NHSA Update Week of June 28, 2010
Date Posted: 06/29/2010
Week of June 28, 2010
Dear Friends:
School may be out for many of our nation's schools and programs, but there is still much work to be done on behalf of our Head Start community! We need your help today and have included extremely important information in our Call to Action section which is at the top of this week's Update. Please read this email and share it with others in your network. It contains a Call to Action (for which we really need your help ASAP), a Legislative Update, an Administrative Update, an NHSA Update, and some Additional Resources just for you!
NHSA UPDATE AT A GLANCE
- Call To Action
- NHSA Re-Launches SupportHeadStart.org
- Head Start Appropriations Alert
- Legislative Update
- Jobs Bill Update
- Appropriations Update
- Congressional Recess
- Election Update
- NHSA Update
- NHSA Affiliate Relations -Working for You
- NHSA Academy 2010-Raising the Bar: Leading and Managing in Head Start
- Save the Date for the Leadership Institute and 45th Anniversary Gala!
- Head Start Researcher/Practitioner Connections Group
- Resources for you
- Get Ready for Fall-Check out On-Demand Topics from the Head Start Legal Advisory Service
- U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission: Recalls You Need to Know
- Dollar Per Child
CALL TO ACTION
NHSA Launches SupportHeadStart.org
To help our field get important and timely messages to Capitol Hill, we have launched www.SupportHeadStart.org. From this easy-to-use website, you can send a message to your Representatives and Senators and keep the pressure on to adequately support our program. The time is now. Please act on the Call to Action below by using this website to send messages about Head Start and Early Head Start appropriations for FY 2011.
Head Start Appropriations We need your help and the time is now! Congress may not approve the President's budget request for Head Start for FY 2011, which means we could lose the gains we recently made through the Recovery Act.
Contact your Member of Congress and your Senator this week - they will soon be in Congressional Recess and NOW is the time to act. Schedule a time to meet with them and make the following points:
- Please support the President's budget for Head Start in FY 2011.
- If there is a Continuing Resolution, please ensure that Head Start expansion funds are included in the Continuing Resolution along with our regular appropriation.
- If we don't receive funds at the President's budget level, Head Start programs across the country - including in your district (or state) - will lose recently created jobs and have to cut at-risk children and families from the program.
- Let's keep the commitment Congress made to Head Start's community and continue to fund the program at a level that does not require cutting jobs or families from services.
How?
We need to ensure that the Appropriations Committees' members are contacted by their constituents. If your Senator or Representative is on either of the lists below, please make sure you call or email ASAP. If your Senator or Representative, isn't on either list, please call, send a message from www.SupportHeadStart.org, and/or email yours in order to ask them to contact their Appropriations colleagues in support of your Head Start request.
- Here's a link to the list of Senate Appropriators: Senate Appropriators.
- And here's a link to the list of House Appropriators: House Appropriators.
To call: The Capitol switchboard number is (202) 224-3121. Just ask for your Representative or Senator.
To use www.SupportHeadStart.org: Go to www.supportheadstart.org. Type in your zip code, and send a fast and efficient message to your Senators or Representatives. Then, you can easily ask your friends, colleagues, and family to do the same!
To email: Go to www.senate.gov and click on your Senator's website or www.house.gov and click on your Representative's website. On each website, there is a contact or feedback form which will allow you to email him/her directly. Please send this email to others in your network who can also reach out. Don't delay, call today. Remember, raise your hand! Use your voice! Together, we can make a difference!
If you have any questions, or if you are not sure who your Representative is, please contact Tommy Sheridan at tsheridan@nhsa.org or 703-739-7560.
LEGISLATIVE UPDATE
Jobs Bill Update
As the national unemployment rate continues to linger at about 10%, the pressure on lawmakers to provide relief for jobless Americans continues to grow. Last winter, the House of Representatives took the first steps in extending assistance for unemployed workers, voting to pass H.R. 4213, The American Jobs and Closing Tax Loopholes Act of 2010. The $140 billion jobs bill made its way to the Senate Committee on Finance in early March, and currently the full Senate is working to resolve differences to move the legislation forward.
After a procedural vote failed to attract enough support last week, the bill's Senate supporters will now turn to cutting costs and will soon introduce a scaled back version of the proposed legislation. It is expected that the new version will include a cut to the weekly unemployment payments by $25 per week (the same amount that payments were increased by the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009) saving an estimated $5.8 billion and other provisions designed to reduce federal spending. Additionally, the $24 billion Medicaid extension initially proposed and ultimately removed by the House and then re-included by the Senate will likely be contested as bill supporters look for cuts to garner the necessary 60 votes needed to pass the bill. Stay tuned!
For more information on H.R. 4213, The American Jobs and Closing Tax Loopholes Act of 2010, please go to http://thomas.loc.gov/ and type in bill number H.R. 4213.
Appropriations Update
Congress is currently trying to deal with the nation's deficit and determine spending for FY 2011. This is no easy task. As noted above, we are in jeopardy of losing our Recovery Act expansion gains, because they are not yet a part of our base grants. (The President's proposed budget for FY 2011 would make the Recovery Act expansion part of our base grants instead of a supplement.) Congress is especially concerned about maintaining jobs across the country in communities right now. Congress is grappling with budget and appropriations issues and the entire Head Start community needs to send messages to Capitol Hill about why we cannot afford to lose the job gains and program expansions.
A network of more than 60 state, regional and national Head Start associations has delivered to Capitol Hill a strong message in support of Head Start's request for Federal Fiscal Year 2011 of a $1 billion increase. This unprecedented show of unity supports securing an estimated 24,000 new jobs created with ARRA funding and continuing services to 64,000 very low income children and families. To view the letter sent to the House, click here. To view the letter sent to the Senate, click here.
Our work is far from done-we still need your help! Please see our call to action above to see what you can do to ensure not one job is cut and not one family is lost from our Head Start community.
Congress Enters July Recess Beginning Monday, July 5, 2010
The House and Senate entered their District Work Periods, also known as "Recess," Monday, July 5th and will return to the hill Monday, July 12th. With your legislators back in their home districts, now is a wonderful time to meet with them and talk about why we cannot afford to lose the job gains and program expansions as they continue to work on FY2011 Appropriations legislation. Tell them you stand behind the President's FY2011 budget request and remind them why it is so important to making our nation's children ready for life. Please see the Call to Action above for additional information and talking points for your meetings!
If you need any assistance with this, contact Tommy Sheridan at tsheridan@nhsa.org or 703-739-7560.
Election Updates: On the Road to Mid-Term Elections
Congressional mid-term elections will occur this coming November. We are currently deep in the midst of primary season for Representatives and Senators. In our last election update we touched on a number of special elections that occurred this spring-now there have been some interesting developments in many of the scheduled state primaries throughout the nation. There has been a long standing expectation that incumbents, or current seat-holders, are more likely than not to be reelected for another term. In this current primary season there have already been two "upsets" with Arlen Specter (D-PA) and Bob Bennett (R-UT). Blanche Lincoln (D-AK) managed to escape adding her name to the list, winning the Arkansas Democratic nomination for Senate this month. Additionally, another notable primary win comes from Nevada where Sharron Angle garnered the Republican nomination. Angle will face Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-NV) this November.
NHSA UPDATE
NHSA Affiliate Relations -- Working for You
Please mark your calendars for NHSA's Affiliate networking sessions.
For Regional Associations Join the Water Cooler:
- July 6th @ 4:00 pm EDT/1:00 pm PDT
- September 7th @ 4:00 pm EDT/1:00 pm PDT
- November 9th @ 4:00 pm EDT/1:00 pm PDT
- July 23th @ 12:00 pm EDT/9:00 am PDT
- September 17th @ 12:00 pm EDT/9:00 am PDT
- November 19th @ 12:00 pm EDT/9:00 am PDT
The purpose of these networking sessions is to support and enhance the operations of national, regional and state associations. Agendas will be crafted so time is allocated to discuss association operational issues, success and challenges. Special topics will be presented in the area of communications, connectivity, parent and grassroots engagement, professional development and State/Federal policy issues. Guests will be invited to provide specific content as well as time allocated to encourage an informal exchange of ideas. We anticipate these events will be traditional conference calls as well as web seminars.
If you have questions or want more information, please contact Edward Condon, Director of Affiliate Relations - econdon@nhas.org to learn more and work collectively to move Head Start forward.
NHSA Academy 2010-Raising the Bar: Leading and Managing in Head Start
The NHSA Academy Administrator and Mid Manager Credential Program, an intensive four-day course, was held June 14-17, 2010 in San Antonio, TX. At 164 participants, this was the largest class of graduating candidates since the Academy began in the mid 1990s. Visiting Faculty included experienced, knowledgeable and energetic presenters. Among the faculty were Guylaine Richard, M.D., MPH, Richard Etc., LLC, Betsy Haas, M.A., Esteemed Human Development, Myra Crouch, Ph.D., STG International, Inc. and Teresa Gilbert, M.S., Pathways to Excellence. Faculty covered a variety of module topics ranging from Administration and Management and Principles of Effective Leadership to Growing Dynamic Organizations and Building Social Capital.
As a special highlight, Amanda Bryans and Colleen Rathgeb from the Office of Head Start presented a session on Integrity in Head Start Program Practices. Candidates participated in interactive and engaging groups to extend the learning and share resources and information with their colleagues from across the country. The Academy includes daily reading and written assignments as well as an ending project called Capstone Proposal, in which candidate's apply the learning from the week to a real system or service area enhancement or need in the candidate's program.
Quotes from Academy 2010 Candidates:
- "This has really been a very valuable experience-one of the best I've attended in my Head Start career."
- " ...for me, this was the best professional development event I have been too, by far! I told my supervisor that she made the best investment sending me here."
In all, the 2010 NHSA Head Start Academy was a great success and NHSA would like to thank the Visiting Faculty, Office of Head Start Representatives, and all of the participants for their hard work, valuable insight, and time!
Save the Date for the Leadership Institute and Head Start 45th Anniversary Celebration!
With a theme of "Building Social Capital: Head Start's Horizon" the NHSA Leadership Institute will be held September 20-23, 2010 at the L'Enfant Plaza Hotel in Washington, DC. This institute will cover hot Head Start topics, including an update on federal legislation affecting Head Start, discussions about the revised Head Start Program Performance Standards, ethics, media relations, Migrant/Seasonal Head Start issues, NHSA affiliate relations, and a discussion about how to make Head Start part of a birth to grade 3 model. This institute will provide an opportunity for Head Start leaders to educate their members of Congress about the need to approve President Obama's FY 2011 budget proposal for Head Start. In addition, attendees will have an opportunity to attend the Head Start 45th Anniversary Celebration the evening of September 22. To register for the Leadership Institute and/or the 45th Anniversary Celebration, please click here.
Head Start Researcher/Practitioner Connections Group
NHSA has created a new Head Start connections group for professional networking and dialogue among researchers and practitioners by using LinkedIn. The purposes of this group are to foster connections between Head Start practitioners and the researchers and to generate research addressing questions of interest to the Head Start community. To join the group, please click here.
RESOURCES FOR YOU
Get Ready for the Fall-Check out On-Demand Topics from the Head Start Legal Advisory Service
The Head Start Legal Advisory Service will be taking a breather for most of the summer and will be back as programs return to the classroom in late summer. During our summer hiatus, you can continue use our on-demand contentto view at your leisure for 30 days! Check out on-demand topics at: Head Start Legal Advisory Service Topics.
U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission: Recalls You Need to Know
NHSA is dedicated to making sure our Head Start children and families remain safe. To do so, we are bringing you the "Most Wanted" recall list from the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission ("CPSC") to make sure your program staff and families are aware of the latest and most relevant recalls from the CPSC. Check out this list and links with additional information below:
Most Wanted List:
MEGA Brands Magnetic Toys
Simplicity Bassinets
Playskool Tool Benches
Delta Cribs (Safety Peg)
Dorel Asia Cribs
Simplicity Cribs
For more information on these and other recalls, please visit http://www.cpsc.gov/
DOLLAR PER CHILD
NHSA would like to give a big thanks to all of the programs who have donated to the Dollar per Child Campaign ("DPC") so far this year. As you know, the funds from Dollars per Child help NHSA pay for all of our legislative efforts, including the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act, Head Start Appropriations, Early Learning Challenge Fund, and other legislative efforts. Your support of the DPC Campaign is vital to NHSA's advocacy efforts on behalf of the Head Start Community. We cannot do our work without your support!
Our work is far from done. With an ever-challenging budget situation in Washington, the struggle to preserve the gains of the ARRA will undoubtedly be even more strenuous in the coming years. So 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 website.
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.
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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