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March 2008
In This Update:
What's New
Highlights of Recent State Legislative Activity
New Resources
Recent Events
What's New
Early Care and Education State Budget Actions Resource Now Available!
NCSL's first-ever survey results of state appropriations for child care, prekindergarten, parent support and other early learning are now available. Survey results include:
- A 50-state view of state budget actions FY 2007 - FY 2008
- Appropriations tables by category
- A snapshot of overall findings
Overall reported total appropriations for early care and education showed more than $1 billion increase, with many states reporting funding for multiple approaches to improve child care and child development, and promote early learning. A brief analysis will be available soon, so keep checking the website. To access this information, please go to www.ncsl.org/programs/cyf/budget_appropriations.htm.
NCSL Children and Family Policy Issues Survey
The Children & Families Program at NCSL is collecting information from all 50 states and territories to learn about priorities and activities in children and family policy in each state. This information helps us understand state trends and anticipate and respond to your needs. Please take a few minutes to complete the survey.The survey can be accessed online http://www.ncsl.org/surveys/TakeSurvey.asp?SurveyID=3M2mm32I8725G&q=N or printed out and faxed to NCSL at (303) 364-7800. Thank you in advance for your participation.
Highlights of Recent State Legislative Activity
NCSL is actively tracking all legislation related to child care, prekindergarten, school readiness, home visiting or other parent support. In this e-update we are highlighting a few bills that we thought might be of interest.
We are seeing several bills that focus broadly on supports for children from birth to five. Highlighted here are bills from Connecticut and Iowa that promote a comprehensive approach to services for young children and an effort to look at child outcomes in a number of areas. These are two new efforts to address child development and early learning. In prior years, legislatures passed laws on agency governance that established a new department or a new office of child development. Minnesota's constitutional amendment suggests another approach to birth to five.
In prekindergarten, we continue to see bills that would expand or establish prekindergarten programs. The two bills that are included here, from Alaska and Idaho, would authorize new prekindergarten programs.
We are tracking approximately 500 bills introduced so far this year. If you would like any information about strategies not highlighted in this e-update, please feel free to contact Stephen Fagan.
Connecticut S 303, Introduced on 2/20/08, Substituted on 3/11/08
Creates a comprehensive system for children and families from birth to five years of age. Requires the Office of Policy and Management, the Departments of Social Services, Education, Public Health, Children and Families, the Office of the Child Advocate, the Commission on Children and the Children's Trust Fund to develop a model for master contracting to improve child outcomes and deliver outcome-focused, integrated services to children, from birth to five years of age, and their families. Requires the Early Childhood Education Cabinet to establish a demonstration pilot to implement the model.
Click here to view the bill.
Iowa HF 2442, Introduced on 2/28/08
Creates an early childhood Iowa advisory council as an alliance of stakeholders in early care, health, and education systems that affect children ages zero through five in Iowa. Provides that the lead agency for support of the early childhood Iowa advisory council shall be the department of public health. Requires the department to work with the advisory council in integrating early care, health, and education systems to develop an early childhood system for Iowa.
Click here to view the bill.
Minnesota H 3136, Introduced on 2/18/08
Proposes an amendment to the Minnesota Constitution to require the state to provide for early childhood education for young children through the age of five.
Click here to view the bill.
Alaska H 306, Introduced on 1/15/08
Provides that an elementary school shall consist of grades kindergarten through grade eight or any appropriate combination of grades within this range, and a pre-elementary program provided by a school district for students three through five years of age.
Click here to view the bill.
Idaho S 1406, Introduced on 2/08/08
The "Idaho Early Childhood Development and Education Act." Provides that prekindergarten programs may be offered to children four years of age by community-based child care facilities, to be funded, in part, by state funds administered by local districts. Provides that a prekindergarten council may be established in a district to develop a district prekindergarten plan and serve as an advisory prekindergarten council for a prekindergarten program established in the district.
Click here to view the bill.
New Resources
Funding the Future: States' Approaches to Pre-K Finance 2008 Update
Between Fiscal Year 2005 and Fiscal Year 2008, state funding for high-quality, voluntary prekindergarten increased by nearly $2 billion nationally. Released by Pre-K Now, this report examines the range of different financial approaches states employ, how effective they have been in identifying funds, how sustainable those funding sources are, and how investments can be increased to improve pre-k quality and expand program access. In particular, the report identifies the trend among states to include prekindergarten programs in the state school funding formula.
Click here to view the report.
Charting Progress for Babies in Child Care: Policy Framework Summary
This policy framework by the Center for Law and Social Policy (CLASP) sets forth four key principles that establish the foundation of supports that all babies and toddlers in child care need, as well as 15 recommendations that state child care licensing, quality and subsidy policies should address. The policy framework draws on the expertise of more than one hundred policymakers, researchers and advocates at the state and national level. The next steps for the project include an online resource that builds on the framework to provide research-based rationales for each recommendation and a set of policies that may help states move toward that goal.
Click here to view the policy framework.
Mississippi Policy Center Releases New Report
The Mississippi Economic Policy Center (MEPC) has just released a new report titled Broadening the Base: Strengthening Mississippi’s Working Families, Business and Economy through Strong Child Care Systems. In this report the MEPC focuses on how child care programs positively impact working families as well as the state’s economy. The MEPC also makes the argument that investments in such programs are insufficient.
Click here to view the report.
Poverty Mars Formation of Infant Brains
This Financial Times article provides information on how low socio-economic status can result in pervasive harm done to the brain, particularly between the ages of six months and three years.
Click here to view the article.
Recent Events
NCSL Education Finance Summit Pre-Conference, "Financing Preschool through the Education Finance Formula and Other Options"
NCSL recently hosted a successful preschool pre-conference on Friday, February 15, 2008, at the Education Finance Summit in San Antonio, Texas. At the pre-conference event, presenters provided a snapshot of state experiences with funding preschool through the school funding formula and other financing methods and discuss the pros and cons of various approaches. Diana Stone, Washington Appleseed Center, presented the latest trends on how some state are funding preschool through the education finance formula. Lilie Elizondo-Limas, Texas Education Agency and Bobbi Lussier, Tennessee Office of Early Learning offered state perspectives and experiences on funding pre-k in their states. In 2007, thirty-six states appropriated new funds for preschool. While states are using a variety of strategies, the school finance formula is a growing mechanism for financing both school- and community-based preschool. Click here to view the preschool pre-conference session summary and Diana Stone's presentation.
West Coast Economic Forum on Early Childhood Investment
On February 28, 2008, the Partnership for America’s Economic Success, which is managed by The Pew Charitable Trusts, and the Milken Institute co-hosted the West Coast Economic Forum on Early Childhood Investment to develop strategies, policies, and practices for building human capital by investing in children prenatal to age five. The Partnership released three new research studies at the forum, which highlight the economic benefits of investing in early childhood programs and raising poor families out of poverty.
Click here to view presentations from the forum, including findings from the new research studies.
This e-update is made possible by the generous support of The Pew Charitable Trusts and The Buffett Early Childhood Fund. If you have information you would like to share with us, please email Stephen Fagan.
This e-update is an informational service for state legislators and legislative staff who are part of NCSL's Child Care and Early Education Legislative Network. Contact Stephen Fagan or call (303) 856-1389 for more information about the content of this update, or to submit information about your state. To SUBSCRIBE or UNSUBSCRIBE: Contact Shannon Watson-Borden.
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