News You Can Use Week of February 22 2013
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Early Bird Registration for NHSA's 40th Annual Conference Ends March 1!
Early Head Start Home Visiting Leadership Network New healthcare legislation and growing attention to home visiting are creating exciting opportunities to expand Early Head Start home visiting in states across the country. To ensure Early Head Start programs are aware of these opportunities and have the resources to meet them, the National Head Start Association is convening an Early Head Start Home Visiting Leadership Network. This network will serve as a platform for NHSA to disseminate resources and updates and also a forum where members can ask questions, share their experience, and build new connections with a national group of colleagues and allies. Membership in the network is open to EHS/HS directors, state Head Start Association directors, state Head Start collaboration directors, and others interested in the expanding role of EHS home visiting.We will be holding an introductory webinar for the Network on Monday, February 25th, from 1:00-1:45 PM ET. You can register for the webinar here. If you would like to join the Network, complete the form here.
Raise Your Voice for Kids In less than a week, sequestration will cut nearly 70,000 young children from Early Head Start and Head Start unless Congress acts to stop it. Our children are too young to be their own advocates - we must speak up for them! Go to http://www.supportheadstart.org/9256/tell-administration-congress-to-avoid-sequestration/ now and send a message to the President and Congress about the importance of our national commitment to young children. Family Service and Parent Engagement Coordinators! The March NHSA Family Connections newsletter is ready to print. This issue focuses on “Screen Time” and includes information on how screen time affects children’s brain development and ways a family can limit viewing for preschoolers. Family Connections is produced by PreSchoolFirst and is an exclusive benefit for NHSA Program Members. To access, go to NHSA’s Family Service Resource Center. Take a moment to share your professional development goals! NHSA wants to hear from you on your professional development goals for the upcoming year. In particular, we are seeking to hear from individuals working in direct services to provide education, health or social service support. Please take a moment to complete our survey - the data will help shape our offerings in conferences, partnerships and advocacy with the Office of Head Start. Upcoming Webinar: Outcomes-Based Family Assessment and Goal-Setting Wednesday, Feb. 27th
Coming Up on Wednesday, March 6th: Time & Effort Reporting and Cost Allocation from 3-5 pm EST. A Head Start Legal Advisory Service Webinar
Avoid significant cost disallowances. Attend the Head Start Legal Advisory Service's upcoming webinar, led by Ted Waters of Feldesman Tucker Leifer Fidell LLP, to learn about core elements of grants and common problem areas for Head Start programs on Wednesday, March 6th from 3-5 pm EST. We will share a sample timesheet, so be sure to sign up for this webinar! At the end of this webinar, you will be able to:
Who Should Attend: Executive Directors, Head Start Directors, CFOs, and others involved in planning or accounting activities, but all are welcome to attend.
Coming Up on Wednesday, March 20th: Staff Qualifications and HR Policies and Procedures from 3-5 pm EST. A Head Start Legal Advisory Service Webinar
Does your program's staff meet Head Start standards? Attend the Head Start Legal Advisory Service's upcoming webinar, led by Zoë Beckerman of Feldesman Tucker Leifer Fidell LLP, to learn about staff qualification requirements and how to sculpt your policies and procedures on Wednesday, March 20th from 3-5 pm EST. We will share sample checklists, so be sure to sign up for this webinar! At the end of this webinar, you will be able to:
Who Should Attend: Executive Directors, Head Start Directors, Human Resources Director and HR Personnel, but all are welcome to attend.
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.
National Training Institute on Effective Practices: Addressing Challenging Behavior, March 20-23, 2013 NHSA is a primary partner of the Technical Assi stance Center on Social Emotional Intervention (TACSEI). TACSEI and the Florida Center for Inclusive Communities (FCIC) are pleased to offer this unique and in-depth professional development experience. The Institute brings together experts from around the country who present three-hour workshops offering practical, ready-to-use information on social and emotional development. It is an unparalleled opportunity to increase your skills, build a network of colleagues, and become part of a growing professional community who use the Pyramid Model. Visit the Institute Web site to learn more! Abriendo Puertas/Opening Doors Facilitator Training Coming to Raleigh, NC March 13-14, 2013 Abriendo Puertas Facilitators, Barbara Heckman and Susana Guijarro, are now accepting registrations for their 2-day Abriendo Puertas training March 13-14, 2013 in Raleigh, NC. Registration deadline is March 8, 2013. Abriendo Puertas / Opening Doors is a school readiness program that strengthens the leadership and advocacy skills of parents with children ages 0 to 5. The curriculum is based on popular education and draws on the real life experiences of participants. The parenting education model supports outcomes in the PFCE Framework and aligns with school readiness goals. Please email Barbara Heckman at barbara.heckman@coastalca.org to request a registration form.
As a busy family service practitioner, do you find it challenging to travel to attend training? Why not bring the professional development to you! NHSA offers a Family Services Credential in a self-study, portfolio-based format. The family service worker can move at his or her own pace over a six month period. The credential is an opportunity to be reflective of your family service practices and to demonstrate your skills and abilities in providing Head Start family services. For more information visit the NHSA Academy page or contact Carleen Wallington Kinlock at cwallingtonkinlock@nhsa.org or 703-299-7513. Affordable Care Act Resources The Affordable Care Act, the health care law passed in 2010, creates unprecedented opportunities for millions of Americans to access health insurance coverage. A healthier country is one in which more Americans are able to access the care they need to prevent the onset of disease and manage disease when it is present. The Affordable Care Act creates new state-based marketplaces to offer millions of Americans new access to affordable health insurance coverage. In addition, the law helps make prevention affordable and accessible for all Americans by requiring health plans to cover certain recommended preventive services without cost sharing. Outreach efforts are needed to ensure that families and communities understand these new developments and to provide eligible individuals the assistance they need to secure and retain coverage as smoothly as possible during the transition and beyond. HealthCare.gov, a resources provided by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services provides information about these changes and enrolling in available sources of insurance through the Health Insurance Marketplace, such as subsidized private insurance, Medicaid, and CHIP. Please share information about these options and to the extent it is an appropriate activity under your grant, assist your staff and parents in enrolling in available insurance plans so that they will have available to them all possible resources for supporting their health needs.
KaBOOM!, the national non-profit organization dedicated to saving play, is currently accepting applications from non-profit child-serving organizations and schools that would benefit from and embrace the process of a community-built playspace partnership. KaBOOM! is mobilizing multiple Imagination Playground sets, their “playground in a box,” to Hurricane Sandy-affected areas. This is a means of bringing the joy of play back to kids immediately. Find out more... Child and Adult Care Food Program Survey Reducing paperwork in the Child and Adult Care Food Program (CACFP) is important to the future success of the program. Now your have a chance to be part of a national effort to identify opportunities to reduce CACFP paperwork. By completing a survey, you can assist in identifying areas that create unnecessary paperwork and can provide practical recommendations for its reduction. The U.S. Department of Agriculture will create a report from results of the survey for the U.S. Congress. A group of national organizations—including the National CACFP Forum, CACFP Sponsors Association, Child Care Food Program Round Table, CACFP National Professional Association, Minute Menu, and the National Head Start Association—have come together to collect information from a broad range of organizations sponsoring child care centers, afterschool programs, and family day care homes. To complete the survey, please visit the Survey Monkey Paperwork Reduction Survey Web page at http://www.surveymonkey.com/s/Paperwork_Reduction_Survey The survey must be completed by February 24, 2013. Office of Head Start (OHS) Leadership Award The Office of Head Start (OHS) Leadership Award recognizes program leaders who promote the vision and mission of Head Start and Early Head Start every day. It is presented every two years at the OHS National Birth to Five Leadership Institute. The 2013 theme is an area that is critical to Head Start's success—family engagement. This award will recognize programs as leaders in implementing an effective family engagement program goal that has resulted in positive outcomes for families and children. Programs have two chances to be recognized as leaders in family engagement, regionally and nationally. One program from each Region will be selected to receive a Regional Award. One of the 12 winners will then be selected to receive the National Award, which will be presented at the 2nd National Birth to Five Leadership Institute. Regional winners also will be recognized. NHSA Membership has its rewards
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Credentialing for Family Service Staff!
Kaboom! is Bringing Playgrounds to Sandy-affected Areas