Legislative Update: July 27, 2007
July 27, 2007
Meeting with Channell Wilkins
This week I participated on a conference call with the Director of the Office of Head Start, Channell Wilkins. I wanted to share with you some of my notes from the call. I thought it was pretty interesting and should give us a few things to think about as we prepare for life after the Head Start reauthorization.
Federal Reviews
Channell met with federal staff in Chicago this week. He said that the main focus was to ensure consistency across all regions. As an example, he said that the same process should be used in all aspects of a review including the notice of 30 days and the specific paper work requested ahead of time.
He suggested that more training is needed of federal team leaders and team members. Right now, there is a shortage of well qualified review team members. They are looking to recruit folks. They have a number of reviews coming up.
Writing the Regulations
He plans to invite all key stakeholders to the table to help draft regulations once the reauthorization legislation passes.
While he has had only preliminary discussions with his staff there is quite a bit of concern over the conversion language. He said that whatever regulations come out on conversion, programs would still be required to serve a large percentage of 3 and 4 years olds before they could apply to serve younger children. He said he didn't want programs to simply start serving younger children because there is a larger pool of younger children needing services.
As you may recall there is some language in the Head Start bill that eliminates the Regional T/TA structure and moves instead to a state T/TA structure. He did not think state associations should be the recipient of these funds, and many associations expressed strong reservations about those funds going to collaboration offices. However, he intends to draft regulations that will give state associations a seat at the table in determining which entity would receive the funding.
Immigration
I asked Channell about the concerns many programs in WA have about the recent immigration raids. He was hesitant to get the Office of Head Start involved in this issue, but reaffirmed that Head Start programs are not required to ask about citizenship status.
Parent Transportation In-Kind
I brought up the concerns expressed by programs in WA regarding the new prohibition on the parent in-kind match. I mentioned that I think that the policy is on shaky legal grounds and that programs are taking a big hit. He seemed interested in assisting programs through waivers and said he would speak with their legal counsel about the matter. Other state associations expressed similar concerns. In response, I am trying to override the Office of Head Start through the reauthorization legislation by reinstituting the parent transportation in-kind match in the final language.
Higher Education
I asked Channell about what the Office of Head Start would be doing to move teachers to a BA degree as will be required in the reauthorization. I mentioned that in WA we are interested in putting together a higher education roundtable. Other states are also thinking about how to put together similar efforts. In MA the State Association worked with other stakeholders to come up with specific criteria for what constitutes a qualified early education teacher. Channell said that at the moment they will be trying to offer more web based opportunities
Pre-K Summit
NHSA, the Office of Head Start, and Pre-K Now will hold a summit on pre-k in January that will be attached to the NHSA Leadership Institute. No date is available yet, but our state should be prepared at that time to put forth our Early Care for All legislation or to at least have our vision well thought out. There will be opportunities for State Associations to participate.
Major Priorities
Channell laid out two specific priorities for the Office of Head Start following the reauthorization:
- Strengthening the Monitoring System. He wants to really improve the system for programs, but also have a tool that would make the need for a quality rating system and additional state monitoring tools unnecessary. He stressed his immediate interest in conducting more classroom observation.
- Mixed Income Classrooms. He believes that Head Start should not only blend and coordinate with state pre-k programs, but that the classrooms should be mixed income. He said that he believes that low-income children would benefit from being in a classroom with children of higher incomes, as would parents. There was a lot of talk about the success of the Hope VI housing program as an example.
Head Start Reauthorization Still Being Worked On
The Head Start reauthorization legislation is still being "pre-conferenced." This a complicated way of saying that the top 3 or 4 key offices are trying to come to basic agreement on the big issues before the full conference committee meets. There is still a chance that a final bill could be completed before the August recess. This means that it would be completed by the end of next week. I have spent considerable time on the Head Start reauthorization recently and have conveyed our specific concerns to our entire congressional delegations and have been on the phone with Murray's office most of the week. From the key aides I have spoken to there are still 3 major issues:
- Competition. There is still a major debate about whether to go with the House panel language vs. the Senate "unresolved deficiency" language. I have communicated to everyone who will listen that we support the Senate language. The House language would allow the Bush Administration to appoint a panel to make recommendations to the Secretary regarding when a program would have to compete and when they would receive priority status. While the concept may have some merit, the idea of the Administration appointing folks to provide recommendations on such a critical topic does not seem to be in our best interest. However, it seems clear to me that I need to give the staff at least something beyond our support for the Senate language. So please put your thoughts together and let me know other criteria HHS should consider beyond the PRISM in determining priority status. I would need this information no later than Monday for us to really have any impact on this conversation. So far I received some comments from Joan, Jill, and Charles but could use some more feedback.
- 130%. House members are not keen on the 130% nor are most of the Republican members in both parties. Senate staff have asked for our help in finding a middle ground between the House and Senate language. Please send me your thoughts on how programs could ensure and verify that they would still serve the neediest families first, even if the guidelines moved to 130%. I have gotten some good feedback from folks suggesting a point system be required. Again please get this to me ASAP.
- Policy Council. As in past updates the policy council remains in trouble. I have been coordinating with NHSA in an effort to mobilize folks and build unlikely coalition allies as well as by talking to staff on the Hill. Senator Murray's office is well aware of the issue and has pledged to do all they can to help maintain shared governance. I am not sure calls to her office are necessary, but if you have some parents interested in this issue I would suggest they contact their House member. They should continue to stress the importance of shared governance and their support for the House language.
House Passes Funding Bill
Last week the House passed the Labor HHS funding bill. The bill would provide Head Start with a $75 million increase. The bill did not pass with enough votes to override an expected veto from President Bush. However, the override vote will likely be very close. Already some moderate Republicans like Congressman Chris Shays (R-CT) have stated that they may change their minds and support the override. The Senate version of the Labor HHS bill has not gone to the floor and will not likely go to the floor in the short term.
Children's Health Care
The Senate Finance Committee approved the children's health care bill on Thursday. The bill would expand health coverage to over 9 million children by placing a 45 cent tax on tobacco. The bill is expected to be voted on in the full Senate on Monday. Senator Maria Cantwell, who sits on the committee, voted in favor of the legislation. It might be nice to give her office a call and thank her for voting for this landmark legislation.
State Side
We could still use some feedback on our 2008 draft advocacy goals. Please find attached to this document the draft advocacy goals. Please get feedback to me no later than Tuesday July 31st.