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We Are All In This Together!

 

April 21, 2014


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What's happening
  

California    

The State Legislature reconvenes today following their Spring break.

To watch live many of the press conferences and hearings noted below, you can go to The California Channel.  

 

Assembly Hearings

  • Assembly (ASM) -  Floor sessions on Monday & Thursday 
  • April 23- ASM Education (Buchanan) @ 1:30pm, Room 126
    • AB 1902 -(Bonta) California State Preschool Program: part-day pre- school: fees. 
    • AB 2125 -(Ridley-Thomas) Child care: standard reimbursement rate: adjustment. 
    • AB 2302 -(Mullin) Child care and developmental services: facilities.  
Senate Hearings
  • Senate (SEN) - Floor sessions on Monday & Thursday 
  • April 22- SEN Human Services (Liu) @ 1:30pm, Room 3191
    • SB 1123 (Liu) - Birth to three funding & elimination of part-day preschool fees.  
  • May 1 - SEN Budget & Fiscal Review Sub 1 on Education.  Agenda:  Dept of Education - Federal funds and child nutrition on the agenda
  • May 1 - SEN Budget & Fiscal Review Sub 3 on Human Services.  Agenda:  Dept of Social Services - CalWORKs and CalFRESH on the agenda
For the 2013-14 Legislative Session, the Assembly has introduced 2729 bills and 179 other resolutions; and the Senate has introduced 1457 bills and 57 other resolutions.  Below is legislation of interest to our field:  

Assembly
Senate
Superintendent Tom Torlakson's office -Calendar of events

Federal Update

Message From the Deputy Assistant Secretary Libby Doggett

 

I want to congratulate my colleagues in the Office of Civil Rights for their new Civil Rights Data Collection (CRDC) which has revealed startling opportunity gaps across America.  This report, which includes data from all 97,000 schools, 16,500 school districts, and 49 million students in America is the first time the Department has collected system-wide data on school discipline, access to preschool, teacher equity, and access to college- and career-ready coursework.  Secretary Duncan and U.S. Attorney General Eric Holder released the data and four documents at a press event in March.  "The real power of the CRDC," said Duncan in his speech at J.O. Wilson Elementary School in Washington, DC, "lies not just in the numbers themselves, but in the real-world impact they can have when coupled with courage and the will to change."   

 

The data had a lot to say about our youngest learners:

�       Public preschool access not yet a reality for much of the nation: About 40% of school districts do not offer preschool programs.

�       Part-day preschool offered more often than full-day: 57% of school districts that operate public preschool programs offer only part-day preschool.

�       Limited universal access to preschool: About half of the school districts that operate public preschool programs limit access by family economic level or other categories.

�       Kindergarten retention disparities: Native-Hawaiian, other Pacific Islander, American Indian, and Native-Alaskan kindergarten students are held back a year at nearly twice the rate of white kindergarten students. Boys represent 61% of kindergarteners retained.

�       Suspension of preschool children (new for 2011-12 collection): Black children make up 18% of preschool enrollment, but 48% of preschool children suspended more than once. Boys receive more than three out of four out-of-school preschool suspensions.

"These data are providing-and will continue to provide-important markers and starting points for discussion at our Department," promised Secretary Duncan. "Our work is motivated by the belief that all students, regardless of race, gender, income, disability, and English Learner status, need and deserve a world-class education." While there is no magic bullet that will fix the opportunity gap crisis in America, the CRDC creates urgency for us to find multiple ways to address lack of preschool access and alarming news on suspensions and expulsions.  Director of Yale's Edward Zigler Center in Child Development and Social Policy Walter S. Gilliam provides guidance to help policy makers and others help reduce these disparities.

As U.S. Attorney General Eric Holder stood with Secretary Duncan, he predicted that "...America's future will be defined, and our progress determined, by the doors we open and the support we offer to our nation's young people. From bolstering early childhood education to promoting youth literacy; from increasing mentorship to reducing juvenile violence; from extending access to social services to expanding employment opportunities - I'm convinced that, so long as we work together, we'll be able to empower millions of students to pursue their dreams, to achieve their full potential, and to forge the better, brighter futures they deserve."

Of Interest

 

 

UPDATES FROM PARTNERS AND ON ISSUES

CALIFORNIA CHILD CARE COORDINATOR'S ASSOCIATION TAKES ON LEAD TO SUPPORT COMMUNICATING IMPACT OF SRR & RMR

 

In order for our Governor, the Superintendent of Public Instruction and legislators to understand the impact that the Standard Reimbursement Rate (SRR) and the Regional Market Rate (RMR) have had in regard to families being able to access early care and education providers, a template has been developed for each of you to make your own.  

 

Click here to view the template.  Where highlighted, specific information is included for San Francisco.  When you tailor this to make it relevant to your area or county, please delete reference to San Fransicso and insert your own details.  If you need this document in a Word format, email CAPPA.

 

Once you have completed your letter, fax or email to those noted below:

 

The Honorable Edmund G. Brown, Jr.                    Fax:  (916)558-3160                  

Governor, State of California

State Capitol

Sacramento, CA  95814

 

The Honorable Tom Torlakson                                 Via email: Superintendent@cde.ca.gov

State Superintendent of Public Instruction

California Department of Education (CDE)
1430 N Street
Sacramento, CA 95814

  

Assemblymember Sebastian Ridley-Thomas        Via email:  Khaim.Morton@asm.ca.gov 

Capitol Office

Room 3149

Sacramento, CA  94249

Fax:  (916)319-2154

 

To find your legislator go to:  http://findyourrep.legislature.ca.gov/
 
If you are unable to do an individual communcation but want to sign onto a general coalition response, email CAPPA.
 

A huge thank you to all that contributed to this communication!  Thank you to the California Child Care Coordinator's Association.  


CALIFORNIA FOOD POLICY ADVOCATES COALITION OPPORTUNITY
Sign-on Today in Support of Early Childhood Nutrition!

 by 

TakeAction-Icon

04.03.2014

 Now is the time to show your organization's support for a state investment in early childhood nutrition! Consider signing on to this coalition letter, which urges policymakers to invest in nutrition reimbursements for early childhood education (ECE) programs. This letter will be delivered by California Food Policy Advocates to Governor Jerry Brown, Senate Budget Chairperson Mark Leno, and Assembly Budget Chairperson Nancy Skinner on Friday, April 18th.If you would like to add your organization to this coalition letter, please send your logo to 
Elyse Homel Vitale at by  Wednesday, April 16thLearn more about ECE Nutrition Investments.  link

Questions? Contact Elyse Homel Vitale  at 510.433.1122 ext. 206

ELD LCFF Primer 

 

A New Resource to Help Strengthen Early Learning and Development in your School District

A key strategy in the overall effort to expand access to quality Early Learning and Development (ELD) services is leveraging California's new education finance model, the Local Control Funding Formula (LCFF).

Parent and community organizers, ELD providers, local First 5's, school leaders and others need to capitalize on this opportunity to encourage greater investments in ELD in all districts, which now have more flexibility than ever before to allocate funding to meet the needs of their students and community.

Today, Children Now is releasing a primer that will guide you through the ins and outs of LCFF while showing you how to use the district planning process to make a compelling case to increase the early learning services in your community that research shows improve outcomes for students in K-12 and beyond.

In addition to this comprehensive overview, the primer provides:

  • Easy to read, pull-out documents on ELD and LCFF you can bring to the next community meeting
  • Summaries of key early learning studies that will help you make the case for ELD
  • Step-by-step tips on engaging your community and school board during LCFF implementation

And our work doesn't end there. In the coming months, Children Now will alert you to key timeframes in the district budget process when you can get involved and will provide you the tools and talking points for getting ELD included in your districts' required LCFF accountability plans. We urge ELD advocates and providers to forward this email and share these materials widely to gather more support for incorporating ELD into every district's plan. Spread the word!

The Children's Movement of California  



 
 
teacher-jigsaw-puzzle.jpg
TRANSITIONAL KINDERGARTEN COALITION SIGN ON OPPORTUNITY! 

 

 In response to requests from our field to elevate our collective concerns regarding SB 837 on Transitional Kindergarten (TK), we have developed a coalition sign on opportunity for each of you to consider adding your endorsement.  Our intent is to provide this letter to Senator Steinberg later this week.  We see the evolution of the TK bill, SB 837 as a process wherein it is important to have our concerns on record.  There will be many more opportunities for all to weigh in.   
 
If you would like to add on, please email us your organization name and logo, if you have one. Below are the following partners that have signed onto this effort:

 

4C Council of Santa Clara County, Inc.

4Cs Child Care Coordinating Council

Alameda Professional Child Care Association

Bananas

Bay Area Family Child Care Providers Support Group

California Alternative Payment Program Association (CAPPA)

California Child Development Administrators Association (CCDAA)

California Head Start Association

Californians for Quality Early Learning (CQEL)

CDR-Child Development Resources

Chicano Federation of San Diego County

Child Care Links

Child Development Associates, Inc.

Children's Council of San Francisco

Children's Paradise Inc.

Choices for Children

Choices for Children/CDI

Community Action Partnership of San Luis Obispo

Community Child Care Council (4C's) of Alameda County

 

Community Resources for Children

Davis Street Family Resource Center

Del Norte Child Care Council

Drew Child Development Corporation

Family Child Care Association of San Francisco

Family Child Care in California

Family Child Education Services

Go Kids, Inc.

Infant/Child Enrichment Services, Inc.

Kids Kare Schools

Marin Child Care Council

North Coast Opportunities (NCO)

Parent Voices

Santa Cruz County Parents Association

Sierra Nevada Children's Services

Supportive Services, Inc.

The Childs-pace Foundation, Inc

Valley Oak Children's Services

WuYee Children's Services

YMCA Childcare Resource Service

 


   See the coalition letter Here.

  

 

 

CDE Updates

 

 

SAVE THE DATE!


Holly J. Mitchell CAPPA Training:  May Revise, Politics, and Messaging

 

Date: May 20, 2014

Location: Tsakopoulos Library Galleria, Sacramento, CA

Join us for an interactive discussion on current legislation, politics and trends and a discussion on the May Revise and potential program impacts.  
In response to requests to support conversations on issues that are facing our field, we are changing up our May training.  There will be breaking information from the experts on what the Governor has proposed in his May Revise, updates on legislation, and updates from CDE.  

 

Senator Holly Mitchell will be facilitating a conversation on child care, poverty, and if we as a field are talking in a way that resonates with legislators.  We anticipate a very interactive conversation, and anticipate this event will sell out.   

 

Confirmed Presenters:

  • Senator Holly Mitchell
  • Debra McMannis, Director, Early Education and Support Division, CDE 
  • Carolyn Chu, Fiscal & Policy Analyst, Child Care and Early Education, Legislative Analyst's Office
  • California Budget Project  
  • Jessica Holmes, Finance Budget Analyst, Education Systems Unit, Department of Finance  
  • Kim Kruckel, Executive Director, Child Care Law Center
  • Mike Herald, Legislative Advocate, Western Center on Law and Poverty 

Register Here.

 

Interested in becoming an event sponsor?  Click Here for more information.

 




 

 

Back by Popular Demand!

The Child Development Webinar Series- ALL NEW FOR 2014!   


  

The CAPPA Children's Foundation has developed an all NEW series of cutting edge trainings for 2014- all for one low price per center or program location. There is no limit to the number of people from your center who can attend the webinar series and be connected without ever leaving your location. This is a fabulous opportunity to train your ENTIRE staff and secure professional credit hours on the most requested child care topics for 2014 at an affordable price in an incredibly convenient format. 

 

April 2014 Webinar: The ABCs of Advocacy in Early Education 

During this webinar, you will find the information and encouragement you need to get involved and have
your voice heard in our state's decision making process and become a champion for our earliest learners!
Find out what questions to ask, and ways you can get involved. Information will be shared on the current
budget situation, budget and legislative processes and opportunities and challenges we face.

 

Click Here to see more details and to register for the all new 2014 series.  

 

The 2010, 2011, 2012 & 2013 series are still available for purchase. Please email CAPPA, for more information.

 

 

 

RCC

Support Our Field and Communications.  
Become a Rebuilding Child Care Partner!

 

In 2010 the emergence of our Monday morning e-Newsletter came into existence as a response to requests from our field.  Due to urging from our field, we have continued to support our field with this communication dedicated to sharing information and opportunities where we can all come together to support each other, our programs, working families and California's children.   


Our weekly (50 times per year) Monday morning distribution is to more than 3,200 contractors, legislators and their staffs', centers, parents, providers, and state and federal advocates strong.  Share your information and/or advertise in our weekly Rebuilding Child Care Updates.   

If you are interested in supporting or advertising in Rebuilding Child Care, learn more HERE.  If you would like to submit materials, please contact CAPPA

 

Please also consider making a donation to CAPPA, the CAPPA Children's Foundation and REBUILDING CHILD CAREYour generous gifts of support, past and future, are greatly valued as serious investments in furthering the work we do for working families.   

 

Donate Here to pay securely through Pay Pal.  You can also  Click Here to fill out the Donation Form and send it in.

 

The Children's Foundation is a non-profit organization (501(c)3), Taxpayer Identification Number is 03-0521444. Your generous donation is tax deductible.

 

 

 

 

Job Opportunities:

 

Does your organization have a job opening you would like to add here. Please contact CAPPA.

 

 

 

 

 

Interested in Becoming a Member of CAPPA?   

Click Here to Learn More!