Today, Gov. Chris Gregoire announced cuts of $51 million to the WorkFirst program for the rest of state fiscal year 2011 (which ends June 30, 2011). WorkFirst is our state’s “welfare to work” program, which helps low-income families become self-sufficient through training and support services. WorkFirst includes the Working Connections Child Care program, which offers child care subsidies to low-income families who are working, looking for work or in job training.

Read more about today's announcement on the Department of Early Learning's blog, DEL Connect.

Gov. Chris Gregoire signed a bill into law today that will help working parents by reforming the state’s child care subsidy system, making it easier for children to remain with the same providers and for parents and the state to manage the aid.

Under the current system, Washington State reviewed parents’ eligibility for child care subsidies, on average, every three-and-a-half months, though it could wait up to six months, according to the Washington State Association of Head Start & ECEAP. This created regular headaches, and sometimes loss of support, for both parents and providers.

That’s because parents were often forced to resubmit paperwork every two months, three months or four months. Sometimes they lost their subsidies or saw co-payments rise even though their jobs and pay hadn’t changed. All of the reviews threatened to disrupt care, even though research shows continuity of care is a key element in early childhood development.

So, a group of mothers spearheaded an effort to change the system, writing letters to lawmakers and the governor urging them to extend the review period to every 12 months. The new law would do just that for qualified parents with kids in Head Start, Early Head Start and the Early Child Education and Assistance Program.

One of those mothers was Bianca Bailey. The mother of three could have used the change a year ago. After her husband had surgery, the family lost their child care aid, even though Bailey was at the same job with the same pay. To avoid disrupting their children’s care, the family was forced to take out payday loans and scrape together money to cover costs.

“At the time it created incredible hardships, not to mention astronomical interest rates” we paid, Bailey, who lobbied on behalf of the bill, said in an interview.

But, the changes will help more than parents. Providers will deal with a more consistent system, instead of worrying about parents continually losing support.

The longer review period may even save Washington State money by cutting administrative costs. Caseworkers will spend less time dealing with paperwork and reviewing families whose situations have not changed.

“They are wasting a lot of taxpayers’ dollars in doing that,” (unnecessary reviews), said Joel Ryan, executive director of the Washington State Association of Head Start & ECEAP.

The big winners are children in subsidized care because the longer review period should help prevent disruptions.

“Research from the Center on Law and Social Policy (CLASP) has found that children benefit developmentally from strong, sustained relationships with caregivers, and are harmed by frequent disruptions in care.  According to CLASP, children with higher numbers of changes in their center or child care providers has been shown to lead to less outgoing and more aggressive behaviors when they get older,” the WSA said in a press release earlier this year.

Still, the new law only creates a pilot program, though it also calls for a study on expanding the change beyond Head Start and ECEAP to all providers that accept state child care subsidies.

The federal Head Start review continues to generate interesting analysis, including the idea it may show a catch-up dynamic not a fade-out effect.

Once kids hit kindergarten, teachers work hard to help lagging students catch up with the rest of the class, National Institute of Early Education Research co-director Steve Barnett wrote.

“…kids make a lot of growth in kindergarten and first grade, and public schools go to great lengths to help children who have less educational experience, catch up with those who have more,” Barnett wrote.

“This is catch-up, not fade out or wash out.”

In addition, location matters. Many of the students in the study’s control group attended some type of preschool so “that kind of comparison will not likely show big differences.”

But, Barnett is not trashing the report. Far from it, he views it as a platform to make changes.

“I make another prediction that the Obama administration, with its theme of “Change,” will …chart a new course for Head Start based on what can be learned from this study and others. Confidence in this prediction is tempered by the knowledge that real policy change never comes easy, but I have high hopes,” Barnett wrote on NIERR’s website. (Check out Barnett’s new column for six lessons from the new study and three recommendations.)

The National Head Start Association adds that the program has a history of improving, and is currently implementing important changes contained in the 2008 reauthorization of Head Start.

Washington State Gov. Proposes Preschool Expansion and Improvement

Washington State Gov. Christine Gregoire unveiled a new early learning strategy yesterday that promises every 3- and 4-year-old the chance to attend preschool.

Gregoire’s brief but broad proposal is designed to boost preschool quality and offer lower-income parents financial help with tuition and payments.

“Preschools will be required to be certified and meet requirements established by the Department of Early Learning. Currently there are no standards set for preschool programs, and preschool teachers are not required to undergo background checks.” – All Start Policy Brief, Governor Gregoire’s office.

The brief outlines a plan that also would require parental involvement, better coordination with federal early education efforts and includes programs for infants and toddlers. The two-page brief suggests we will see more details in the coming days.

The plan is far from final. It now moves to the state legislature, where lawmakers are struggling with a $2.6 billion budget deficit.

National News

• Governor's Budget: "Devastating" For Children In Need – 12/16/09, KCPQ 13
• Early education programs need sustained support – 1/15/10, The Leaf-Chronicle
• Candidates for Governor Split on Expanding Pre-K – 1/14/10, Nashville Public Radio
• Education magazine ranks Md. No. 1 – 1/14/10, The Baltimore Sun
• Experts Urge Earlier Start to Teaching Science – 1/13/10, Education Week
• An early start, a big step ahead – 1/12/10, The Philadelphia Inquirer
• Expand pre-k and invest in the future – 1/11/10, Mobile Press-Register
• College to offer more in child care – 1/9/10, Rockdale Citizen

Washington State News

• Gregoire wants to save state services; tax hikes on horizon  – 1/12/10, The Daily Herald
• Washington lawmakers: Don’t skimp on kids – 1/8/10, The Seattle Times

In one of the toughest budget seasons in recent years, Washington State Gov. Christine Gregoire offered some good early learning news, restoring funding for 1,500 public preschool slots and child care subsidies for working poor families in her new budget.

The plan Gregoire unveiled this week is a welcome change from recent reports of cuts in others states. In one of her most dramatic moves, the governor would restore $10.5 million for the state supported preschool system known as the Early Childhood Education and Assistance Program.

Back in December, Gov. Gregoire proposed cutting that money, along with child care support for 17,000 working poor families and funding for all-day kindergarten in high-poverty areas, as part of a balanced budget she is required to submit. This round, she restored her support for targeted all-day kindergarten and some money for child care subsidies

She also made it clear her latest budget, not December’s plan, is a far better reflection of her priorities.

"This budget more adequately funds our public schools, pays for the basic safety net for our most needy, helps more of our students achieve the higher education they need, and sets the stage for a more prosperous future," Gov. Gregoire wrote in a letter sent to state lawmakers Tuesday.

Now the hard work begins, as lawmakers have to decide whether they agree with the governor’s decisions and how to pay for those efforts.

Further Reading:

• Gov. Gregoire’s written testimony for the Senate and House Ways and Means committees.
• Details of the governor’s new budget blueprint.

The recession may be ending but its aftershocks continue to wreak havoc with Washington’s economy and today Gov. Christine Gregoire proposed a state budget that would cut all three-year-old children from a publicly-supported preschool program.

To balance the budget, Gov. Gregoire proposed deep cuts in several early learning initiatives. The budget would halt child care subsidies and support for 17,000 working poor families and those on welfare and eliminate support for child care referral and support services, in addition to cutting 1,563 slots in the preschool initiative, known as the Early Childhood Education and Assistance Program, according to state and outside analyses.

These cuts are far from final, however. In Washington, the governor must propose a balanced budget that does not rely on new revenue sources, and next year the state faces a $2.6 billion budget deficit. Gov. Gregoire already indicated she doesn’t support today’s budget and plans to restore cuts in early education and other areas when she unveils her own budget in January.

“It is not a budget I can live with nor is it one I believe Washingtonians can live with,” Gov. Gregoire wrote in a public letter released today.

Once the governor submits her budget, the work only gets harder, as state lawmakers craft a final plan they will send back to Gregoire.

There is good news in the budget plan, however, because it would keep $1.25 million for home visitation efforts, which also enjoy support in Congress and the Obama administration, and place that money under the Department of Early Learning, according to an analysis by Thrive by Five Washington.

Still, today’s deep proposed cut to early education for three-year-old students, often from working poor families, and the fact that this budget hits all areas of state government are signs that some early learning cuts may be likely. Today’s cutbacks also include:

• Elimination of the Wage and Career Ladder that supports child care workers.
• Suspension of funding for all-day kindergarten, which is targeted to high-poverty areas.

“The Governor's proposed supplemental budget does preserve funding for preschool services to some of our most at-risk 4-year-olds. We are grateful for that, because we know it's one of the best ways to help ensure kids start school ready to succeed,” Department of Early Learning spokeswoman Amy Blondin wrote in an email. “Of course, we never want to see a budget that makes cuts to programs and services for children and families, but this proposal reflects the very real economic situation our state faces. The Governor is making every effort to preserve a safety net for kids.”

Despite recent rosier economic indicators, experts have warned states will continue to struggle with deficits and weak tax revenue in the next few years. Today’s budget is a harsh reminder of how deep The Great Recession is.

In the coming days, we will dig into the budget and try to get a better sense of what early learning cuts will really be on the table.

Further reading:

• Details of proposed cuts to the Department of Early Learning.
• Cuts to Working Connections Child Care, in the Department of Social and Health Services.

Updated 5:20 p.m. 

Washington early education leaders are looking for public input on the recently released draft outcomes and strategies document for a comprehensive birth-to-8 early learning plan that aims to give all young children in Washington state a fair chance at a great start in life. Specifically, they want to know if the outcomes and strategies resonate with individuals and communities and if there is anything missing or off-target.

The plan is being created to ultimately help ensure school readiness; coordinate the different systems around children in their earliest years (early care and education, helath, parents support, etc.) into one early learning system; and measure results over time for children and families to make sure the investments being made are working.            

While still very much a work in progress, the “Draft Vision, Principles, Outcomes and Strategies for Statewide Early Learning Plan” suggests creating a universal voluntary pre-kindergarten system and greater parental involvement.

One of the other outcomes in draft is:

High-quality early care and education programs are both available and affordable to all families who choose to access them so that all children have the necessary opportunities to be successful in school and in life. – “Draft Vision, Principles, Outcomes and Strategies, 10/23/09.

If you’re interested in looking at and providing input on this first round of work on the plan, go online now, read the draft outcomes and strategies and fill out a survey or attend one of several upcoming community meetings.

The window for this round of feedback is limited to a couple of weeks because Dec. 1 is the deadline for the group, which is being led by the state Department of Early Learning, Thrive by Five Washington and the Office of Superintendent of Public Instruction, to send a draft of the plan and recommendations for the upcoming legislative session to Gov. Gregoire. More than 100 individuals representing 40 groups have helped shape the plan's first draft documents.

More public feedback will be taken during December through early March 2010. The plan, which will detail how Washington can build an early learning system that covers everything from prenatal health to third grade, is expected to be finalized by the end of March.

Stay tuned! Birth to Thrive Online will post the draft plan and recommendations the governor receives.

Meetings about the draft early learning plan continue to be scheduled. Here are some already planned:

Seattle: Wednesday, October 28th, 7 p.m. – 8:30 p.m.
The New School at South Shore, 4800 S. Henderson Street, Seattle, WA 98118
RSVP: Sarah@MomsRising.org

Tacoma: Thursday, October 29th, 7p.m. – 8:30 p.m.
Tacoma Community College, 6501 S. 19th Street, Tacoma, WA 98466
RSVP: Sarah@MomsRising.org

Bellingham: Wednesday, November 4th, 7 p.m. - 8:30 p.m.
St. Luke’s Community Education Center, 3333 Squalicum Parkway, Bellingham WA 98225
RSVP: Sarah@MomsRising.org

Kirkland: Thursday, November 5th 7 p.m. - 8:30 p.m.
Kirkland Women's Club, 407 1st St., Kirkland, WA 98033
RSVP: Sarah@MomsRising.org

I didn’t have to look far for today’s news because Bremerton, Wash., is gaining national kudos for its early learning success, including its ability to integrate pre-k and kindergarten.

Bremerton’s strategy is both simple and comprehensive. It crafted partnerships with the region’s preschools, child care providers and Head Start centers, according to Public School Insights, and narrowed the achievement gap.

The results were impressive.  The percentage of kindergarten students who knew the alphabet jumped from 4 percent to more than 50 percent over the last seven years, the Web site said. (Read Insights for the full story.)

But, the bigger news is that last month Gov. Christine Gregoire asked former Bremerton school chief Bette Hyde, now head of the state’s Department of Early Learning, to work on a plan to ensure all Washington children have access to quality learning as they prepare for kindergarten, and her letter includes a call to include community groups and non-profits.

“I am asking you to work on a proposal about the state’s role in providing early learning opportunities to all children birth to five, their families, early learning caregivers and educators. I believe children should have early learning opportunities from birth,” Gov. Gregoire wrote in the letter sent to Hyde and Superintendent of Public Instruction Randy Dorn in June.

Since she picked Hyde only four months before sending the letter, it’s obvious she wants Hyde to draw on her experience and success in Bremerton.

It is also clear Gov. Gregoire isn’t wasting much time. She wants Hyde and Dorn to send her a plan by December 1.

Finally, for budget hawks out there, Bremerton’s success offers another lesson in the economics of early learning.

According to [Linda] Sullivan-Dudzic [Bremerton School District’s director of Special Programs], while a set of curriculum materials costs the school district $2,000, the district saves $2,500 for every kindergartener who does not need remedial reading services. “All I need is one kid coming out of that preschool who does not need remedial help to make up that first year’s investment,” she says. – Public School Insights, Jan. 13, 2009.

(Thanks Early Ed Watch Blog for picking up this news and Public School Insight for covering the developments.)