National Meeting and Peer Advocate Roundtable
July 21-23, 2010
Westin Tabor Center, Downtown Denver
1672 Lawrence Street
Denver, CO 80202
Meeting Purpose: To bring together national grantees and state-level leaders to advance
leadership, research and advocacy strategies to improve state policies and increase investments in
high-quality early childhood development services for at-risk infants, toddlers, preschoolers and
their families.
Learning Objectives
- Promote peer-to-peer learning
- Closely align the work of state advocates and national grantees
- Share ideas about effective state strategies and policy approaches in tough economic times
- Identify opportunities to connect state and federal policy opportunities
- Deepen understanding of the developmental science, practice and evidence behind improving the quality of early childhood development programs and implications for policy
Resources
Meeting Theme: “Quality Access”
Wednesday , July 21, 2010
1:30-2:00pm Welcome and Introductions
Lisa Klein, Executive Director, Birth to Five Policy Alliance
Ann Kirwan, Ounce of Prevention Fund
2:00-3:30pm Leveraging Multiple Systems to Advance Healthy Early Childhood Development
Introduction: Helene Stebbins, Birth to Five Policy Alliance Leadership
Speaker: Olivia Golden, PhD, The Urban Institute
Medicaid/CHIP, child welfare, child care, TANF, and other federal programs have policy levers that states can use to promote healthy development forchildren from birth to age five. This session will highlight the opportunities within these programs, as well as identify the challenges of working across large programs.
3:45-4:30pm Quality Practice as a Platform for Policy Change
Moderator: Harriet Meyer, Ounce of Prevention Fund
Speaker: Charlotte Brantley, Clayton Early Learning, Educare of Denver
Using Educare of Denver as a case study, this session will feature a discussion of the role that high-quality early childhood programs can play in catalyzing broader policy and program change at the local and state levels. Specific examples of how high-quality practice can be a lever to engage new champions and ultimately advance improved policy will be discussed.
5:15-6:00pm Program at Clayton Early Learning: Participants will attend one of the following concurrent sessions:
- Tour of Educare of Denver
- Interactive Learning and Networking Time: Clayton’s Research Practice and Professional Development Efforts
This interactive session will offer participants an informal opportunity to network with peers and Clayton staff to learn more about Clayton’s training, education, research and evaluation efforts to improve outcomes for young children and families in Denver and statewide. Information will also be available about the Bounce Network of Educare Centers.
Thursday, July 22, 2010
Welcome and Remarks
Introduction: Lisa Klein, Birth to Five Policy Alliance
Welcome: Honorable Barbara O’Brien, Lieutenant Governor of Colorado
8:45-10:15am New Frontiers in Improving Quality: Research Findings and Policy Implications
Introduction: Ann Kirwan, Ounce of Prevention Fund
Speaker: Robert Pianta, PhD, University of Virginia
This presentation will describe new tools for the assessment of quality in early education and innovative, proven-effective models for professional development. Implications for effective early childhood policy will be discussed and identified.
10:15-11:00am Facilitated Small Group Discussions
Stage-setter: Lisa Klein, Birth to Five Policy Alliance
Facilitators: Brandy Lawrence, Ounce of Prevention Fund and Helene
Stebbins, Birth to Five Policy Alliance Leadership and HMS Policy Research
As evidenced by the program practices at Clayton Early Learning and the research provided in Dr. Pianta’s presentation, quality and access must be linked together. Drawing on this and your own experiences, small groups will discuss what works, how to overcome the challenges, and what’s needed to effectively advocate for a dual focus on quality and access in tough economic times and in preparation for when state budgets are more
flush.
11:15am-12:45pm Policy and Advocacy Breakouts (Concurrent Sessions)
State teams and national grantees will attend one of the following breakout groups based on pre-registration:
Upcoming Elections and Educating New Leaders (Welton – 3rd Floor)
Facilitators: Margie Wallen, Ounce of Prevention Fund and Kathy Glazer, BUILD
Stage Setters: Jenn O’Connor, SCAA/Winning Beginning NY; Sylvia Puente, Latino Policy Forum, IL; Becky Veak, Nebraska Children and Families Foundation; Joe Thiessen, Voices for America’s Children; Rachel Demma, National Governor’s Association
In 2010, 13 of 15 Alliance investor states are facing gubernatorial elections and all 15 have legislative elections. State advocates and national organizations will share materials and tactics to help formulate effective messages, materials and strategies to educate candidates and newly elected and appointed officials. The session will allow time to discuss participants’ key challenges and questions.
Setting and Advancing an Infant Toddler Policy Agenda (Curtis – 3rd Floor)
Facilitators: Ann Kirwan, Ounce of Prevention Fund and Barbara Gebhard, Zero to Three
Stage Setters: Cathie Walsh, Rhode Island Kids Count; Dave Edie, Wisconsin Council on Children and Families; Allyson Dean, Maine Roads to Quality
State advocates and national organizations will share and discuss states’ current strategies for developing, framing and advancing an infant toddler policy agenda and highlight infant toddler policy tools for states from CLASP, NCCP and Zero to Three. The session will allow time to discuss participants’ key challenges and questions.
Comprehensive Data Systems: Connecting the Data Dots (McCourt – 3rdFloor)
Facilitator: Helene Stebbins, Birth to Five Policy Alliance Leadership and HMS Policy Research
Stage Setters: Micheline Casey, Colorado Governor’s Office of Information Technology; Judy Reidt-Parker, Maine Children’s Alliance
States collect and report out significant amounts of data on young children. The discussion will focus on the process of moving from multiple data systems that are siloed and focused on compliance, to an integrated system that is coordinated and focused on continuous
improvement.
Informing and Leveraging Federal Policy for State Change (Lawrence A/B – 3rd Floor)
Facilitator: Karen Ponder, Smart Start State Leaders Network
Stage Setters: Helen Blank, National Women’s Law Center; Cornelia Grumman, First Five Years Fund
During this break-out session, state advocates will get updates on the latest federal policy developments, including the outlook for early childhood in the appropriations process and the status of the Early Learning Challenge Fund, and reauthorization of ESEA and CCDBG. State advocates and representatives from national early childhood organizations will also engage in a discussion of how current efforts at the state level could inform federal early learning policy in the coming year.
How to Build New Champions and What to Ask Them to Do (Blake – 3rdFloor)
Facilitator: Steffanie Clothier, Birth to Five Policy Alliance Leadership and NCSL
Stage Setters: John Bebow, The Center for Michigan; David Mandell, Children’s Institute, Oregon; Amy Dawson Taggart, Mission: Readiness; David Kass, Council for a Strong
America; Laura Oldanie, CED
The breakout will focus on examples of successful engagement of champions in advocacy efforts - the nitty gritty of what works and what doesn’t. State advocates will discuss their efforts and national organizations will provide examples of their recruitment and retention
models that support state efforts.
1:45-3:15pm Home Visiting OR Linking Early Learning with K-12 (Concurrent Sessions)
Participants will attend one of these two concurrent sessions based on preregistration.
Home Visiting (Tabor/Brown – Lobby Level)
Facilitator: Lisa Klein, Birth to Five Policy Alliance
Stage-setters: John Schlitt, Director, Pew Center for the States Home Visiting Program; Karen Yarbrough, Ounce of Prevention Fund, Illinois; and Mary Baskett, Kansas Head Start Association
With passage of the Maternal, Infant and Early Childhood Home Visiting Program embedded in the Affordable Care Act of 2010, states have an unprecedented opportunity to receive federal grants to build, expand and enhance home visiting programs for at-risk infants and toddlers, an often under resourced but critically important strategy for promoting healthy development and school readiness. National organizations and state advocates will discuss approaches to building evidence-based home visiting systems, connecting home visiting programs with other key programs for children birth to five at the state level, and key advocacy strategies and challenges.
Linking Early Learning to K-12 (Lawrence A/B – 3rd Floor)
Facilitators: Steffanie Clothier, Birth to Five Policy Alliance Leadership and NCSL and Jennifer Stedron, NCSL
Table Leaders: Swati Adarkar, Children’s Institute (OR); Molly Boyajian, Thrive by Five Washington; Elizabeth Burke Bryant, Rhode Island Kids Count; Sarah Daily, Child Trends; Rachel Demma, NGA; Barbara Gebhard, Zero to Three; Cornelia Grumman, First Five Years Fund ; Tom Schultz, CCSSO; Nancy Shier, Ounce of Prevention Fund (IL); Helene
Stebbins, Birth to Five Policy Alliance Leadership and HMS Policy Research; Jennifer Stedron, NCSL
Education reform and reaching critical markers such as reading by the end of third grade has been and will continue to be a key topic among state education and political leaders. Early childhood has had successful and not so successful marriages with education reform efforts. This session will provide the opportunity to brainstorm strategies and discuss ways to make an effective link to K-3 in a way that education becomes a more seamless continuum from birth onward.
3:30-5:30pm Making Connections: Opportunities for State to State, State to National, and National to National Discussions
Participants will meet to strategize with peers, and work in collaboration to tackle challenging issues and further joint projects.
Note: Participants will be notified of their matches and room assignments ahead of the meeting.
Friday, July 23, 2010
8:00-8:45am Continental Breakfast and Table Conversations (Tabor/Brown)
Join your colleagues for informal conversations on topics you have identified during the meeting. Tables will be arranged by topic to help you find a table that interests you.
8:45-11:00am State Advocate and National Grantee Meeting Time (Concurrent Sessions)
State Advocate Meeting Time (Tabor/Brown)
State advocates will meet with their peers from other states and then with their own state team to reflect on and discuss what they have learned during the course of the meeting and identify next steps.
National Grantee Meeting Time (Lawrence A/B)
National grantees will meet together as a group to discuss strategies for the upcoming year.
11:00-11:45am Wrap-Up Session: Moving Ahead in 2011 (Tabor/Brown)
The full group will reconvene for closing remarks and selected reflections on taking this work forward.