NHSA Update Week of January 22, 2010
Date Posted: 01/24/2010
NHSA UPDATE
Week of January 22, 2010
Dear Friends:
Please read this email and share it with others in your network. It contains an NHSA Update, Administration News, a Legislative Update, some Additional Resources, and a Call to Action.
NHSA UPDATE
There is Still Time to Join us at our 2010 Leadership Institute
Head Start: Learning from the Past, Innovating for the Future!
Join us at the NHSA Leadership Institute in Arlington, Virginia, January 25, 2010- January 28, 2010 to hear from key federal policymakers and learn how Head Start is innovating in its programming, services, and policies for the future benefit of America's children and families. This Institute is an excellent professional development opportunity for leaders in the early childhood and care community including state and regional Head Start association presidents and executive directors, Head Start-state collaboration directors, Head Start and Early Head Start program directors, parents, teachers, and staff, and members of the NHSA Board of Directors. Don't miss out!
Reminder of Timeframe for Prime Recipients:
January 1 - 22, 2010: Prime and Sub Recipients report;
January 23, 2010: Recipients Review Reports, Prime Recipients and Sub Recipients Correct Reports;
January 24 - 29, 2010: Federal Agencies Review and Comment on Recipient Reports;
January 29, midnight P.S.T., 2010: Reporting Period Ends; January 30, 2010: Recipient Data is Posted on Recovery.gov;
February 2 - March 29, 2010: Agencies Comment on Recipient Reports, Prime Recipients Review Sub Recipients' Reports, Prime Recipients and Sub Recipients Correct Reports.
Head Start Impact Study
The Head Start Impact Study was released last week by the U.S. Department of Heath and Human Services. Its findings demonstrate that Head Start programs are of good or better quality than their counterparts and finds favorable cognitive, socio-emotional, and health impacts for children who attended Head Start and positive impacts on parenting practices. Although the study suggests that many of the gains made in Head Start prior to kindergarten might be lost by first grade, NHSA looks forward to continuing its work with the Head Start community to further improve and strengthen the lasting benefits of Head Start and Early Head Start for its children and their families.
For more information on the U.S. Department of Heath and Human Services Head Start Impact Study, please visit: http://www.acf.hhs.gov/programs/opre/hs/impact_study/
For NHSA's press release on the study, go to: http://www.nhsa.org/press_release_january_14_2010
State of the Union Address
As a reminder, President Obama is scheduled to give his annual State of the Union Address on Wednesday evening, January 27, 2010. It will be broadcast on the major networks as it usually is and will also be streamed live from the White House website, www.whitehouse.gov. President Obama is expected to talk about the direction for the Administration and its focus on jobs. In the ensuing days after the speech, we expect that the Administration will release its budget for FY 2011.
LEGISLATIVE UPDATE
New Senator
In a special election held on January 19, 2010 to fill the late Senator Kennedy's Senate seat, Massachusetts State Senator Scott Brown (R) won against State Attorney General Martha Coakley (D). Senator-elect Brown will take over for Senator Kirk who succeeded Kennedy through this special election. Brown will be sworn in once the election is certified. This is a significant election, because although Democrats will retain a majority in the Senate, they lost their 60-seat filibuster-proof margin. That should have an effect on the process for moving legislation going forward.
Health Care Reform
It is not yet known what effect the Massachusetts election will have on health reform efforts on Capitol Hill. At the time of the writing of this Update, Leadership was determining what steps they plan to take. There are myriad possibilities. Some include: the House could pass the Senate version of the bill as is; a vote might occur in both houses on a compromise bill prior to Brown taking office; the bill could be put through the budget reconciliation process; some smaller efforts with parts of the bills could be passed in sequence. Stay tuned!
The Access to Nutritious Meals for Young Children Act of 2009
At the end of last year, Senator Kirsten Gillibrand (D-NY) and Representative Paul D. Tonko (D-NY) introduced tandem legislation (S. 2749/H.R. 4402)that would allow child care centers and educational programs, including Head Start and Early Head Start, to offer nutritious meals through the Child and Adult Care Food Program ("CACFP"). The new legislation would increase reimbursement rates to help compensate costs of meals, add an additional meal option for those children who are in programs for longer hours, and reduce the percentage of children who must be from low-income families in a program for the center to be eligible for reimbursement. Both bills were sent to their respective Senate and House committees for review. To view either bill, please go to: http://thomas.loc.gov and type in the bill number.
RESOURCES FOR YOU
Head Start Legal Advisory Service Webinar: Head Start Monitoring --Program Design and Management
This coming week, Ted Waters of Feldesman Tucker Leifer Fidell LLP -- who also leads the Head Start Legal Advisory Service, will turn his focus to key elements of the Program Design and Management section of the OHS Monitoring Protocol. He will review actual questions in the new tool and provide tips. Executive Directors and your Management Teams are invited to join this webinar on Thursday, January 28, 2010 at 3 pm eastern time, to:
- Review actual questions in the new tool and what OHS is looking for
- Provide ideas about documentation to "prove up" your compliance
- Contemplate specific approaches to some sample problems
Head Start Legal Advisory Service Webinar: Head Start Monitoring -- Fiscal
Ted Waters adds to the Legal Advisory Service's Head Start Monitoring series with a special focus on the fiscal sections of the OHS Monitoring Protocol. He will review actual questions in the new tool and provide tips. Executive Directors, Management Team, and Fiscal Staff are invited to join this important webinar on Thursday, February 4, 2010 at 3 pm eastern time, to:
- Review actual questions in the new tool and what OHS is looking for;
- Provide ideas about documentation to "prove up" your compliance; and
- Work through specific approaches to some sample problems.
CALL TO ACTION
Give to Dollar Per Child
Thanks to all of you who donated to the Dollar per Child Campaign ("DPC") this year. All the work that NHSA did on the ARRA and is doing on other current legislative efforts is paid for by Dollar Per Child funds. With a difficult budget situation in the coming years, the struggle to maintain the gains of ARRA will arguably be even more arduous. That is why we need you to continue to support the Dollar Per Child Campaign and to get everyone in your program and your community to support DPC. 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. You can even easily donate online on our new, improved website at: https://www.nhsa.org/get_involved/donate.
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. Remember, raise your hand! Use your words! Together we can make a difference.
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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This NHSA Update has been sent to Head Start Directors, the NHSA Board, Head Start State and Regional Association Presidents, Executive Directors, Parents, and Corporate Sponsors.