The Alliance funds advocacy organizations in several states.  The Ounce of Prevention Fund and Rhode Island Kids Count help coordinate the effort of these advocates.

• Protect and maintain funding for California early care and education programs.
• Position California to be highly competitive for the Early Learning Challenge Fund and other federal ECE funding by instituting a Quality Rating and Improvement System based on the forthcoming recommendations of the newly established Early Learning Advisory Council.  

• November 9, 2009: Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger signs Executive Order to establish California’s Early Learning Advisory Council. “A high-quality early childhood education is a critical building block in a student’s social and educational foundation,” said Governor Schwarzenegger. “This action will help bring California funding to support our state’s high-quality preschool programs and help ensure our state’s neediest children will be prepared for success on their very first day of elementary school.”
• January 7, 2010: Governor releases the 2010-11 Governor’s Budget
• May 25, 2010: Early Learning Advocacy Day at the California Capitol

• Creation through Executive Order of the Early Learning Advisory Council (2009)
• Los Angeles Unified School District announces a district-wide expansion of pre-k programs to all 4 year olds who are age eligible for kindergarten. Once fully implemented, this expansion will provide over 11,000 4 year olds with a full day, high quality pre-k program that receives K-12 level funding (est. at $12,208 per student, NIEER) with no additional costs for 12 years. (2009)
• California Department of Education releases $45 million in early childhood education funding, which previously had been unspent. (2009)
• Establishment of the Early Learning Quality Improvement Advisory Committee through SB 1629 (Steinberg), charged with designing a state Early Learning Quality Improvement System. (2008)
• Establishment of the California State Preschool Program, through AB 2759 (Jones), which consolidated five existing state preschool programs into one, and enabled local providers the flexibility to offer full- or part-day programs based on the needs of their families. With an annual budget of $841 million, it is the largest such program in the nation. (2008)
• Mandated the inclusion of early childhood education into the state’s education data system through SB 1298 (Simitian). (2008)
• California Superintendent of Public Instruction Jack O’Connell formally adopts the California Preschool and Infant-Toddler Learning Foundations. (2007-8)

Current Policy Agenda

• Florida's Policy Agenda will be based on the 3 focus areas of the newly developed Early Childhood Framework: safe and nurturing families, healthy children and quality early learning experiences.
• For the 2010 Florida Legislative Session, which begins in March, the key agenda issue is to preserve nearly $120 Million for early childhood programs including subsidized childcare and the state’s universal prekindergarten program.

• The Agency for Workforce Innovation
• The Department of Children and Families
• The Department of Education
• The Department of Health

• The Florida Early Childhood Framework was released, and its goals and indicators for young children adopted by the Governor's Children and Youth Cabinet. The Framework is designed to:
  • Reflect a shared vision among early childhood stakeholders;
  • Delineate specific, achievable strategies for statewide action; and
  • Provide a tool for supporting local community planning for young children and their families.
• The Early Childhood Framework helped inform the state’s investment of federal recovery funding - with new funding dedicated to creating systems for child screenings, early learning program assessment, and professional development for early childhood professionals.
• The Framework will serve as the initial strategic plan of the Florida Child and Youth Cabinet subcommittee on early childhood and is serving as the foundation of Florida’s State Advisory Council on Early Education and Care application, which will be submitted in 2010.
• The Framework will also inform the State Legislature's newly constituted Early Childhood Legislative Caucus.

Current Policy Agenda

• Protect and maintain funding for Kansas early childhood education programs.
• Strengthen the quality of child care in Kansas.

• October 15, 2009: News Conference with Kansas Governor at TOP Early Learning Centers (Wichita)Gov. Mark Parkinson, in conjunction with TOP Founder Barry Downing and the Kansas Coalition for School Readiness, will release TOP’s new assessment scores and discuss the importance of investing in high-quality early learning programs.
• January 11, 2010: First Day of Legislative Session
• February 4, 2010: Early Learning Day at the Kansas Statehouse. The Kansas Coalition for School Readiness will host its annual Early Learning Day, which provides early childhood educators and other Coalition members with advocacy training and an opportunity to meet with their local legislators regarding the importance of early childhood programs.

• Creation of an Early Childhood Block Grant and designation of a dedicated funding stream for early learning programs (2008)
• $11.1 million in new dollars for the Block Grant (2008)
• $2.3 million in funding for newborn screening program (2008)
• $1 million in funding for Tiny-K program (2008)
• $3 million in funding to expand Pre-K pilots (2007)
• $1.6 million in funding to expand Kansas Early Head Start (2007)
• $500,000 in additional funding for child care quality initiatives (2007)
• $2 million in funding to establish Pre-K pilots in six counties (2006)
• $1.8 million in funding to expand Kansas Early Head Start (2006)

• Budget cuts are continuing, so current efforts are focused on retaining the current commitment to children.
• The Fund for a Healthy Maine, the tobacco settlement funds, is under review by the Office of Program Evaluation and Government Accountability. There are concerns that the Childcare, Head Start and Home Visiting resources in this fund will come under attack. All home visitation funds are in this account, as well as the MOE and match for CCDF.
• A change in the state approach to Medicaid rules has resulted in a loss of $4 million to Head Start/Early Head Start from targeted case management. A small group is working to explore other avenues for accessing Medicaid funds.

• The Margaret Chase Smith Center for Public Policy is dedicating its fall publication to early childhood. It will be released mid-October.
• There have been a series of business roundtables across the state with great attendance and some potential champions.
• A number of Op-Eds to support the business roundtables have been in papers around the state.

DHHS has agreed to review a parent fee policy that does not support parents accessing part-time care.

Check back soon for an update on advocacy activities in this state.

Check back soon for an update on advocacy activities in this state.

• Nebraska ranks 50^th in the nation (at 120% FPL) in the level of eligibility it requires for working families to qualify for the existing childcare subsidy 
• Currently have a legislative bill in committee that would increase the level of eligibility while improving the quality in Nebraska’s childcare subsidy system
• Gradually increase the eligibility level to 185% FPL phasing in an increase over four years
• Allow for 12 months of continuous eligibility for working parents providing them much needed stability in childcare
• Bring more stability to the provider’s budget by incentivizing providers to accept the childcare subsidy as payment
• Provide greater accountability and outcomes for the existing $70 million in the childcare subsidy system

• August 31, 2009: Fight Crime: Invest in Kids held a news conference (in conjunction with the start of school) in Lincoln, Nebraska to talk about the importance of investing in the early years as a way to cut crime and later prison expenses.  The goals were to:
  • Explain how quality early learning opportunities cut later involvement in crime
  • Call on Nebraska’s Congressional delegation to support the federal Early Learning Challenge Fund proposal
•  September 1, 2009: Articles in both the Omaha World-Herald and the Lincoln Journal Star on the press conference.
• September 4, 2009: The Lincoln Journal Star wrote an editorial asking Nebraska’s congressional delegation to support the Early Learning Challenge Fund and asked citizens of Nebraska to take notice of the long-term benefits of investing in early childhood as investing in our future.
• October 1, 2009: the second Educare of Omaha opened, serving 191 children.

• The Buffett Early Childhood Fund
• University of Nebraska
• Staff from the Department of Health & Human Services and the Department of Education

• Asked by the Department of Health & Human Services to submit a proposal recommending how to use the $1.5 million stimulus dollars from the Child Care Development Block Grant for quality childcare
• With input from childcare providers, stakeholders from the Department of Education, the Department of Health & Human Services, and the University Nebraska
• Submitting a proposal that builds on our current infrastructure and provides pathways to excellence for 400 providers across the state who care for children at risk, and equipping them with tools they need to be more accountable for the services we pay for

Check back soon for an update on advocacy activities in this state.

Current Policy Agenda

• Prevent the loss of child care funding, including funding for infant/toddler care, affecting low-income families across the state by adding $30 million to the state Child Care and Development Block Grant.

• Ensure that federal investments are maintained over time and allocate a greater portion of current federal infant/toddler funding to infant/toddler services and programs.

• Restore and maintain funding for home visiting programs.

• Restore funding for the Healthy Families New York program for a total of $25 million.

• Maintain $5 million in funding for the Nurse-Family Partnership program, as well as Community Optional Preventive Spending funds for home visiting programs.

• Provide $4.5 million for QualityStars NY, the Quality Rating and Improvement System (QRIS), to implement recommendations from the field test evaluation currently underway.

• Renew the state’s commitment to Pre-K in schools and community-based settings.

• Restore the $38 million reduction in Pre-K funding to the FY08-09 appropriation levels.
• Allow those funds to be used to support full day Pre-K services in schools and community settings.
• Eliminate the restrictions on new districts offering Pre-K services.
• Correct legislative and administrative impediments to program implementation including elimination of maintenance of effort requirements.
• Allow Pre-K children eligibility for transportation aid.

• A new Winning Beginning NY member is Lori King-Kocsis, recently-appointed NYS Director of America’s Edge.
• We are collaborating with the Committee for Economic Development (CED), on an NYC event.
• We are making connections with ECAC members who may not have been as directly linked to Winning Beginning NY in the past.
• We are making connections with legislators such as Senator Squadron (NYC), who is a new champion for home visiting.

Check back soon for an update on advocacy activities in this state.

The Children's Institute is closing the achievement gap in Oregon by promoting cost-effective public and private investments in early childhood programs. In 2007, the Institute led the way to a $39 million expansion of Oregon Head Start Prekindergarten, and in 2009, the Institute helped the Legislature fully protect funding for the program despite a significant state budget shortfall. The Children’s Institute is now building support for first-time state funding for Early Head Start and is drawing the connection between school readiness and social and emotional development with a forthcoming policy paper on early childhood mental health. With the help of business and civic leaders, the Children’s Institute is improving the odds of success in school and later life for Oregon’s most at-risk children.

Current Policy Agenda

• Preserve state investments that support high quality services for infants and toddlers
• Ensure a strong birth to three component in the state’s long term early learning plan

Current Policy Agenda

• Strategic Plan for a Coherent System of Early Childhood Education and Care
• Leverage Higher Quality in Wisconsin Shares
• Continued Progress toward Universal Pre-K
• Greater Public Policy Focus on Infants and Toddlers
• Improving Qualifications in the Early Childhood Workforce

• Took  lead in arranging series of op-eds in 2009 on early care and education from unexpected voices: business leader, police chief, and public school superintendent
• Launched a Wisconsin Council on Children and Families blog and a video series in 2009 on the state budget called “Budget Bob” (with music)
• Distributed multiple policy analysis papers in 2009, including the following topics:
  • the economic benefits of investing in early learning,
  • home visiting
  • planning for a quality early care and education system for Wisconsin, and
  • a report card on reducing poverty, including a section on early learning.

• A statewide business group, the Partnership for Wisconsin’s Economic Success, sponsored 2 business breakfasts in 2009 focused on investing in the first five years
• A recently formed Celebrate Children Foundation is turning its focus to early care and education 

• Wisconsin added $67 million to the Wisconsin Shares child care subsidy program budget for 2009-11
• No significant early care and education program experienced major cuts in the 2009-11 budget
• 4-year-old kindergarten start-up funding was continued in the 2009-11 budget, with $4.5 million allocated for community-based collaborative models

Current Policy Agenda

• Creation of the Early Childhood Teacher Scholarship Program
• Continuity of Services in Kindergarten
• Creation of a Colorado Quality in Child Care Incentive Program (Tiered Reimbursement Program)
• Eligibility Determinations for the Colorado Child Care Assistance Program
• Establishment of a Universal Application Subcommittee to the Government Data Advisory Board

• January 13, 2010: Start of the 2010 legislative session
• January 19, 2010: Application deadline for Race to the Top

• The Early Childhood and School Readiness Commission
• The Office of the Lieutenant Governor
• The Colorado Children’s Campaign
• The Colorado Early Childhood Summit
• Clayton Educare
• Congressman Jared Polis
• Mile High United Way and Montessori
• The Early Childhood Council Leadership Alliance
• Qualistar Early Learning

• The creation of the Legislative Early Childhood and School Readiness Commission last session and their developing interest in early childhood is a significant victory in Colorado. 
• The release of the Governor’s budget had no reductions to early childhood programming. Despite the legal duty of the Governor to balance the Colorado budget, early childhood has avoided program and funding losses thus far.

Primary long-term goal continues to be the full implementation of Preschool for All, to provide access to voluntary preschool for every 3- and 4-year-old, with priority given to at-risk children, and also expand access to birth-to-3 programs for at-risk infants, toddlers and their families.

• Making Preschool for All a permanent program through removal of sunset language in the authorizing legislation
• Restoring the 10% cuts in the Early Childhood Block Grant (the funding stream for Preschool for All and birth-to-three programs) and home visitation programs funded through the Department of Human Services
• Working to build support for dedicated early childhood funding in any revenue package that may be passed by the General Assembly

• The budget crisis during the summer of 2009 resulted in strong statewide and local media coverage highlighting the impact of early childhood funding cuts. A number of large rallies in which early childhood providers participated also received media attention. 
• Educare of Chicago was featured in a TV story about funding cuts to early childhood programs.

• Increased activity and partnership with organizations representing the African American and Latino communities.
• Strengthened relationships with traditional education advocates including school professional associations, associations of school districts and teachers’ unions.
• Strengthened relationships with civic organizations such as the Junior League.

• Passage of legislation, with overwhelming legislative support, to increase the birth to three set-aside of the Early Childhood Block Grant from 11 to 20 percent over time. 
• Aggressive advocacy efforts also averted devastating cuts to early childhood services. The General Assembly initially passed a budget containing no more than 50 percent of the funding needed for vital services, including early childhood services. This budget was vetoed, leaving the state with no budget to begin FY10. Some short-term borrowing was passed to ease the shortfall and, after aggressive efforts to encourage the Governor to use these funds to restore funding for critical services, the Early Childhood Block Grant (ECBG) and home visitation programs were cut by “only” 10 percent.
• Passage of $45 million for early childhood capital as part of a larger state capital bill.