Murray Comes Through for Kids; Senate Labor HHS Committee Provides $989 million for Head Start

On July 27th, the Senate Labor HHS appropriations subcommittee, of which Senator Patty Murray (D-WA) is a member, voted to support major investments in early learning including a $989 million increase for Head Start. The full committee will mark up the bill on Thursday. The funding will be used to maintain the increases in the number of children served as a result of the Recovery Act. Nationwide more than 60,000 Head Start children are being served with recovery act funds, and 1,034 of those children live in Washington State. This expansion of much-needed services to low-income families resulted in 162 jobs being created statewide.

The Senate Labor HHS bill also included a $1 billion increase in child care assistance to support low income families and $300 million to start a new early childhood fund that states can use to improve early education standards and practices, build an effective early childhood workforce, and improve the school readiness of young children.

Click here for the full News Release

Support Head Start: Write a Letter to Your Legislators

The National Head Start Association has put together an easy way to send a message to your Senators and Representative in Washington DC.  We need your voices to let them know how important it is to maintain funding for Head Start and Early Head Start.  Without this, we may lose services to more than a thousand children and families in Washington.

Click here to send your message!

Child Care Hearings June 22-26 - We need your voice!

Last year the Early Learning Action Alliance, a coalition of more than 40 state wide organizations, partnered with Rep. Ruth Kagi (D-Shoreline) to fix the system and eliminate the red tape, while providing much needed stability for the most at-risk kids. After a long legislative session in which parents and providers testified at several hearings, House bill 3141 was signed into law by Governor Gregoire. The new law directs the Department of Early Learning (DEL) to establish and implement policies in Working Connections Child Care to promote stability and quality of care for children. Families with kids enrolled in Head Start, Early Head Start, and ECEAP, and also receiving a child care subsidy, are to receive 12-month subsidy authorizations.

But there’s a catch. DEL must decide which circumstances must change in order for families to have to go through a full eligibility redetermination sooner than 12 months. DEL has put out draft rules and they initially answer the question of which circumstances would trigger an eligibility redetermination by simply saying “all of them.”  If a family’s income changes even slightly, a redetermination process would need to take place; if they lost their job temporarily, the family would have to go through a redetermination process; and even the most at-risk, homeless and foster care families, would have to go through regular redeterminations. This is no change from the status quo. We still have an opportunity to change the rules before they are final. If we are going to create more stability for kids and less red tape for families and providers we need DEL to put rules in place that will move the system forward, not leave existing obstacles and inefficiencies in place.

• Click Here for Key Messages and More Info (pdf)

We are urging everyone to take two critical steps to help us fix the child care system so low income moms can provide stable child care to their children.

1. Send an e-mail to the Department of Early Learning with your thoughts on the proposed child care subsidy rules.

2. Go to the public hearings and tell them what you think. The Department of Early Learning will hold public hearings on the following dates/locations:

Military Families benefit from Head Start and ECEAP

With Memorial Day fast approaching, the Washington State Association of Head Start and ECEAP (WSA) would like to offer our deepest gratitude to our military and veterans families for their service to our country. Today, we wanted to let the larger community know that Head Start and ECEAP programs are welcoming of military and veteran families and provide unique services and support.

In February 2008 the Department of Health and Human Services made it is easier for military families to enroll their children in the Head Start program. The new eligibility rules require that certain types of pay and allowances to members of the uniformed services not be counted as income for purposes of determining Head Start eligibility.

• Click here for News release

Speak out on proposed child care subsidy rules!

The Department of Early Learning (DEL) has posted their draft rules in order to meet the changes mandated by House Bill 3141 (Child Care Subsidy Reform Bill).  As you recall, the bill allows families with children enrolled in ECEAP, Head Start, and Early Head Start and also receiving a child care subsidy to maintain their subsidy for a full twelve months. However, the bill states that a family could have to go through a redetermination/reauthorization if a change in circumstances requires one.  The Department of Early Learning is empowered to define the appropriate circumstances that would need to change in order for parents to be required to go through a redetermination.  DEL's draft rules make two positive changes.  First, the entire family will be eligible for the 12-month determination, even if only one child is in ECEAP/HS/EHS.  Second, DEL created a way to track the child through the process to determine the benefits of continuity of care.

Unfortunately, the draft regulations proposed by DEL are very narrow in scope and would leave in place many of the barriers and trip wires that make the current system frustrating for both providers and parents.  They don’t provide for any flexibility and seem to imply that any change in circumstances would result in a family losing their subsidy.  In its current form it is not a whole a lot better than the status quo.  We can do better than this!  We want a system that is child focused, less bureaucratic, and designed to establish real continuity of care for some of the most at-risk kids in Washington.

Several weeks ago the Early Learning Action Alliance (of which WSA is a member) met with top staff at DEL.  We proposed several common sense reforms to the system that we thought that the new rules should include. The Early Learning Action Alliance proposed:

• That if a family’s income rose or decreased by $250 a month or less than the family would not have to go through a full redetermination. This would address minor fluctuations in wages, hours, and pay that any family needs to contend with.

• That families be allowed to maintain their subsidies if they lost their job and participated in a job search activity for up to 6 months. Right now you get about 1 month and you are cut off.  This proposal would provide some time for parents to find a job—especially in light of high unemployment rates.

• Finally, that homeless and foster care families served by ECEAP, Head Start, and Early Head Start receiving child care subsidies be covered for the full 12 months. These families already face incredible instability. We should do all we can to create a less chaotic situation.

DEL has set up two opportunities for the Head Start and ECEAP communities to respond their draft rules.

1. You can e-mail your thoughts to Rules@del.wa.gov.  Share with them some of the problems you have been experiencing as a provider/parent/staff and suggest ways for DEL to improve upon their proposed rules (see above for example of ways to make the rules stronger).
2. You can come to the publicly scheduled hearings that will take place the week of June 21st.  The hearing dates and places are available here.
   

WSA Issue Brief on "Pre-K to 3"

Ever wondered what folks mean when they talk about "Pre-K-3 Alignment" in early learning?  Washington State is at the forefront of this effort, with programs like the Bremerton School District's. Pre-K to 3 is an approach to education that focuses on the foundational learning of children ages three to eight years of age. In this model, early learning providers, such as Head Start and state pre-schools, partner with local school districts to provide a continuum of educational services.

For WSA's short issue brief that outlines the basics of the Pre-K to 3rd Grade concept, click here.

Head Start founder weighs in on Impact Study

In this critique of the National Impact Study, Dr. Edward Zigler, regarded as one of the founders of Head Start, argues that the study did in fact demonstrate that Head Start got children ready for school as advertised.  Zigler challenges some of the methodology of the study and pushes back against the idea that the study proves Head Start does not work. Quite the contrary says Zigler.  But most importantly, Zigler suggests that the study is a wake-up call to Head Start programs.  He proposes several reforms, including requiring BA teachers, smaller teacher to child ratios, more intensive home visiting services, and stronger accountability.

How are we doing?

We're currently surveying our members (parents, staff and directors of HS/ECEAP/EHS/MS/AIAN) to get a sense of how we're doing and how we can improve our communication and services.  Click here to answer the short survey.

WSTC Summer Institute coming up!

We’ve planned a great Summer Institute this year, thanks to the input of our members and a lot of high-quality trainers.  Last year's event had fabulous reviews, and we’re offering even more in 2010! 

This year’s courses and trainers include:

• The Essence of Family Engagement: Exploring Our Philosophy and Practice in Building Relationships (Deborah Northern, M.Ed, PSESD)

• Challenging Behaviors in Young Children (Rachel Sperry, MSW, DECI/Kaplan)

• Math & Science within an Ecology of Children & Childhood (Tom Drummond, M. Ed, N. Seattle CC)

• Today’s Most Prevalent Spectrum Disorders: Their Differences, Similarities, and Projected Outcomes (Diane Davis, MA)

• Home Visiting 201 – Early Head Start (Meagan Anderson Pira/Pat Brinkman, WA State-based T/TA Office)

• Leadership, Coaching & Organizational Effectiveness (Tracy Flynn, M.Ed)

• CLASS –Observer Training (Annette Dieker, M.A., WA State-based T/TA Office)
  
  

Click here for more information on all of our courses, trainers, and registration.

A special thanks to the Washington State-based T/TA Office for their sponsorship of CLASS and Home Visiting 201, and to Kaplan and the Devereux Early Childhood Initiative for making the Challenging Behaviors training possible.

Head Start/Early Head Start Budget at Risk

Our federal elected officials are working on the budget right now, and there is a real concern that they will not maintain the current levels for Head Start and Early Head Start.  Due to the economic recovery package last yaer, Washington programs were able to serve more than 200 additional children in Head Start, and more than 800 new children and pregnant women in Early Head Start.   These are great gains, but we have many more children who need help - well over 3500 children in Washington are on the waiting list for these pre-school services, and even after the increases last year we're still serving less than 10% of the eligible children in Early Head Start.

And now these gains are at risk, as Congress works to find funding for many competing programs.   If  Congress does not provide Head Start/EHS with an increase of $989 million this year more than 1000 low income children in WA and 64,000 kids nation wide will lose high quality early learning services.

Want to help? Contact Congress now at (202) 224-3121, or click here and scroll down to find direct numbers and websites for all our Washington State Senators and Representatives.

We're on Facebook

Yes, we've finally entered the 21st Century, with our own WSA Head Start & ECEAP Facebook page.  Click below and "like" us to get regular updates on issues affecting our families and programs, and notices about upcoming events and training opportunities..

Meet our new sponsor

Many thanks go to Discount School Supplies, which is a brand new sponsor of our 2010 Parent Ambassadors Program. 

Click on their logo to see their website, and click here to read more info about Discount School Supplies and check out all our other sponsors!

We're on the Move!

As of Friday, April 23, WSA/WSTC will be in its new location - Bellevue, WA.  Come visit us! 

Letter to WSA Members

Joel Ryan, Executive Director of WSA, wrote a letter updating our members on:

• The state budget
• State legislative accomplishments in 2010
• Upcoming advocacy efforts on the federal level
• New training events
• WSA's impending move to Bellevue

Click here for the whole thing! (pdf)

State Legislative Update

Several major early learning bills were passed and signed by the Governor during the 2010 session through the hard work and persistence of ECEAP and Head Start parents, staff directors and friends. Click here for a more detailed summary and timeline of what passed.

2731-ECEAP Entitlement
This bill protects ECEAP funding and slowly phases in funding to serve all eligible children by the 2018-2019 program year.

6759-Early Learning Planning
Beginning April 1, 2010 OSPI with assistance from DEL shall convene a work group to develop a comprehensive plan for a voluntary program of early learning.

2867-Birth to 3 Planning
The bill requires DEL in collaboration with Thrive by Five and ELAC to put together a birth to 3 plan and make recommendations to the legislature and Governor by December 1, 2010.

3141-Child Care Subsidy Reform
The bill changes the authorization period for families enrolled in ECEAP, Head Start, and Early Head Start programs and receiving working connections child care to 12 months.. Families would only have to go through a reauthorization if their circumstances change (still to be determined).

April Webinars - Family Engagement & Fetal Alcohol Syndrome

We have two webinars coming up in April.

On April 20 we'll have a 'Virtual Cluster Meeting' for staff who work with parents.  Across the region our Head Start and ECEAP programs have developed great ideas and systems for getting and keeping families engaged, but staff are often working in a vacuum, with little contact with their counterparts in other programs. This virtual cluster meeting is designed to kickstart that connection and information sharing process, and will include both the 2-hour webinar discussion and the establishment of an ongoing online community for staff who work with families to continue to share ideas and resources.

On April 20 and May 3 we'll have a 2-part webinar on Fetal Alcohol Syndrome. Many children with Fetal Alcohol Syndrome (FAS) go undiagnosed. They also exhibit characteristics and behaviors similar to those in children with autism. How do you differentiate between the two disorders? What are realistic social/emotional and academic expectations for children on the FAS spectrum? What strategies do you use with them? How do you discuss your concerns with parents?

Click here for more information, and links to the flyers and online registration.

Another Victory for Families and Children - Subsidy Reform Signed

On April 1 Governor Gregoire signed another bill we've been working hard on - HB3141, which will streamline the child care subsidy system, allowing parents to maintain their eligibility status for 12 months starting with Head Start, Early Head Start, and ECEAP families. This change would establish greater stability for children and families and lead to administrative savings.

Click here for a great article describing the bill.  Click here to see the bill's text prior to the Governor's partial veto (our section wasn't vetoed).

Amazing Legislative Successes for ECEAP and Head Start Families

The ECEAP and Head Start Community were very busy down in Olympia this year, and we're seeing all our advocacy and hard work pay off! 

On March 30, Governor Gregoire came up to Auburn High School to sign into law a number of early learning and K-12 bills, including HB 2731, which will enable all eligible children to enroll in ECEAP by 2018.  Right now we have thousands of children on waiting lists in Washington - this is a great step forward!

Governor Gregoire also signed SB6759, which will study the future of the pre-k system in Washington, and HB 2867, which will study issues around Birth-age 3.

Many thanks to all our parents, staff, directors and friends who talked to their legislators and the governor in support of ECEAP, and special thanks to the WSA Parent Ambassadors, who worked so hard and testified so often.

Parent Ambassador Coordinators Cecily Jenkins and Kylee Allen with Governor Gregoire at the signing ceremony.

Over 400 at WSA Advocacy Day!

We had our biggest WSA Advocacy Day ever on February 18, 2010.  Over 400 ECEAP, Head Start, and Early Head Start folks came together to talk about the importance of  ECEAP, early learning and child care subsidies for our families.

Check out the Granger School District's pictures and experiences of the event on the WSA blog, and click here to see a great video from Snohomish County ECEAP (thanks to Sarah Kishpaugh!.

Check out April's Success Story on the WSA Blog!

April Ritter, one of our 2010 Parent Ambassadors and mother of two daughters who have gone through ECEAP and Head Start, tells her great success story at the WSA Blog.  Click below to read and watch her video!

ECEAP Waitlists Up 263% in Last Two Years

WSA issued a news release today that highlights the huge increase in the need for ECEAP services during this economic downturn, and calls for the Legislature to protect ECEAP funding in this year's budget.

DEL reported last week that there are 3,540 children on ECEAP waiting lists, unable to enroll due to limited funding. In December 2007, before the economic downturn, we had just 1,346 children waiting to get into ECEAP – this means an incredible 263% increase in just two years.

Waiting List Data from Department of Early Learning

• Waiting List December 2009: 3,540 children (1,351 4-year-olds and 2,189 3-year-olds)
• Waiting List December 2008: 2,281 children
• Waiting List December 2007: 1,346 children

Where are things right now?
Governor Gregoire in her “all cuts” budget proposed eliminating ECEAP services for about 1500 to 1600 children. However, in her “book 2” budget proposal which included revenue to offset some of the cuts proposed, the Governor would restore all ECEAP funding at last year’s level.

The fate of ECEAP children now heads to the House and Senate Ways and Means Committee which will put together their own budget proposals in the next few weeks. While we were pleased that the Governor’s latest budget proposal would not cut ECEAP, we do know that ECEAP continues to be on the chopping block due to the current dismal budget situation plaguing our state.

Click here to find your legislators, and call or send them an email in support of ECEAP funding!

• Click here for the News Release
  

Governor's All-Cuts Budget Devastating for Children

On Wednesday Dec. 9th Governor Gregoire released her all-cuts version of the 2009-11 supplemental budget, and it is devastating for children and families.

The Governor does not support this budget – she will be releasing another version of her budget proposal in early January that reduces many of these cuts and includes revenue from various sources, but we do not have any details of what that might include yet.

Among the cuts would be elimination of all 3-year olds from ECEAP (a 20% cut) and a cut of 63% of families entering the Working Connections Child Care program every month.  For more information, see our brief legislative update.

• 12-9-09 Q13 FOX - State Budget Impact On Children, Families

ECEAP Waiting Lists at Record Highs - WSA calls for Gov. Gregoire to protect ECEAP in budget

Department of Early Learning has just released their data on waiting lists for ECEAP programs, and sadly we are seeing huge increases in demand.  As more and more families lose jobs and live in poverty, the need for ECEAP has never been greater.  WSA has called for Gov. Gregoire to protect ECEAP and the families it serves during this very difficult time.

Right now, there are 3,294 3- and 4-year-old low income children waiting for a chance to get into ECEAP, but they cannot enroll due to the state budget crisis. These new numbers are more than 50 percent higher than at the same point last year.  For more information and some specific waitlist information from programs around the state, click on the news release below.

• WSA News Release on ECEAP Waitlists 11-30-09 (pdf)

ECEAP in the news - Poverty increasing, Governor's budget being developed

As poverty increases in Washington, WSA is encouraging Governor Gregoire to protect ECEAP funding in her 2009-2011 supplemental budget proposal.  ECEAP is often the only safety net for the most vulnerable families in our state, and we're seeing increased levels of need:

• Last year, 32% of ECEAP children were from families with an annual income of $10,000 or less. This year, 41% are at this level
• At enrollment, 33% of families were on food stamps last year and 45% this year.
• Last year, 33% of children were not up-to-date on medical exams at enrollment. This year, it is 47%.
• Last year, 58% of children needed a dental exam. This year, 64% need these.
  The number of children who are fully immunized declined from 94% to 91%.

KIRO-TV ran a great story about ECEAP funding and this increased need for services:

• 11-12-09 KIRO-TV - New Effort To Save State's 'Head Start' Program

Click here for the WSA News Release.

Early Learning Plan Feedback Needed

Our state is developing a long-term "Early Learning Plan" that would guide our legislative and agency early learning policy for the next 10 years.  The process is moving very quickly, and we encourage our ECEAP/Head Start families and staff to sign up as a 'key communicator' and provide feedback to the partners in this effort - Department of Early Learning, OSPI and Thrive by Five.

There is also a more near-term effort to provide recommendations to Governor Gregoire on what early learning policies and programs should be prioritized for this 2010 legislative session.

You can click on the links below and see what's being proposed.  You can send feedback via those survey links, or you can email us and we'll pass it along.   We've shared our own thoughts about what's missing (like subsidy reform!), but we need you to share your thoughts too.

• Early Learning Plan Webpage
• Become a “Key Communicator”

• Draft Vision, Principles, Outcomes and Strategies
  • Give your feedback on the Early Learning Plan document

• Draft near-term recommendations to the Governor
  • Click here to give your feedback on the near-term priorities

 There is a very short time frame for comments on the Governor’s priorities, since that report is due December 1.  Please make sure DEL hears from as many ECEAP/Head Start folks as possible!

There are also community meetings happening all across the state to discuss the Early Learning Plan - Click here for DEL's event calendar.  You’ll note that on November 10th there will be meetings in all the ESDs around the state.  We encourage everyone to attend those meetings.

State agencies make budget recommendations

State agencies have been asked to identify cuts in the budget for the 2009-11 supplemental budget, in preparation for the Governor's budget proposal that will come out in December

Some of the suggestions are of great concern to our ECEAP and Head Start community, including:  

DEL – ( memo from Kate Verville, Chief Operating Officer to Victor Moore, Director of OFM)– DEL was asked to identify $1.936 mil in reductions

• Reduction of state funding to ECEAP ($761k), which would result in the elimination of 100 ECEAP slots.
• Elimination of state funding for the Career and Wage Ladder ($750k)
• Reduction of state funding to Child Care Resource and Referral Network ($425k)
• The letter also notes an “offsetting error” in the ECEAP budget bill proviso amount in fiscal years 2010 and 2011, stating that the amount was $818,000 too high.

DSHS – (Three documents: memo from Sec. Dreyfus to DSHS staff, memo from Doug Porter to HRSA staff, and a table with identified reduction options). These include:

• Cutting Apple Health eligibility from 300% FPL to 205% FPL (to which DSHS notes, ‘…we will still be able to leverage federal SCHIP funds for our Medicaid children’s enrollment’) – this would impact kids in both the CHIP and CHP programs
• Eliminating funding for medical interpreters
• Eliminating Maternity Support Services
• And others impacting families…

We encourage everyone to contact the Governor to urge her not to cut ECEAP and other programs that help low-income families during the time that the help is needed most.   We'll be sending out more information about this next week.

2010 WSA Advocacy Goals

The WSA board of directors met last week to finalize our advocacy goals for the 2010 legislative session.  This year in Olympia we will be advocating to:

• Maintain investments in the Early Childhood Education and Assistance Program (ECEAP)

• Reform components of the existing child care subsidies program so that low-income parents can give their children the continuity of care they need.

• Include Voluntary universal preschool for three- and four-year-olds in an expanded definition of basic education. The program should be phased-in, beginning with targeted interventions and expanded to ensure that all children are school ready.

• Design an early learning system that provides opportunities for all children pre-natal to age 8, their families, and early learning caregivers and educators.

A more detailed version of the advocacy goals (including our federal advocacy goals) is below, along with contact links for your state legislators.

Now is the time--especially ECEAP directors, staff, and parents--to start setting up meetings with your state lawmakers to talk to them about our advocacy goals. It's also a great opportunity to invite them to visit your program while they are still at home.  If you need some help or have any questions feel free to contact us at (253) 373-9100. Please let us know how your meeting goes and if there anything that WSA needs to do to follow up.

• State Senate and House Roster (click on your member's name to get to his or her website, local office information, etc.)

• If you don't know your legislators, click here and go to the "Find your Legislator" tab.

• 2010 WSA Advocacy Goals (pdf)

Visit our New WSA Blog

We've started a brand new WSA Blog, to create a place where folks in our community can discuss hot issues, ask questions and share information with us and with each other. 

Every week or two we'll be posting about an issue or question of importance to ECEAP, Head Start and Early Head Start programs and families. We invite everyone to comment and share your thoughts and ideas, and if you would like to 'guest blog' with your own topic, or if you have an idea for a topic that might be interesting to our members, send Joel or Katy an email.

Joel's first post is on Medicaid - a very hot topic given the current Health Care Reform debate!  Check it out and share your thoughts and experiences. 

You can also always find the blog by hitting the "Check out the WSA Blog" button in the left column of this page.

We need your subsidy stories

As we approach the 2010 Legislative session and the child care subsidy system is once again on the agenda, we're interested in hearing directly from folks who use it.  Your stories will be used as we talk to legislators, DEL and DSHS about possible changes that will benefit families, providers, and taxpayers.

We’re looking for your first-hand experiences of challenges and barriers in working with the child care subsidy system, either as a parent/guardian, or a provider of subsidized care.

Click here to share your story, and help us make the subsidy system work for everyone involved. 

You also might be interested in the preliminary results of our Child Care Subsidy Provider Survey, which we conducted along with other early learning partners.  We will soon have the final report on that survey, but in the meantime, click below for a pdf version of the preliminary results powerpoint presentation:

• Child Care Subsidy Provider Survey - preliminary results ppt (pdf)

Head Start & Early Childhood Research Presentation

Dr. Ben Allen, the research director at the National Head Start Association, joined us for a WSA member conference call 7/24/09 and updated us on the latest research in Head Start and other early learning programs nationwide.  A pdf version of his powerpoint presentation can be found below.

• NHSA Early Learning Research powerpoint (pdf)
  

FEDERAL EARLY CHILDHOOD INFO UPDATE

There are many bills moving in the US Congress that may affect early learning, including Rep. McDermott's Early Support for Families Act, the Education Begins at Home Act, and several bills related to the Child Care Development Block Grant. 

• Click here for a PDF summary of pending federal bills and their status.
  

What's New with WSA plus bonus Legislative Update!

In a letter to WSA members and friends, Joel Ryan shared some of our goals for the Association for the next few months, our upcoming events, and a brief recap of our successes in the last state legislative session and our goals for Washington DC.

• Click here for a PDF of Joel's letter to WSA members

LEGISLATIVE UPDATE 05/11/09 - Obama Budget Update

President Obama’s Budget Includes Funding for New Investments for Early Learning
President Obama has announced his detailed budget for 2010. The budget includes only a modest increase of $122 million for Head Start, but includes funding for several new investments. His budget provides $123 million for the creation of a new home visiting fund, $300 million for an Early Learning Challenge fund to support states in their efforts to raise the quality and standards of child care, and $500 million out of Title I funding for early learning grants. Congress will now start work on crafting their own specific budget proposals for the 2010 fiscal year.

'JUST FOR PARENTS' NEWSLETTERS

Our WSA Parent Ambassadors have been doing amazing work this year, testifying in Olympia, contacting their legislators both here and in Washington DC, doing trainings in their own communities, and inspiring other parents to advocate for themselves and their families. And even with all that, they have time to write a regular newsletter for Head Start/ECEAP/Early Head Start Parents!

Click here for links to printable versions of  the Just for Parents newsletters and other useful links for parents.

New Toll Free number to contact your Congressman and Senators!

The National Head Start Association (NHSA) has created a toll-free number that can be used to reach your members of Congress. The new, toll-free number is
(888) 622-NHSA (6472). Calling this number will connect you directly to the Capitol Hill Operator, who can then transfer you to your elected officials. Communicating with your members of Congress and expressing your policy priorities keeps them accountable to you and is an invaluable way to advocate for Head Start!

Ask your elected officials whether they support full funding for Head Start. Call for their support of the inclusion of funding for Head Start as part of an economic recovery package, supported by the Coalition on Human Needs. Educate them on where your program stands as it struggles to provide quality care on a reduced budget. Call now!