National Head Start Association

NHSA LEGISLATIVE UPDATE AND CALL TO ACTION

Week of February 16, 2009
 
Dear Friends:
 
Please read this email and share it with others in your network.  It contains a legislative update, a Call to Action, a list of important efforts, and an Administration update.
 
LEGISLATIVE UPDATE
 
ARRA ("Stimulus")
The National Head Start Association is delighted to inform you that on Tuesday of this week, President Obama signed the American Reinvestment and Recovery Act of 2009 (the "stimulus" or "ARRA") into law.  On Friday of last week, the House and Senate voted in favor of the conference committee's version of the stimulus package consisting of a mix of tax breaks and spending for a total of about $787 billion. 

We are thrilled that Head Start programs did very well in this package.  A total of $2.1 billion will be appropriated for our programs. Congratulations and thanks for all your hard work!  This breaks out to $1 billion additional dollars (beyond our current appropriation) that will be available for activities under the Head Start Act.  In addition, $1.1 billion dollars will be available for Early Head Start expansion.  Funds will come through the Office of Head Start ("OHS") for distribution through September 30, 2010.  We expect that OHS will be providing more information on how these funds will be distributed in the coming weeks.  As we know more, we will keep you posted. Dust off your project lists, get ready to write proposals which we expect will be needed in some instances, and prepare for some positive changes!

Free Webinar
NHSA and Feldesman Tucker Leifer Fidell LLP will be offering a free webinar on Thursday, February 26, 2009 from 3:00 p.m. to 4:00 p.m. EST about the Head Start provisions of the ARRA and what they mean for your program.  Please log onto https://www2.eventsvc.com/ftlf to register for this webinar.  All registration must be completed by Wednesday, February 25, 2009 (24 hours in advance of the start of the webinar). If you have any questions about how to participate in this FREE webinar, contact Pam Higdon at phigdon@ftlf or (202) 466-8960. Space is limited, so be sure to pre-register.

Conference Report and Bill Text
If you'd like to read the conference report and bill text or download copies of either, please see http://thomas.loc.gov/home/approp/app09.html#h1.  View the row on "H1" or the American Reinvestment and Recovery Act and please note that Head Start is in the section called "Bill Text, Div. A."  The conference report section that Head Start is in is called "Joint Statement Div. A."

CALL TO ACTION: WE'RE NOT DONE YET
 
Now We Need to Thank Capitol Hill, the President and Our Community Advocacy Partners

Now that funds will flow to Head Start and other early childhood programs, you may think we are done.  But we aren't!  Each and every one of you who contacted your Senators and Representatives needs to contact them again.  Why?

• To thank those who voted in favor of the ARRA, thus providing much needed relief to Head Start programs across the country.
• To encourage those who didn't vote in favor of the ARRA to champion Head Start and early childhood programs in the future. 
• To invite all of them to set up a time to visit your sites (but not while they are campaigning for office) to see what Head Start does for children and families in their communities and see how these economic recovery funds are being used.

In your thank you, please tell them what Head Start means to you.  Also, it is very important that you remind them that these funds will help to create needed jobs, preserve and strengthen many others, and ensure that more families will have safe, high quality programs for their children while they go back to work.

How?
You can send an email directly to your Senators and Representatives by going to www.senate.gov or www.house.gov and clicking on your Senator or Representative's website.  On each website, there is a contact or feedback form which will allow you to email them directly.

To check on voting lists:
To check whether your Senators voted for ARRA, please see http://www.senate.gov/legislative/LIS/roll_call_lists/roll_call_vote_cfm.cfm?congress=111&session=1&vote=00064#name.  To see whether your Representatives voted for ARRA, please see http://clerk.house.gov/evs/2009/roll070.xml.

Let's ensure that there are at least as many thank you's as there were requests for funding.  Email or letters are better for thank you's than phone calls, so that the Hill staff can share the thank you notes and emails with the Senators and Representatives for whom they work. 

How many do we need to send?  Tons.  We need to flood the Hill with thank yous.  Remember, it looked a week before passage that Head Start might fall out of the bill entirely.  Instead, we had some supporters who went to bat for our inclusion.  Now we need to be sure they are well thanked.  Without proper thank yous, they won't know how important this is to us.

Please also send thank you notes to the White House (see http://www.whitehouse.gov/contact/) and to all of the community advocacy partners that you worked with to help make this win possible for the Head Start and early childhood community.

SO YOU MAY WONDER, HOW DID WE ACCOMPLISH THIS $2.1 BILLION? 

We accomplished this additional $2.1 billion for Head Start though a lot of hard work. Along with everything that you, your State and Regional Head Start Associations, and our advocacy partners did, on this one effort to include Head Start in the economic stimulus package alone, NHSA was very busy.  It was all-hands-on-deck to make this happen for Head Start.  We at NHSA:

• Developed strategy to ensure Head Start was included in the economic stimulus package;
• Developed an "ask" of $4.3 billion dollars and tailored that ask to $2.1 billion based on feedback from the Hill;
• Orchestrated the virtual march stimulus campaign on the Saveheadstart.org website that got almost 30,000 messages to Capitol Hill;
• Kept the field informed every step of the way with timely and accurate information;
• Developed advocacy materials including talking points and "ask" documents;
• Analyzed the impacts of various funding scenarios by estimating how many new jobs could be created and how many new children could be served and sharing that information with key congressional staff, the field and the media;
• Coordinated a series of phone calls to inform the field about calls to action for different parts of this effort;
• Asked you to lean in at critical points when Capitol Hill needed to hear from you;
• Drafted sample legislative language and report language and delivered it to key Hill staff for discussion and review;
• Authored op-eds and letters to the editor highlighting the benefits of the Head Start programs and facilitated others to respond to attacks on Head Start by using research;
• Drafted letters to influence Conference Committee members from corresponding State Head Start Associations;
• Facilitated advocacy efforts for Head Start leadership through our recent Leadership Conference;
• Worked with partners all across the spectrum of advocacy groups--some who focus on anti-poverty issues, others who have expertise in early childhood issues;
• Had numerous meetings with key Hill contacts to advocate for funds for Head Start and other early childhood programs; and
• Worked collaboratively and closely with other State and Regional Head Start Associations to tailor messages, facilitate the flow of critical information, and provide and coordinate strategy every step of the way.

We couldn't have done all of this without you.  And it couldn't have been done without our collective efforts.  So thank you.  Thanks to you, to our friends on Capitol Hill, to our colleagues in the advocacy community, to our friends in the business community and research community that helped, and especially to Head Start State and Regional Head Start Associations.

And one more thing:  All this work that NHSA did on the ARRA is paid for by Dollar Per Child funds.  That's why we need you to continue to support the Dollar Per Child Campaign.  Without a robust source of funds, NHSA can't lead the way in our advocacy efforts that benefit all Head Start programs.  It is through these dollars that we can advocate for you and with you on your behalf.  Don't wait.  Please send your contributions, whatever amount you can afford, whether it is $1 per child, $5 per child, or $10 per child to NHSA Dollar Per Child Campaign, P.O. Box 890080, Charlotte, NC 28289-0080.  Be sure to note which program, state, or region your donation is representing.  Dollar Per Child funds will ensure that NHSA can continue to lead the way in all of the future advocacy efforts coming up-from regulatory issues with the Office of Head Start, to additional fiscal year appropriations, to the next Head Start Act reauthorization which is not far off. 

ADMINISTRATIVE NEWS

Secretary of HHS
When NHSA last reported on the Administration, we were awaiting a confirmation of Tom Daschle to be the Secretary of the Department of Health and Human Services (the Department that contains the Office of Head Start).  Unfortunately, since then, he withdrew from nomination due to tax issues, and the Secretary position remains unfilled.  The Obama Administration is currently vetting candidates.  When there is more news on this nomination, we will keep you apprised. 

Secretary's Advisory Committee on Re-Designation of Head Start Grantees Report
The Office of Head Start has posted the final report from the Secretary's Advisory Committee on Re-Designation of Head Start Grantees on the ECLKC website.  To download a copy and review their recommendations, please go to: http://eclkc.ohs.acf.hhs.gov/hslc/Program%20Design%20and%20Management/Head%20Start%20Requirements/Renewal%20of%20Head%20Start%20Grantees/RenewalofHeadS.htm.  ACF will review the Committee's recommendations and at some point in the future, pursuant to the reauthorized Head Start Act, ACF will publish via Notice and Comment Rulemaking in the Federal Register its proposed process for re-competing Head Start Programs.  The field will have 90 days from whenever ACF publishes its draft regulations to comment on the process.  For more on how Notice and Comment Rulemaking works, download a new publication written for NHSA and distributed at the recent Leadership Conference. 

CHECK OUT NHSA ON MYSPACE

NHSA is now on My Space.  Check us out and join our group!  http://www.myspace.com/nhsa

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

This Legislative E-Update has been sent to Head Start Directors, the NHSA Board, Head Start State and Regional Association Presidents, Executive Directors, and Parents. Please share it with others in your network.