National Head Start Association

Take Action to Protect Head Start!

The potential effects of sequestration and budget negotiations make Head Start advocacy critical in the next few months - without your help, severe cuts could devastate children, families and programs across the country. On August 10 the House and Senate adjourned for a five week District/State Work Period. Until September 10th, Representatives and Senators will be touring their home states and districts. This is a good opportunity for you to educate them about the success of your program over the past year, what you are doing to prepare for the coming school year, and the effects of funding cuts could be to your community.

We have prepared a few tools that make it easier to engage with your Members of Congress. On our Sequestration Action Resources Web page you’ll find the tools, including:

• A link to SupportHeadStart.org where you can send a message to your Members of Congress
  
• Sample questions you can use if your Members of Congress host a Town Hall
  
• Sample tweets and facebook posts
  
• A template for a Letter to the Editor you can submit to your local press
  
• Information you can leave with your Member of Congress
  

Opening the Doors: A Community Volunteer Tool Kit

NHSA, in collaboration with PNC Grow Up Great is pleased to offer Opening the Doors: A Community Volunteer Tool Kit to Head Start and Early Head Start directors and community outreach staff who want to enhance their program’s services by engaging community volunteers!

Using this tool kit can:

• help you increase the number of community volunteers,
  
• contribute substantially toward your non-federal share,
  
• provide new and innovative resources for staff and parents and
  
• strengthen existing volunteer coordination systems.
  

Celebrate the new year with First Day!

Early Learning at a Crossroads: Registration now open!

NHSA’s Fall 2012 Leadership Institute is designed to provide the policy insights, tools, and advocacy that will strengthen the effectiveness of Head Start program leaders as they participate in important discussions about the future of early learning and Head Start. The effect of the upcoming presidential election, funding challenges, developments in monitoring reform, the anticipated September release of the third grade results of the Head Start Impact Study, and states’ experiments with early learning systems will be explored and participants will get powerful advocacy training before meeting with their Members of Congress.

The institute will take place in Washington DC, September 19-21. Learn more and register today!  (Note: 2012-2013 NHSA member programs are eligible for discounted registration rates!

NHSA Parent Conference 2012: Call for Presenters

HSA is now accepting proposals for presentations during our Parent Conference this December in Dallas, Texas. Proposals are due by 9/14/12. Learn more here.
 

Coming Up on September 5th: Non-Federal Share A Head Start Legal Advisory Service Webinars

Start your year off right. Attend the Head Start Legal Advisory Service upcoming webinar on Non-Federal Share, led by Ted Waters, of Feldesman Tucker Leifer Fidell LLP, to ensure your program determines what items and services count as match and how to document matching share. On Wednesday, September 5 from 3-5 pm EST, Ted Waters will help your program identify and avoid common non-federal share challenges. Head Start programs are required to provide a 20% match of non-federal funds for the operation of their programs. This match (or "non-federal share") applies to regular Head Start and Early Head Start funds, as well as those received under the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009, so be sure to sign up your whole team for this webinar! At the end of this webinar, you will be able to:

• Distinguish what items and services your program can count as match;
  
• Recognize how to document matching share;
  
• Reinforce why showing "overmatch" makes sense; and
  
• Consider common and not-so-common pitfalls to avoid.

Coming Up on September 12th: Grants Issues You Need to Know from 3-5 pm EST. A Head Start Legal Advisory Service Webinar

Start your year off right. Attend the Head Start Legal Advisory Service upcoming webinar on Head Start Grants Issues, led by Zoë Beckerman, of Feldesman Tucker Leifer Fidell LLP, to learn the core elements of a grant and the common problem areas for Head Start programs. On Wednesday, September 12th from 3-5 pm EST, Zoë Beckerman will discuss the core elements of a grant and critical issues in working with grants. Whether you are new to Head Start or Early Head Start or you need a refresher on some of the most critical issues in working with grants, be sure to sign up for this webinar! At the end of this webinar, you will be able to:

• Recognize what a grant is (and isn’t);
  
• Analyze the strings that attach to your grant (and what you have to do about them); and
  
• Identify why the following matter to your program and what you should do about them:
  

advance payments, budget flexibility, matching or cost sharing, federal interest, and procurement rules.

The Head Start Legal Advisory Service is a collaboration between the law firm of Feldesman Tucker Leifer Fidell LLP and the National Head Start Association. Click here for the full schedule of Head Start Legal Advisory Service webinars, to learn about our new reduced pricing, and to register for either or both webinars.