Early Education Clips for Week of February 9 – 13
Here’s a sampling of early childhood education in the news this week:
TOP STORY
New Report on Federal Home Visiting Programs Released as Funding Expiration Date Nears Advocates for children and families ramped up efforts to persuade Congress to extend funding for the Maternal, Infant and Early Childhood Home Visiting Program (MIECHV) before it expires on March 31st. A joint report from the Center for American Progress and the Center for Law and Social Policy found that not only does MIECHV support families with economic and social challenges but the funding has also helped with training, centralizing intake systems and improving collaboration at the local, state and federal level.
Read More:
New Report Highlights Home Visiting Programs in 20 States – Education Week
Will Congress Act Quickly to Save Federally-Funded Home Visiting Programs? – Ed Central
OTHER NATIONAL NEWS
Congress Must Rewrite Education Law to Help States Connect Early Childhood Education with K-12 In a guest commentary for Roll Call, Economist and Nobel laureate James Heckman calls on Congress to use the reauthorization of the nation’s Elementary and Secondary Education Act (ESEA) to link early learning and preschool with K-12 education. Not only does high-quality early childhood education improve academic achievement, Heckman says, it also promotes character and social skills that are critical for later success. Read More at Roll Call.
Top Three Early Childhood HHS Budget Requests Child care, Head Start/Early Head Start and Home Visiting all would receive significant funding increases under President Obama’s fiscal year 2016 budget for the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS). Ed Central takes an in-depth look at the funding proposals. Read More at Ed Central.
Op-Ed: High Quality Early Education Benefits All Americans Opinion columnist Catherine Rampell makes the case that early learning and child care create a strong “ripple effect” on the American economy, allowing more parents – especially mothers – to participate in the workforce. Read More at the Washington Post.
FROM THE STATES
FLORIDA: Children’s Advocates “Cautiously Optimistic” on Governor Scott’s Early Learning Budget State child advocacy groups have indicated their initial support for Republican Governor Rick Scott’s budget proposal, which includes an increase in pre-K funding and child care subsidies for low-income Floridians. Read More.
OHIO: Study Shows Local Coordinated Care and Home Visiting Program Lowers Risk for Children A recent study of the Community Health Access Project (CHAP) serving the Mansfield area, finds that the coordinated early care and home visiting provided by the program increases the chance of healthy babies. Read More.
VIRGINIA: Editorial: Early Education Funding Today Cuts Prison Costs Tomorrow The Fredricksburg Free Lance-Star endorses federal legislation sponsored by Virginia’s Democratic U.S. Senator Tim Kaine to expand access to pre-kindergarten programs. The editorial board argues that early learning investments now will lead to savings in future law enforcement and incarceration costs. Read More.
OREGON: State Lawmakers Consider Legislation to Expand Child Care Assistance Hearings were held this week on House Bill 2015, which would expand state subsidies for child care helping low-income families. The Oregon Department of Human Services has endorsed the bill. Read More.
CALIFORNIA: Stanford University President Pushes for Universal Preschool Stanford President John Hennessy called for universal pre-K in a fireside chat keynote at Joint Venture Silicon Valley’s State of the Valley Conference. Read More.