Return-Path: <nifl-family@literacy.nifl.gov> Received: from literacy (localhost [127.0.0.1]) by literacy.nifl.gov (8.10.2/8.10.2) with SMTP id h1ANdpP12682; Mon, 10 Feb 2003 18:39:51 -0500 (EST) Date: Mon, 10 Feb 2003 18:39:51 -0500 (EST) Message-Id: <NEBBLAFBNKGFIGNOCKINEEBBCCAA.jlee@famlit.org> Errors-To: listowner@literacy.nifl.gov Reply-To: nifl-family@literacy.nifl.gov Originator: nifl-family@literacy.nifl.gov Sender: nifl-family@literacy.nifl.gov Precedence: bulk From: "Jon Lee" <jlee@famlit.org> To: Multiple recipients of list <nifl-family@literacy.nifl.gov> Subject: [NIFL-FAMILY:1395] Clips and Cross Posts X-Listprocessor-Version: 6.0c -- ListProcessor by Anastasios Kotsikonas X-Mailer: Microsoft Outlook IMO, Build 9.0.2416 (9.0.2911.0) Content-Transfer-Encoding: 8bit Content-Type: text/plain; Status: O Content-Length: 13038 Lines: 292 Hello from Poughkeepsie, NY! This may be a little long...sorry :o) Here is a posting from our friends at the American Indian Head Start Quality Insurance Center: FYI - from the American Indian/Alaska Native Collaboration Office, This is a synopsis of the Friday, February 7, 2003 teleconference between the Head Start Bureau and State Association Presidents and Collaboration Director, and official version will be posted soon on the Head Start website, this is for information only, and is being forwarded to the listserve by the AI/AN Collaboration Director Charley Hare. ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- ---- In a satellite and audio conference on Friday, February 7, 2003, HHS Associate Commissioner Windy Hill outlined the provisions of the Administration’s 2004 budget proposal to move the Head Start to the Department of Education. Hill stated that this proposed move should not impact the things that we are doing now, and there were some questions that can’t be answered. The Head Start Bureau is the primary source for information concerning the policy and implementation of the President’s budget initiative and the job of the federal staff are to ensure the implementation. In this country, it is the administration’s right, with Congressional consent to make critical and key decision and to implement them with legislative management, Hill stated Key elements of the teleconference covered Head Start’s move to the Department of Education; the process for states to opt into the administration of Head Start; and the process by which this initiative will and can be affected during the Congressional budget review. During the conference, Hill stated she believed the Migrant and American Indian Programs will not be included in the proposal and recognized that every child is important. Craig Turner, Head Start Program Branch Administrator, provided an overview of the administration’s proposal. Turner directed participants to the White House website and the proposed 2004 budget. States with be given the opportunity to interface and access Head Start funding, and Head Start would be transitioned in 2004 from Health and Human Services to the Department of Education with the entire Head Start budget appropriation be transferred to the Department of Education in 2005. A Health and Human Service press release on “President Bush’s Plan to Prepare Children for Kindergarten” is available at www.hhs.gov/news/2003pres/20030203.html (posted on Monday, February 3, 2003). The key elements are: · State Preschool Goals and Activities. States will explain how they will work with the public schools at the state or local level to develop the skills and behaviors that children must possess to perform well in kindergarten. The state will also explain how it will develop and implement a set of guidelines for use by individual programs to develop these skills and behaviors during the preschool years. The skills and behaviors should include: language development; pre-reading skills including phonological awareness, letter knowledge, and vocabulary; numeracy; and social and emotional competence. · State Accountability Program. States must develop an accountability program that will indicate how well children in individual programs are performing relative to the skills and behaviors identified by the state as prerequisites for effective kindergarten performance. Accountability results by program will be made public and states will be encouraged to conduct activities designed to help parents understand the results for their child and their child's program. To the maximum extent possible, states should allow parents choice in the selection of preschool programs. · Coverage and Maintenance of Effort. The state plan must result in, at a minimum, the same coverage to serve at least as many Head Start eligible three- and four-year-olds as are currently being served through Head Start. The state plan should identify the number of state dollars that were spent on state preschool programs and Head Start programs in the most recent fiscal year, and provide assurances that it will, at a minimum, maintain this level of state spending each year. States must also continue to provide comprehensive services, including social, family, and health services. States should ensure that all their preschool programs are coordinated with the Medicaid and State Child Health Insurance Program as well as with social service programs that provide help to poor and low-income families. · Professional Development. States will provide information on their plan for assuring professional development opportunities for preschool teachers and administrators. · Preschool Program Coordination. States will explain how they intend to coordinate the use of funds across all state and federal programs that have the purpose of promoting school readiness and how they will administer the program. These include, at a minimum, Head Start, Early Head Start, Title I preschool, the special education preschool program, and state-funded preschool programs. States are encouraged to include child care programs in their plan, especially programs supported by funds from the Child Care and Development Block Grant. The administration's proposal includes an additional feature that is designed to help fund the development of preschool guidelines and accountability programs. Under current law, the Department of Health and Human Services spends about $165 million per year to provide technical assistance to improve Head Start programs. The administration intends to make a significant portion of this money available to states to meet their needs in designing and implementing state plans. Turner stated the budget justification would also be available soon on the Administration of Children and Families website with a detailed explanation of the 2004 Head Start budget which will include a $148 million funding increase request to cover a 2.2 % COLA and reallocation of $69 million to increase enrollment. Turner discussed how T/TA budget dollars will be reallocated to provide Regional Offices the ability to work with States in finding the most effective use of T/TA dollars to on-going Head Start grantees. If States don’t opt in the process the program would continue as a Federal to local model. For approximately 30 minutes, Hill and her staff answered many directed questions from State Collaboration directors and State HS Association presidents concerning specific implementation strategies of the budget proposal. Commissioner Hill was clear that Head Start directors need to stay focused during this time; to support and build capacity within their programs; and, to review key elements of their scope of work. Currently there are no known timelines and the Head Start Bureau will keep the collaboration directors informed. Associate Commissioner Hill reinforced-with participants that the Bureau is committed to responding in the timeliest. A participant asked How the Head Start impact study fit into this new direction and the response was the findings of the Impact study will not be known until 2006 and the need to serve children of this age good will still be needed. A director wanted to know how this will play out with current state plan processes and with state planning initiatives and the response was that there are no clear answers yet, but over the next few months as the budget process plays out the details will begin to develop which should lead to better coordination in state plans. Other issues will surface during reauthorization. Hill responded to a request on the effect of the proposal on the national reporting system that the reporting system is an important effort and regardless of the placement of the program that the reporting systems will continue to be a piece of the puzzle. In response to a question of expanded role of collaboration offices and how the standards would play out under the proposed transition to Department of Education and to state administration of the Head Start program, the Federal staff stated how all this will play out depends on the review of plans submitted to the Federal staff but does allow states to adopt their own models of comprehensive services. States will have flexibility with accountability in the formulation of their State plans. This weeks "Connect for Kids" www.connectforkids.org has a great set of reactions to the President's budget proposals. Check it out! [cross-posted from NIFL-National Literacy Advocacy listserv:] ALERT SUMMARY This Thursday, the House is scheduled to vote on H.R.4, the Personal Responsibility, Work and Family Promotion Act of 2003 (reauthorization of welfare reform). H.R.4 contains a super-wavier provision that could severely damage adult education in many states. Your calls are particularly important if you live or work in the districts of moderate or new Members of Congress (see list below). ACTION NEEDED: 1. If your Congressperson is on the list below, please call his/her office (Capitol Switchboard: 202-224-3121) 2. Ask to speak to the person who handles welfare issues. 3. Message ... "VOTE NO ON FINAL PASSAGE OF H.R. 4, the Republican welfare reauthorization plan. Please support a Democratic substitute." (This substitute bill is expected to correct the deficiencies noted below.) 4. Urge other literacy advocates in your program to make calls too. Let them know that this welfare plan restricts education and training opportunities that are crucial in helping TANF recipients in your state or local area to gain the necessary skills to help them move from public assistance to self-sufficiency, and for helping employers in your state or local area to access a skilled workforce in order to compete in today's economy. BACKGROUND The Republican version of H.R.4 contains the following detrimental provisions ... 1. Super-waiver ... H.R.4 permits states to redirect adult education funding to serve ONLY welfare recipients and waive "direct and equitable access" in awarding competitive grants. Welfare recipients accounted for only 9.5% of learners in all WIA Title II State Grant funded adult education programs in 2001, according to U.S. Dept. of Ed statistics. 2. Education and Training ... H.R.4 restricts access to education and training by limiting the time allowed to participate in these programs to 4 months out of every 24 months. 3. Legal Immigrants ... H.R.4 fails to restore benefits to legal immigrants, despite the fact that they work hard, pay taxes, and proudly serve in our nation's military. 4. Work Requirements ... H.R.4 increases states' work requirement to 70 percent of the TANF caseload and demands 40 hours of work regardless of families' economic situation, barriers to work, or need. PLEASE CALL YOUR CONGRESSPERSON IF HE/SHE IS LISTED BELOW Last year, the House passed a bill very similar to H.R.4 It died in the Senate. The following moderates voted in favor of the bill last year. We need them to vote against H.R.4 on Thursday. (Note of urgency ... Since Republicans control the Senate this year, we CAN'T count on the Senate to prevent these provisions from being passed into law.) AL ... Cramer (D) CT ... Johnson (R); Shays (R), Simmons (R) DE ... Castle (R) FL ... Boyd (D) IL ... Johnson (R) KY ... Lucas (D) MD ... Gilchrest (R) MN ... Peterson (D) MS ... Taylor (D) NJ ... LoBiondo (R) NY ... Boehlert, (R); Houghton (R) ND ... Pomeroy (D) OR ... Wu (D) PA ... Greenwood (R); Holden (D); Weldon (R) TN ... Tanner TX ... Edwards, (D); Hall (D) WI ... Petri (R) The following list includes new members of the House of Representatives. They didn't vote on the bill last year. As first-term Congresspersons, they very much need to please their constituents. AL ... Bonner (R); Davis (D); Rogers (R) AZ ... Franks (R); Grijalva (D); Renzi (R) CA ... Cardoza (D); Nunez (R); Sanchez (D) CO ... Beauprez (R); Musgrave (R) FL ... Diaz-Balart (R); Feeney (R); Harris (R); Meek (D); Waite (R) GA ... Burns (R); Gingrey (R); Majette (D); Marshall (D); Scott (D) HI ... Case (D) IL ... Emanuel (D) IN ... Chocola (R) IA ... King (R) LA ... Alexander (D) ME ... Michaud (D) MD ... Ruppersberger (D); Van Hollen (D) MI ... McCotter (R); Miller (R) MN ... Kline (R) NH ... Bradley (R) NJ ... Garrett (R) NM ... Pearce (R) NY ... Bishop (D) NV ... Porter (R) NC ... Balance (D); Miller (D) OK ... Cole (R) OH ... Ryan (D); Turner (R) PA ... Gerlach (R); Murphy (R) SC ... Barrett (R) SD ... Janklow (R) TN ... Blackburn (R); Cooper (D); Davis (D) TX ... Bell (D); Burgess (R); Carter (R); Hensarling (R) UT... Bishop (R) # # # Jon Randall Consultant, Government Relations ProLiteracy Worldwide and Public Policy Committee Chair National Coalition for Literacy www.natcoalitionliteracy.org 8413 Park Crest Drive, Silver Spring, MD 20910 Tel: (301) 588-5304 Fax: (301) 588-5353 jrandall@FedStrategics.com
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