The Political Will to Improve Early Childhood Systems

NAEYC, its affiliates and chapters, and members are leaders in promoting excellence in early childhood education. 

This leadership takes many forms, of which one is public policy advocacy and communications. NAEYC’s Governing Board established an organization priority that we would be a more politically effective organization at all levels. The Governing Board adopted a definition of “politically effective” that means that NAEYC members will have · awareness of; · knowledge about; · the ability to competently discuss and debate; · the capacity to act in ways that influence decisions on; · public policy at all levels (national, state and local) aligned with Association goals. Why is this important? Because public policies at the national, state, and local levels have a tremendous impact on the financing and quality of early childhood education, on reimbursement and compensation of professionals and services providers, and on supporting the system infrastructure needed to deliver quality programs for all children. For example, · Subsidies under the federal Child Care & Development Block Grant (CCDBG) helps pay the cost of care for eligible low-income working families. If the funding is insufficient, it is difficult for states to raise reimbursement rates or to provide more eligible families with subsidies; · Compensation also comes from federal sources. Head Start salaries are paid in part with federal Head Start dollars; T.E.A.C.H. scholarships tied to bonuses are funded in part with federal CCDBG funding. · Up to 80 percent of Head Start programs are funded with federal dollars; · Resource and referral agencies’ operations and Child Care Aware are funded by the CCDBG federal funding stream; · Financial aid to help teachers earn degrees can be funded by different federal higher education grant and loan programs; · K-12 education, although primarily local and state dollars, is funded in every state in part by No Child Left Behind for programs such as compensatory education under Title I, Safe & Drug Free Schools, after-school under the 21st Century Community Learning Centers and other school-based programs; · The Individuals with Disabilities Education Act provides funds for services for children with disabilities, and for young children and their families, from birth through age 21; · States often provide additional funding streams for prekindergarten and preschool programs, initiatives to improve the quality of infant and toddler care, licensing and NAEYC Affiliate Public Policy Tool Kit, 2004 4 monitoring of child care providers, as well as quality initiatives such as professional development.

NAEYC and its affiliates and members are active in public policy at the national, state and local levels.  The reason is  because early childhood professionals need to be the lead voice on what policies are needed to promote our goal of a well-financed, high quality system of early childhood education for all children. Others will speak for us if we do not use our voices in constructive ways. We can be change agents, or we can be the recipients of changes that we did not influence. 2. Continuous Improvement – It Applies to Public Policy Too Effective public policy advocacy work requires intentionality, which in turn requires organization. If all of us work independently without a well-defined vision and capacity to act and react to changing political, social and economic contexts, we will not make the progress that is needed. If we work together strategically, we can cause the changes that we seek for children, families and the professionals in the field. This toolkit helps affiliates and chapters organize themselves into more effective voices. Many of these materials are excerpted from NAEYC resources and those of other national organizations. We have provided you with examples from fellow affiliates to see how others have moved their public policy agendas forward.

ENGAGING THE MEMBERS IN PUBLIC POLICY 

Public policy advocacy is about influencing public policies and practices so that they are more responsive to issues affecting a large number of children. That means that public policy advocates challenge school boards and local, state, and federal policymakers and agencies by calling attention to problems and proposing solutions. Advocates demand that the stewards of public funds develop laws, regulations, and program guidelines that support early childhood education in appropriate ways.

References

US Census: www.census.gov
 Bureau of Labor Statistics: www.bls.gov US Department of: · Agriculture: www.usda.gov · Education: www.ed.gov ·
 Health and Human Services: www.os.dhhs.gov/ ·
 Labor: www.dol.gov
 Center on Budget and Policy Priorities: www.cbpp.org Information on how federal tax proposals, legislation on welfare, child care, Medicaid and other programs impact state and beneficiaries. The National Center for Children in Poverty: www.nccp.org NCCP identifies and promotes strategies that prevent child poverty in the United States and that improve the lives of low-income children and their families. Founded in 1989, NCCP is part of the Mailman School at Columbia University. Fact sheets at www.nccp.org/fact.html and www.nccp.org/cat_8.html The National Institute for Early Education Research: www.nieer.org The National Institute for Early Education Research supports early childhood education initiatives by providing objective, nonpartisan information based on research. The Institute offers independent research-based advice and technical assistance to four primary groups: policy makers, journalists, researchers, and educators.