systems and Head Start Grantees will be of interest. In particular, advocates must pay special
attention to this bills workforce development and supply planning elements to
avoid conflicts at the local level. On a positive note, this legislation calls
for greater investment in children - and that is very good news!
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NHSA's
Leadership Institute: September 23 - 25,
2008 - Washington DC
California Head Start Association strongly encourages parent
leaders, governing board members and senior management to attend NHSA's
Leadership Institute in September.
Please go to the NHSA web site and review the registration materials. This year's Leadership Institute is designed
to enhance participants understanding of the public policy framework that
affects Head Start funding and regulations.
In addition, CHSA builds teams of advocates that spend one day on
Capitol Hill visiting our congressional members and their staff. If you plan to attend or send agency parents
and staff, please inform CHSA so that we may assist in making this event
valuable.
Contact Double Tree Crystal City at 703-416-4100 for room
reservations and rates.
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Voter
Education & Voter Registration:
NHSA
& CHSA are strongly encouraging Head Start leaders to reach out to local League
of Women Voters to plan for the upcoming Fall Presidential Elections. You may download a list of local LWV groups
by going to the Directory of Local Leagues. CHSA will be distributing materials
electronically during September. We
encourage you to plan now to host a non-partisan voter education night. In a
recent nationwide poll conducted by Every Child Matters Education Fund, voters
of both parties are deeply concerned about a variety of problems facing America's
children and find it important for the candidates for President to address them
with specific proposals in their platform.
Voter Education Nights are a great opportunity to inform, educate and
invite our community to act. NOTE: October 20, 2008 is the last day to register in California to participate in the November 4,
2008 Election.
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Featured Jobs: ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Annual subscriptions to jobsatheadstart.org are now available. A subscription entitles programs an unlimited number of job postings on the website for 12 months.
Non-Subscriber programs can post job listings for a fee.
Visit jobsatheadstart.org for more information. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Consultant in the Spotlight:
Nancy Carritte, Ph.D.
Dr.
Nancy Carritte, an Industrial Psychologist, works with CEOs,
executives, and their management teams to develop their leadership
skills, fine-tune their management styles, and understand the
complexities of leading and influencing employees in changing
organizations.
A
popular motivational speaker, Dr. Carritte's entertaining presentations
are filled with new research, front line practices, and her enthusiasm
for getting more from life.
Visit the Consultant's Page to Read more >>
CHSA's jobsatheadstart.org web site
acts as a venue for employers to post job opportunities and candidates to post
resumes and does not screen or censor the listings offered. CHSA provides a referral service
and makes no particular recommendation regarding consultants and no
representation or guarantee about performance.
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Region IX Head
Start Association - 2008-2009 Scholarships
Applications
Due Sept. 30
All RIXHSA members have been mailed the
RHSA Scholarship application, which details RIXHSA's three (3) Scholarship
Awards, the application process, and the September 30th due date. Your State
Association does not screen, recommend, select or approve the RHSA Scholarship
applicants. RIXHSA Scholarship applications are mailed by the applicant
directly to the RHSA Scholarship Committee at RIXHSA Scholarship Committee,
4305 University Avenue, Ste - 400, San Diego, CA 92105. Each Scholarship is for $1,000 and dedicated to a specific
applicant audience. Parents and staff applying for a scholarship must be from
agencies that are current members of RHSA. - Al Orozco Memorial Scholarship is offered to present or former Head Start parents who will
be or are presently attending college or an accredited vocational or technical
school.
- Torcey Wiley Memorial Scholarship is offered to current Head Start employees who will
be or are presently attending college or an accredited vocational or technical school.
- Ron Bernard Memorial Scholarship is offered to high school seniors who graduated from a
Region IX Head Start program who will be attending college or an accredited
vocational or technical school.
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State Department of Education - RFA - Facilities
The FY
2008-09 Facilities Renovation and Repair Funding RFA is posted on the CDE
Funding web site. Facilities Renovation and Repair (FRR) funds must be used to
maintain compliance with health and safety requirements established by State
licensing regulations and local health and fire departments, to comply with the
American with Disabilities Act (ADA) of 1990, or to purchase or replace
equipment necessary for the health and safety of children enrolled in
State-subsidized child care and development programs. These funds must be used
for child care facilities serving state-subsidized children only. If you have
questions regarding this application, please contact Holly Miller, FRR
Coordinator, CDE/CDD, by phone at (916) 323-7195 or by email at hmiller@cde.ca.gov Application Deadline: August 18, 2008, 5 PM
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State Child Care and Development Reports
RAND's
series on California's preschool system - the
first comprehensive statewide look at early care and education for preschool-age
children in California
- provides policymakers and advocates with exciting new data to bolster the
case for high-quality preschool. California
must create a high-quality early care and education system that helps close our
achievement gap and benefits our state's economy. To date three reports from RAND
have been generated;
Study 1: Who Is Ahead and Who Is Behind? Gaps in School Readiness and Student Achievement
in the Early Grades for California's
Children
Study 2: Early Care and Education in the Golden State
Publicly Funded Programs
Serving California's
Preschool-Age Children
Study 3: Prepared to Learn
The Nature and Quality of Early Care and
Education for Preschool-Age Children in California
Preschool
California has built an excellent web page for
RAND's series on California's preschool system.
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State Child Care and
Development Legislation & Budget
Legislation
by Senator Steinberg (SB 1629) would establish a commission to create an early
learning quality improvement system. This
would establish a Quality Improvement Commission charged with developing a
framework for assessing program quality and an enhanced reimbursement system
beginning with Title 5 programs. Language
in the bill requires the California Children and Families Commission cover the
cost of the activities detailed in this bill.
Status: SB 1629 is in the Senate appropriation suspense file.
California's State budget is over one month past due, one area of debate
is the California Children and Families Commission Funds Reserve. In this very difficult budget year, there are
attempts to use these funds more immediate and non-children and families State needs. When Proposition 10 was passed in 1998 these
funds were excluded from the legislative oversight and targeted for specific
spending priorities - parents, caregivers and children ages 0 to 5. CHSA urges you to tell your State Assembly
member and Senator to protect this important funding source so that it remains
available to meet the needs of the families you serve.
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SAVE THE
DATE
CHSA Technology Institute: October 8 & 9th Sacramento,
Hilton Arden West - CHSA is pleased to announce our 1st Technology
Institute to be held in Sacramento
October 8 & 9. Registration
materials will be mailed early August.
This Institute will focus on issues and resources related to technology
in both program administration and classroom based services. This Technology Institute is in collaboration
with STG Region IX TA Network.
CDPI Fall Forum: October 20-21, 2008 Sheraton Grand Sacramento - A yearly,
high-level policy event that focuses on a current issue that will impact the
early education field. Past speakers include senators, assembly members,
representatives from the Governor's office, and state department staff. More Information
CHSA Parent & Education Conferences:
January 26 - 30, 2009 - San Diego,
CA - CHSA is Calling All Presenters! Our annual Parent and Education Conferences
will be held in San Diego
January 26-30, 2009. This Conference
week offers us an excellent opportunity to showcase many of the best practices
in the California Head Start community. More Information
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