News from California Head Start Association

CHSA Update
September 2010

In This Issue

Policy Update
Voter Engagement & Education
Upcoming Trainings
CHSSCO Update
State T/TA Update
Announcements
$2 Per Child Campaign

Announcements

NEW ADVOCACY RESOURCE

Toolkit For Effective Advocacy On Behalf of Early Education

Revised Advocacy Kit, compiled by Californians for the Support of Early Education (CSEE)

supportearlyed.org

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Governor and Legislative Leaders Inch Ahead Slowly

Governor Schwarzenegger and Democratic Legislative leaders have closed all but $4 billion of the $19 billion state budget gap, but considerable negotiation still lies ahead.

Last month, the Legislature met to close out items of difference between the Senate and Assembly versions of the budget. The Conference Committee rejected the Governor's January proposals, approved $330 million in one-time child development reductions, and rejected the Governor's negative COLA, among other decisions.

Assembly Speaker John A. Pérez and Senate President Darrell Steinberg have proposed a plan to delay new business tax breaks, close the oil severance loophole, and swap the state sales tax which is not deductible on federal tax returns, for personal income taxes and vehicle license fees, which are deductible. They propose to restore key child development program funding that the Governor wants to cut, including revenue limits, child care and class size reduction.

This is an extraordinarily difficult time for programs that receive state program funding. CHSA will be inviting Head Start program directors to a call next week for directors to share how they are responding to the budget deadlock and the current unavailability of state funding.

November 2, 2010

General Election

Voter Education & Engagement

CHSA is promoting free resources to assist local Head Start programs with voter registration and education. This election is a perfect opportunity to educate both Head Start staff and parents and to foster their civic engagement.

Voter Registration - Join the CHSA Voter Registration Drive

State Registration Deadline - October 18

Voter Registration Tool Kit -- CHSA's free tool kit has supplies (voter registration cards, clipboards, signs, decorations and more) and instructions on how to host a voter registration activity. All we ask is that you reach out to 25 individuals in your community. See Tool Kit and CHSA Voter Education for details.

Workplace Rules -- The Head Start Act of 2007 contains a notable new provision allowing Head Start facilities to be made available "during hours of operation for the use of any non-partisan organization to increase the number of eligible citizens who register to vote in elections for Federal office." The League of Women Voters is a non-partisan organization that welcomes opportunities to assist Head Start programs with voter registration - they can be contacted at CALWV. To be clear, Head Start programs are still prohibited from using Head Start funds, including paid staff-time, to conduct voter registration.

Education Resources

Easy Voter Guides -- The League of Women Voters' free, printed Easy Voter Guide is your quick nonpartisan guide to statewide elections and is available in English, Spanish, Chinese, Korean and Vietnamese. Easy Voter Guides will be available online in early September at www.easyvoter.org and shipped in mid-September. Place your order today. Questions? Contact Easy Voter Guide Project.

Smart Voter.org -- For more extensive background on candidates as well as information on state and local ballot measures visit www.smartvoter.org

For more details on these resources, contact Michael Terronez, mike@caheadstart.org, 916-444-7760, ext. 106.

Head Start Related Trainings

Save the Date

January 10-13, 2011- I Am Moving, I Am Learning (IMIL) Facilitator Training

The Office of Head Start will be sponsoring an I Am Moving, I Am Learning (IMIL) facilitator training in San Jose. More details to follow.

March 24-25, 2011 - 1st Annual Western Regional Institute of Early Math & Science, Pasadena Convention Center, CA - Printable flyer.

Fall Training: OMB Circulars and Management Issues for Early Head Start, Head Start, and other Grant-Funded Programs

Tuesday, October 19, 2010 - Thursday, October 21, 2010

Hyatt Regency Orange County

This training is designed for executive directors, Head Start and Early Head Start directors, program managers, state and federal community directors, financial managers, fiscal staff, and administrative staff. The training will provide an in-depth relating to financial management and administration, and practical ways to apply the most current information to program operations.

How to register? The cost of the training, normally $795 per participant, is being offered to CHSA members at a reduced cost of $595 per participant. You must register directly with Wipfli online at www.wipfli.com/anaheim and enter promo code "CA595" to receive your reduced rate.

The online brochure at www.wipfli.com/anaheim includes an agenda and a more complete description of the training content.

Father & Families Coalition of America, Inc.

12th Annual National Fatherhood

& Families Conference

Celebrating Diversity - Celebrating Fatherhood

March 1-4, 2011

San Francisco, CA

Call for Papers Click Here.

Deadline: September 30, 2010

SPECIAL APPRECIATION REGISTRATION DEADLINE
(SEPTEMBER 15, 2010) Click Here.

Fathers & Families Coalition of America is accepting conference workshop proposals for the 12th Annual National Fatherhood & Families Conference. We are seeking diverse workshop applications, vendors, and community involvement on our conference planning team that will foster the promotion of quality Fatherhood, Marriage and Family Programs.

REVISED FALL 2010 E-RATE TRAINING SESSIONS OFFERED STATEWIDE BY CDE/K12HSN

The California Department of Education (CDE) in conjunction with the K-12 High Speed Network (K12HSN) is pleased to announce the Fall 2010 E-rate training options now available to all school districts/charter schools, county offices of education, libraries, and service providers throughout the state.

All training dates are available in person, by videoconference, or by live steaming from your computer. Details on the trainings and registration are available online at: http://www.k12hsn.org/programs/erate/trainings.php. Printable flyer.

To register for the face-to-face or any of the videoconference sessions, click on the link below or visit www.k12hsn.org and navigate to the E-rate page.

For any registration or training questions please contact Judy Bellamy at 530-532-5678 or jbellamy@bcoe.org

Fall Training Part I - Fresh Fruits and Vegetables:

A Centerpiece for a Healthy School Environment

This free two-day training is designed for school personnel and community partners. It provides tools to support an increase of fresh fruits and vegetables on school campuses through fun, interactive, and skill-building activities.

For dates/locations and to register online visit:

http://www.healthyschoolenvironment.org/workshop-registration

Early registration encouraged as space is limited. Printable flyer.

State & Regional Partner Updates

Report from the California Head Start-State
Collaboration Office

By Michael Zito and Nancy Remley

The California Head Start-State Collaboration Office (CHSSCO) has been working on the following activities in support of California's Head Start programs:

MCAH Home Visiting Initiative

The Maternal, Child & Adolescent Health (MCAH) Program at the California Department of Public Health has been hearing presentations on various home visiting models, including a presentation on Early Head Start by Kay Werner on September 1. They are finishing their required statewide needs assessment, and are waiting for the federal MCAH to release the specific criteria required for their state plan for use of the funding.

We had an external stakeholder home visiting conference call on September 2, in which MCAH staff provided an update on their needs assessment report which is due to the feds in mid-September. This external group includes MCAH management plus representatives from Department of Social Services, Alcohol and Drug Programs, California Department of Education (CDE), First 5 Association, CA First 5 and local MCAH Directors.

The MCAH staff do not yet know which home visiting models they will support via funding, but did tell us that the program funds will not be available in every area of the state, instead they will be targeted to areas with pockets of vulnerable families.

We will continue to keep you posted on this project, which is moving very quickly. For more information, please go to: http://www.cdph.ca.gov/programs/mcah/Pages/HVP-HomePage.aspx

Center on the Social and Emotional Foundations for Early Learning (CSEFEL) Train-the-Trainer and Coach Events SAVE THE DATES:

The California CSEFEL "Train-the-Trainer" and "Coach" schedule for next year have been announced:

San Jose

Modules 1 & 2: Jan. 18-19, with Coach training on Jan. 20, 2011

Module 3 Feb. 15-16, with Coach training on Feb. 17, 2011

Los Angeles

Modules 1 & 2 March 1-2 with Coach training on March 3, 2011

Module 3 April 5-6 with Coach training on April 7, 2011

Cost is $50 per day, with participants responsible for hotel, meal and travel costs.

For more information, go to: http://www.cainclusivechildcare.org/camap/csefel.html

Braided Funding Workgroup

The CHSSCO, in cooperation with the California Head Start Association, CDE and Region IX Head Start and Child Care offices, will be hosting a workgroup to provide fiscal and programmatic guidance to Head Start grantees and CDE Child Development Division contractors braiding state and federal funding. We anticipate a series of meetings will take place beginning this fall or early winter, with written guidance and/or training provided later next year. Pamm Shaw, Michael Zito and Paul Miller also participated in a webinar on braided funding that is still available on the WestEd website at http://www.schoolsmovingup.net/cs/smu/view/e/4468

Head Start Dental Home Initiative

As you probably know, the Office of Head Start has contracted with the American Academy of Pediatric Dentistry to ensure that every Head Start child has a reliable and consistent dental home. The CHSSCO is very involved in this project and participated at the central California Launch in late April. During this first year the main thrust of the HSDHI program in central California will be to develop Mentorship Teams. There will be a State Mentorship Team (SMT) which will be responsible for recruiting and training Regional Mentorship Teams (RMT) throughout the 26 counties, four Head Start Cluster Groups, and 18 CDA Component Dental Societies of Central California. The State and Regional Mentorship Teams will be comprised of two groups: (1) dentists and key dental office staff members with knowledge and experience in working with HS/EHS programs; and (2) HS/EHS program staff familiar with HS/EHS program operations and requirements related to oral health and dental services. The (RMTs) will provide technical support for local HS/EHS programs related to oral health promotion, dental home/provider network development, and ongoing program operations issues within communities.

Currently we are working with dental societies and Head Start directors and health specialists in Clusters IV, V, VI and IX to add resources in areas of need. The southern CA launch is tentatively scheduled for April 2011. The ambitious and somewhat daunting goal of having every Head Start child in a dental home will only be possible through a close and committed working relationship between the AAPD, local dental societies and Head Start programs. We will be recruiting Head Start staff and personnel to be members of the local Mentorship Teams and hope that you will all consider participating.

Please contact Dr. Ray Stewart at drrstewart@aol.com, Dr. Paul Reggiardo at reggiardo@prodigy.net or Michael Zito at mzito@cde.ca.gov for more information on this important initiative.

Bridges Journal

A new issue of Bridges full of information on professional development activities and projects, should be out in late fall or early winter. It is being developed in partnership with the Child Development Training Consortium.