Ensure that children have a quality early learning experience by restoring quality language to the pre-kindergarten expansion.

At this time, the Assembly one-house budget does not include the quality language surrounding the pre-kindergarten expansion. The New York Senate does not include expansion at all.  When originally proposed by the Governor, the programs were all intended to be high-quality.  The early care and learning community is concerned that if the expansion goes forward without specifically prescribing quality, there will be no way for quality to be measured or for a quality rating and improvement system to ever be taken up.

                                                                                            

Click here to contact: New York State Assembly Budget Leaders

Click here to contact: New York State Senate Budget Leaders

Thank you for taking action!

Sincerely,

Jessica

Jessica Klos Shapiro

Policy Associate

(518) 690-4217 ex. 32

Do your lawmakers know your budget priorities?

With one house budget bills due for negotiation early next week and hopes that a budget is passed before the legislature leaves Albany for recess on March 21, time is running out to tell your legislators what children, families and CCR&Rs need in this year’s New York State budget.

At the following link you will find some materials that will be helpful for any visits that you have planned: http://www.earlycareandlearning.org/documents/WinningBeginningWednesday.htm

If you have already seen your lawmaker, whether in Albany or at home in the district, please add that information to attached sheet and send it back as soon as possible. We want to ensure that all lawmakers are reached statewide.

Thank you!

Sincerely,

Jessica

Jessica Klos Shapiro

Policy Associate

(518) 690-4217 ex. 32

Five stars set the bar for early education

Contact: Mary Stalker

Director of Communications, Research & Development

518-690-4217 ext 22

mstalker@earlycareandlearning.org

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE:

2/26/2013

Five stars set the bar for early education

(Albany, New York)   Early care and education has been a much talked about issue in the last few weeks. We have Governor Cuomo and President Obama to thank for that. The governor, in his state of the state address and the president, in his state of the union address both addressed the benefits of, and need for, early education. And they both added the caveat that it must be of high quality. Quality, however, is not easy to identify, and it’s even more complicated to measure. New York has a mechanism in place to do this, but it’s not being fully utilized.

The Early Care & Learning Council has released a paper that explores quality rating and improvement systems for early care and education. The paper, A Statewide Quality Rating and Improvement System: The Case forNew York examines quality rating and improvement systems across the United States and New York’s own system, QUALITYstarsNY. The paper looks at how other states have implemented and financially supported quality rating and improvement systems.

The author’s recommendation is that QUALITYstarsNY be fully implemented and funded by New York State. Assemblywoman Donna Lupardo of the 123^rd District agrees, "At a time when both the Governor and the President are highlighting the importance of high quality early learning, it's important that New York State has a mechanism to measure quality. As the Chair of the Children and Families Committee in the Assembly, I understand the need for our children to receive high quality care from their earliest days in order to be prepared for school, life and the global economy.  I support the recommendation of this paper."

QUALITYstarsNY is a comprehensive tested system that assesses, rates and improves early care and education. QUALITYstarsNY is a 5 star system; on the face of it, it is similar to hotel star rating. However it’s much more involved than that and includes guidance and supports for quality improvement. Due to lack of funding there are only 450 programs (including centers, family child care homes and UPK sites) across the state are enrolled in QUALITYstarsNY. 

The governor and president mentioned Universal Pre-K (UPK) as the channel to reach more children and provide them with the quality education they need. The reality is that UPK only reaches a fraction of the 900,000 young children in need of early care and education. UPK is a program for 4 year olds and operates on the school calendar. It doesn’t work for children under 4, or those who need year round care, or can’t attend a program that only operates 3 to 5 hours a day. 38% of New York’s school districts do not operate UPK; in those districts it’s not an option for anyone. So while increasing access to UPK may benefit many children, it does nothing to ensure the quality of those programs or the quality of care and education offered to hundreds of thousands of New York children. About 246,000 of child receive publicly funded subsidies to receive child care separate from the UPK system. Yet for most of these programs there is no measure of quality.

The majority of states in the nation have a quality rating and improvement system in place to measure and improve the quality of care and education available to young children. Without a quality rating and improvement system in place, we are unsure of the quality of a program beyond basic licensing and programmatic guidelines it must follow. A fully implemented quality rating and improvement system helps to ensure both the long- and short-term success of the children and families.

To view the full paper: http://www.earlycareandlearning.org/resources/documents/QRISbriefFINALMS.pdf

To learn more about QUALITYstarsNY visit: www.qualitystarsny.org

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Early Care & Learning Council: For more than thirty-five years, the Early Care & Learning Council has been a leading voice for early care and education in New York State.  With its statewide network of child care resource and referral agencies, the Council has successfully fought for increases in funding to support early childhood programs and for the reform of child care laws, regulations and policies to improve safety and quality in child care settings.  The Council was a founder and convener of both the Child Care that Works Campaign and Winning Beginning NY, both statewide advocacy coalitions.  The Council and partners work to increase the quality, affordability and capacity of the early care and learning field and does so through training and technical assistance, data management and advocacy initiatives. For more information, please call (518) 690-4217 or visit www.earlycareandlearning.org. 

Advocacy: Week of 2/11-2/15 2013

2/12/13

Assembly QUALITYstarsNY sign on letter

Letter to Speaker of the Assembly on QUALITYstarsNY

As budget amendments are due, there is also a letter being circulated asking Assembly Speaker Sheldon Silver to add funding for QUALITYstarsNY to the New York State budget. 

Last year, the State Education Department (SED) awarded a $4 million grant to implement QUALITYstarsNY in child care programs in high-needs school districts over a three-year period. There are about 400 programs that are presently evaluated and supported by QUALITYstarsNY thanks to the grant. While this is a great start, 400 programs are only a small part of the over 20,000 regulated early child care programs in New York State.

An investment of $5 million would build on SED’s grant by supporting partial implementation of QUALITYstarsNY in early child care programs throughout the state.

If you do not see your Assemblyperson on this list attached with a number 1 next to their name, please contact them and make sure they sign on to this important letter.  Calls from constituents make a big difference. The deadline is COB, today, February 12, 2013!

Thank you!

Sincerely,

Jessica

Jessica Klos Shapiro

Policy Associate

(518) 690-4217 ex. 32

2/13/13

Letter to Speaker of the Assembly on QUALITYstarsNY

Yesterday, Governor Cuomo released his 21 day budget amendments.  While they did not include funding for any of our issues, sources on the Governor’s staff state that there will be an additional round of 30 day amendments.

Furthermore, the deadline for the budget letter being circulated by Assemblymember Amy Paulin asking Assembly Speaker Sheldon Silver to add funding for QUALITYstarsNY to the New York State budget has been extended to COB, today February 13, 2013!

Last year, the State Education Department (SED) awarded a $4 million grant to implement QUALITYstarsNY in child care programs in high-needs school districts over a three-year period. There are about 400 programs that are presently evaluated and supported by QUALITYstarsNY thanks to the grant. While this is a great start, 400 programs are only a small part of the over 20,000 regulated early child care programs in New York State.

An investment of $5 million would build on SED’s grant by supporting partial implementation of QUALITYstarsNY in early child care programs throughout the state.

Please look at the attached list and see if your Assemblymember has signed-on.  If there is a “1” next to his/her name, s/he has signed.  If there is not a “1” next to his/her name, s/he has not.  Those identified in red are members that signed on last year. If s/he has not signed on, please call your Assemblymember(s) and ask him/her to sign-on to the letter.  The Assemblymember simply needs to call Assemblywoman Paulin’s office and say they want to sign-on to THE QUALITYstarsNY budget letter! 

Calls from constituents make a big difference.

Thank you!

Sincerely,

Jessica

Jessica Klos Shapiro

Policy Associate

(518) 690-4217 ex. 32

2/15/13

Our Budget Strategy

Albany will be a little quieter next week as legislators remain in their districts for the week.  This is a great opportunity to visit their local offices to discuss budget priorities and establish a connection with their them and their staff.

So far, as a response to the Governor’s Executive Budget, the Early Care & Learning Council has:

·         Delivered budget testimony to the Human Services Budget Committee;

·         Submitted budget testimony to the Economic Development Budget Committee;

·         Submitted a Budget Amendment Letter to the Governor’s office;

·         Met with several Legislators on our budget priorities;

·         Spoken with the Governor’s staff;

·         Participated in the Advocacy efforts and events of Winning Beginning NY and partners;

·         Assisted Assemblywoman Amy Paulin’s office in writing and distributing a Dear Speaker letter requesting funding for QUALITYstarsNY.  The letter was submitted to Speaker of the Assembly Sheldon Silver with 44 Assemblymembers signed on.

Our budget asks need to be supported by your stories! How have the children and families in your community been impacted by contract cuts and flat funding of subsidies while child care costs continue to rise? How has QUALITYstarsNY changed the programs in your community and how could non-participating programs benefit from an expansion?  Legislators want to hear about community impact!

Coming Soon:

·        The Early Care & Learning Council Legislative Agenda

·        Materials for Albany Advocacy

And please don’t forget to RSVP to me at jklos@earlycarecareanlearning.org by 2/20 to let know if you and your organization will be coming to Albany for CCR&R Winning Beginning Wednesday on the 27^th!

The network needs you in Albany to tell your story!

The Council will remain at a table in the Liberty Cafe on the Empire State Plaza until 2:30pm on the 27^th to answer your questions and discuss your meetings throughout the day.  Please remember each organization is responsible for making their own meeting appointments. The Liberty Cafe is located just outside of Legislative Office Building and Capitol security.

Stay tuned for more updates.

Sincerely,

Jessica

Jessica Klos Shapiro

Policy Associate

(518) 690-4217 ex. 32

What is legally-exempt child care?

Contact: Mary Stalker

Director of Communications, Research & Development
518-690-4217 ext 22
mstalker@earlycareandlearning.org

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE:

2/12/2013

What is legally-exempt child care?

(Albany, New York)   The Early Care & Learning Council has released a report that takes a look at informal, but legal, child care in New York State. The report, Legally-Exempt Child Care: What does it mean in New York State?, is the product of an in depth look at informal child care in New York and eight other states. The report, prepared with financial support from the Rauch Foundation, also includes recommendations for addressing some of the quality and funding concerns surrounding this type of publicly subsidized child care.

It is widely accepted that high-quality care is important to future outcomes for children, families and society. Yet, a significant number of New York’s young children utilizing child care subsidies are receiving legally-exempt child care where the quality of care is largely unknown. Legally-exempt caregivers provide informal child care and are exempt from the regulatory process that licensed and registered child care providers adhere to.  Legally-exempt child care providers can care for up to eight children full-time, no more than two of whom can be unrelated. If a provider is caring for children part-time, three hours or less a day, then there is no limit to number of un-related children allowed. Legally-exempt child care that takes place in a child’s home is not subject to inspection; only 20% of legally exempt care that takes place in the provider’s home is inspected.

Most states in the nation have some form of legally-exempt care. The level and source of funding vary from state to state. New York uses more of its federal child care funding on legally-exempt care than most other states. In 2011, 39% of all children receiving subsidized care in New York received legally-exempt care. In 2010, it was 40%, twice the national average.

“We are pleased to support the Early Care & Learning Council’s work on this project, said Jennifer Marino Rojas, Vice President of Grants and Operations at the Rauch Foundation.  "The Foundation is dedicated to early success in children and strengthening early childhood options for all children.  This report will help guide us in that mission as we learn more about this child care option.”

“Through this project we’ve been able to collect and analyze some solid data about legally-exempt child care in New York and throughout the United States, but there is still so much to learn,” said Rebekah Widrick, Research and Evaluation Associate at the Early Care & Learning Council and one of the report’s authors. “I am confident that this report will start a much needed conversation about how we measure the quality of child care.”

The report, Legally-Exempt Child Care: What does it mean in New York State?, provides a look at the legally-exempt child care in New York  and identifies key issues for further research and discussion. The report lays out the known and unknown conditions and outcomes of legally-exempt child care with the goal of drawing attention to legally-exempt care and initiating a discussion on the accessibility and affordability of quality child care for all citizens of New York. 

Click here to read the full report. 

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Early Care & Learning Council: For more than thirty-five years, the Early Care & Learning Council has been a leading voice for early care and education in New York State.  With its statewide network of child care resource and referral agencies, the Council has successfully fought for increases in funding to support early childhood programs and for the reform of child care laws, regulations and policies to improve safety and quality in child care settings.  The Council was a founder and convener of both the Child Care that Works Campaign and Winning Beginning NY, both statewide advocacy coalitions.  The Council and partners work to increase the quality, affordability and capacity of the early care and learning field and does so through training and technical assistance, data management and advocacy initiatives. For more information, please call (518) 690-4217 or visit www.earlycareandlearning.org.

Area Law Enforcement Leaders Visit Pre-K Program

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE:

Contact: Jenn O’Connor, NYS Director

joconnor@fightcrime.org

Cell: 518/817-1107

**Media Advisory for WEdnesday February 13, 2013**

Area Law Enforcement Leaders Visit Pre-K Program,

Back Early Education To Cut Crime

Area Law Enforcement Leaders Continue Statewide Campaign at Local School Emphasizing Quality of Early Learning Programs Critical To Achieving Best Return on Investment

Cohoes, New York— Capital District law enforcement leaders will visit Abram Lansing Elementary School on Wednesday to read to children enrolled in the school’s Pre-K program.  This visit is part of a year-long effort to discuss the value of high-quality early childhood education as a highly effective way to prevent crime.  

The law enforcement leaders will emphasize that programs in New York must be high-quality to get the best return on investment.  Senior law enforcement officials will speak in support of the Governor’s proposal to invest $25 million in quality, full-day Pre-K programs in high need school districts.

Copies of the Fight Crime: Invest in Kids report, Quality Matters: High-Quality Early Care and Education Can Cut Crime in New York, will be made available.

WHO: 

Sheriff Craig Apple, Albany County

Officer John Shanahan, Cohoes Police Department

Cliff Bird, Principal, Abram Lansing Elementary School

Colleen Forlani, Assistant Director for Special Programs, Cohoes City School District                              Senator Neil Breslin      

Assembly Member John McDonald III (invited)

WHAT: 

Law enforcement leaders hold a news conference and read to Pre-K students

WHEN:             

Wednesday, February 13, 2013

11:00 am

           

WHERE:           

Abram Lansing Elementary School

26 James Street, Cohoes

Call for Directions, Parking and Visiting Information: 

518/237-5044

###

1212 New York Avenue • Suite 300 • Washington, DC 20005 • 202.776.0027 • Fax 202.776.0110 • www.fightcrime.org

Mental Health Summit brings early childhood professionals together

(Albany, NY) Early childhood professionals from across the state gathered in Albany today.  The summit brought together several groups of professionals who work with young children in mental health, early education and early intervention. The Early Care & Learning Council along with the Council on Children and Families, the New York State Office of Mental Health and the Bureau of Early Intervention at the New York State Department of Health,  hosted the Infant Mental Health Summit at the Hotel Albany from 10am to 5pm.

The summit provided a mix of presentations and working sessions. Participants gained knowledge about infant mental health and the importance of early attachments and early experiences on brain development. They engaged with other professionals to examine the needs of young children and explore options for systems change with an emphasis on early identification and early treatment of social and emotional difficulties.

There were two featured speakers; Gilbert M. Foley, EdD and Jeff Daly, MD. Dr. Foley is professor at Yeshiva University and author of “Mental Health In Early Intervention”. Dr. Daly is the Medical Director of Child and Adolescent Outpatient Psychiatric Services at Four Winds Hospital in Saratoga Springs, NY. His area of expertise is in pediatric psychopharmacology.

Senator Kathy Marchione attened the summit to make opening remarks. Senator Marchione said, “I am honored to speak at the Infant Mental Health Summit. Children’s health is something that concerns us all. This summit brings together professionals from the fields of early childhood, health care and special education.  I am excited to learn from them and see what kind of collaborative work comes out of this event. So much can be accomplished when we work together.”

Also speaking at the summit are Donna Bradbury, Acting Deputy Commissioner for the Division of Children and Families for the Office of Mental Health, Bob Frawley, Deputy Director for the Council on Children and Families, Donna Noyes, Co-Director of the Bureau of Early Intervention and Marsha Basloe, Executive Director, Early Care and Learning Council.

“We are so pleased to be a part of this Summit,” Ms Basloe said. “We need to work across all disciplines serving children in order to shape real change and meet the needs of our most vulnerable citizens”

The Infant Mental Health Summit was the first step in developing a stronger network of early childhood professionals. Small community grants will be awarded for participants to continue to work towards a system that supports the social emotional development and mental health needs of all children.

###

Early Care & Learning Council: For more than thirty-five years, the Early Care & Learning Council has been a leading voice for early care and education in New York State.  With its statewide network of child care resource and referral agencies, the Council has successfully fought for increases in funding to support early childhood programs and for the reform of child care laws, regulations and policies to improve safety and quality in child care settings.  The Council was a founder and convener of both the Child Care that Works Campaign and Winning Beginning NY, both statewide advocacy coalitions.  The Council and partners work to increase the quality, affordability and capacity of the early care and learning field and does so through training and technical assistance, data management and advocacy initiatives. For more information, please call (518) 690-4217 or visit www.earlycareandlearning.org.