National Head Start Association

Week of October 25, 2010

After a short hiatus due to Congress being on recess, the government affairs update is back! In this important update you will find information regarding:

• Congresswoman Loretta Sanchez is one of the Dream Lives On Alumni Award Recipients
• Has your program had a perfect review?
• Resources on the Notice of Proposed Rule Making (NPRM) regarding Head Start Re-Competition
• NHSA Seeks input on the NPRM from the Rural Head Start community
• Quick Reminder on the 2010 Midterm Elections
• An Appropriations Update
• Dollar Per Child Update and Thank you

CONGRESSWOMAN LORETTA SANCHEZ IS RECIPIENT OF THE DREAM LIVES ON ALUMNI AWARD AT NHSA'S 45th ANNIVERSARY CELEBRATION
In the last Government Affairs Update, we told you a little bit about NHSA's 45th anniversary celebration. One special highlight of the evening for the Head Start community was presenting the Dream Lives On Alumni Award to Congresswoman Loretta Sanchez.

Congresswoman Sanchez, who started her education as a Head Start graduate, has represented California's 47th District (central Orange County) since 1997. She is Co-Chair of the Congressional Caucus on Vietnam and a member of the Blue Dog Democrats, the New Democratic Coalition, and the Congressional Human Rights Caucus. She was appointed by Speaker of the House of Representatives Nancy Pelosi to serve on the Joint Economic Committee (JEC), a bipartisan, bicameral committee that continually monitors matters relating to the U.S. economy, including unemployment, foreclosures, and interest rates.Hundreds of participants, from Head Start teachers who started to work with the children of poverty in 1965, to visionary public servants who designed the model that has had lasting results, to Head Start parents whose lives were transformed, to children for whom Head Start was the first step toward a life of success in teaching, law, politics, and business, gathered for an evening of stories and celebration. They especially enjoyed hearing the story Ms. Sanchez told about her mother making sure that she went to Head Start even when young Loretta wanted to stay home and play, because she knew this would be the first step to a successful life.

Now you can watch Congresswoman Loretta Sanchez receiving the Dream Lives On Award on Youtube! Click here to watch this highlight of the celebration!

HAS YOUR PROGRAM HAD A PERFECT REVIEW?
We are looking to highlight a few programs that had a perfect review and good outcome data. We can do a media push in time for the World Series that says something like "Head Start Programs Pitch Perfect Game." If your program had a perfect review please send Tommy Sheridan tsheridan@nhsa.org an email with the following information:

• Name of Program and Contact
• Something unique or interesting you are working on.
• Any specific child outcomes you can point to and/or a success story.
• A short 2 to 3 sentence quote we can use

Be sure that you really do have a perfect review. We mean no findings - NOTHING.

Note: We owe a special thanks to Joel Ryan from the Washington Head Start Association for this great idea. Thanks Joel!

NOTICE OF PROPOSED RULE MAKING (NPRM)
In September, the Office of Head Start released a NPRM regarding the Designation Renewal System, more commonly known as the Re-Competition system. The NPRM is an important proposal stemming from the Head Start Act of 2007 and aiming to further advance quality in Head Start and Early Head Start. This proposal was released for public comment so that general public and specifically the Head Start community will have an opportunity to submit comments. The Head Start community can influence the development of this proposed re-competition system by submitting comments.

In order to do this, NHSA has embarked on an extensive campaign to engage and educate the Head Start community on the NPRM. We encourage you to join us in two ways:

1. By hosting conversations about the NPRM in your local program or community and sending your input to NHSA at yourvoiceonrecompetition@nhsa.org; and
2. By submitting your own comments about the NPRM to the Office of Head Start before December 21, 2010 by clicking here.

We have also created a couple resources to guide you throughout the process:

1. The first is a toolkit that provides considerable resources for understanding the re-competition requirements and tools for participating in the regulation-making process. Download the toolkit here.
2. Last week, NHSA hosted a Webinar on October 13, 2010 on the proposed re-competition regulation. We thank all of the participants for joining us and bringing forth some excellent questions and provocative concerns. For those of you who missed the webinar, the slides from the presentation are available for download here.

We look forward to working with you on this important process! Please don't hesitate to email us with any questions on the process or the proposed regulation itself at yourvoiceonrecompetition@nhsa.org.

NHSA SEEKS INPUT ON THE NPRM FROM THE RURAL HEAD START COMMUNITY
Are you a director, parent, or staff member for a rural Head Start grantee? If so and you are interested in providing your feedback to NHSA about how the NPRM would specifically impact your program and other rural programs like yours, please contact Tommy Sheridan at NHSA (tsheridan@nhsa.org) for more information. We will be convening a conference call to discuss these issues specific to rural Head Start programs over the coming weeks. Thanks!

MID-TERM ELECTIONS 2010
With less than two weeks to go, we've entered the final push to the 2010 campaign season. There are countless tight races, which will go right down to the wire, and the outcome of this year's elections will significantly impact Head Start and Early Head Start. As a 501c(3) non-profit organization, NHSA does not and cannot favor any particular political parties or candidates, but we can and do strongly encourage you to vote and to research the candidates in your area so that you can, as always, vote for kids and vote for Head Start/Early Head Start!

If you or anyone you know needs guidance in the voting process, please go to the website of the League of Women Voters by clicking here. We'll see you at the polling booth.

APPROPRIATIONS UPDATE
Simply put, there are still many moving parts to the FY 2011 Appropriation process. Congress will have to act when they get back from the election recess, but it is unknown whether they will act to...

• Extend the Continuing Resolution (CR) currently in place through December 3, 2010 that holds FY2010 appropriation levels constant,
• Attempt to pass a new FY 2011 Appropriations bill before the current CR expires, or
• Simply punt the decision to the next Congress in January 2011 with a second short-term CR.

No matter what the final result is, the next 6 weeks will prove to be critical in uphill task of sustaining Head Start and Early Head Start services for all children and families who we are currently investing in through expansion and other funds.

Earlier this week, our friends at the First Five Years Fund came out with an update that provides a thorough look at where we are, why we need to be engaged, and what's at stake in the Head Start/Early Head Start, Child Care and Development Block Grant and the Early Learning Challenge fund appropriation process. Here is an excerpt from that update:

 
Why We Need to Conduct More Outreach
While these numbers look good, Congress is also considering a total budget that falls well below a total spending level required to include these increases, or to initiate the Early Learning Challenge Fund. We need to ask key leaders to support the Senate level of funding.

Today, Head Start and Child Care and Development Block Grant have the capacity to reach 2.5 million at-risk young children-just one-third of those at risk (Source: Center for Law and Social Policy DataFinder, www.clasp.org/data.) Reaching more children through early education ultimately helps us lower costs and reduce long-term deficits by increasing academic performance, improving health outcomes and building economic productivity.

What's at Stake?

• Over a Quarter of a Million At-Risk Children Could Lose the Opportunity for Early Learning
• Early Learning Drives Better Outcomes in Education, Health and Economic Prosperity

Again, a thank you to the First Five Years Fund for this wonderful analysis. As the moving parts in the FY 2011 Appropriation process slowly come together, we will make sure to keep you updated. Please stay tuned and be ready to act! We will need to mobilize and put pressure on Congress to support funding for Head Start and Early Head Start over the coming weeks. More information to follow on this after the election.

DOLLAR PER CHILD UPDATE AND THANK YOU!
We are now in the second quarter of the Dollar Per Child drive and we would like to thank every grantee, every association, and everyone who has contributed to the campaign so far. Specifically, NHSA would like to thank the following organizations for their recent contributions:

Long Island Head Start - NY
Region VI Head Start Association - TX, LA, NM, AR, and OK
Louisiana Head Start Association - LA
Missouri Head Start Association - MO
Participants at the 2010 September Leadership Institute - Washington, DC

These contributions are essential to NHSA and the advocacy work we do on behalf and in partnership with the thousands of children, parents, staff, directors, and friends of the Head Start community. You can see your Dollar Per Child contributions hard at work through several exciting and important projects that include:

• The toolkit and webinars for the NPRM on Head Start re-competition;
• Fact Sheets for each state with American Recovery and Reinvestment Act-funded enrollment, jobs, and waiting list data;
• The Supportheadstart.org website;
• The close tracking and constant updating of the FY 2011 Appropriation process;
• Many more soon-to-be-released websites and resources for you!

Please continue to engage your community and send your Dollar Per Child contributions to NHSA so that we can continue our work with you! Click here for more information on how to get involved!

Please know that NHSA continues to work for you and with you on your behalf on matters of importance to the Head Start community.

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© National Head Start Association, 2010. All rights reserved.

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