Raise Your Voice for Children and Families

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Raise Your Voice forChildren and Families

• Advocacy Training
• from the Kansas Head Start Association

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Conference Overview

• Why raise your voice? The importance of advocacy
  for children and families
• When to raise your voice? Advocacy in the
  schools, health care system and legislative
  process
• How to raise your voice? Skills and tools to
  make you a powerful advocate
• What to raise your voice about? Current issues
  that impact children and families

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When to Raise Your Voice

• In School. . .
• Jane has a 5-year-old son, Sam, who started
  kindergarten last fall. Jane has been to two
  teacher conferences, and things were going well
  until last month. Sam has gotten into two
  fights, and his teacher called to say he is not
  keeping up with the other children. The teacher
  and principal think Sam should repeat
  kindergarten next year. What should Jane do?

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When to Raise Your Voice

• With health care providers
• Pete and Susan have a 3-year-old daughter Becky.
  Beckys words are hard to understand, and her
  parents are worried. The doctor at the clinic
  keeps telling them Becky is fine, and her speech
  will improve. But hes always in a hurry and
  doesnt take much time with them. Pete and Susan
  dont know where to go for another opinion.

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When to Raise Your Voice

• With your government
• Joe is the father of twinsa boy and a girl 3
  months old. Joe lives in northwest Kansas where
  there are no Early Head Start programs and not
  enough child care for infants. Joes wife is
  unable to work but needs help with the babies.
  Joes sister and her baby are enrolled in the
  Early Head Start program in Wellington, and its
  been a big help. What can Joe do?

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How to Raise Your Voice

• Building relationships with elected officials is
  extremely important.
• When they know you, they are much more likely to
  support your issues.
• Here are a few examples of Kansas parents who
  have made a big impact on our officials. . . . . .

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U.S. Senator Roberts with Head Start Parents in
Hays
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Former Head Start Parent Lee Brown in Senator
Roberts Washington Office
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Senator Roberts Visiting a Head Start Classroom
in Kansas City, KS
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Head Start Parents Introducing Governor Sebelius
at Conference
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A Recent Trip to Washington, D.C.
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How to Raise Your Voice

• Tell your story Personal stories are the most
  powerful.
• Ask for the officials help Please maintain
  the role of Policy Council in Head Start.
• Explain how this action will make a difference.
  Parents need to keep their voice and have real
  influence over important decisions.

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What to Raise Your Voice About

• Federal Issues
• Head Start is a federal to local program, meaning
  the vast majority of funding comes from the
  federal government directly to programs.
• Congress has 2 roles
• Reauthorization, which occurs about every 5 years
  and determines how the program will be operated
• Appropriations, which sets the amount of funding
  Head Start receives
• Reauthorization bills have passed in the U.S.
  House and Senate. A conference committee will
  work out differences between the two this fall.
  We are hoping for passage of a final bill by the
  end of this year.

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What to Raise Your Voice AboutFederal
Priorities for Reauthorization

• Increase income eligibility to 130 of the
  federal poverty guidelines.  This increase would
  allow more flexibility in serving families and
  meeting local needs without additional program
  cost.  Programs already have  systems in place to
  ensure that those most in need are the first
  served.
• While the need for Head Start services continues,
  many families are migrating from rural areas to
  urban areas, leaving smaller numbers of children
  eligible for services at the 100 guideline.
• Families who are just over the 100 guideline are
  still living in poverty and lack resources for
  their childrens educational needs.  Head Start
  is an important support to ensure their
  successful transition to self-sufficiency

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Federal Priorities (continued)

• Degree Requirement for Teachers BA-Teacher
  Mandate.  While the Kansas Head Start Association
  supports required teacher degrees and recognizes
  that all classrooms should have qualified
  teachers who possess necessary competencies to
  perform effectively within an early childhood
  setting.  However, it is critical that Head Start
  programs receive necessary funding to compensate
  and maintain teachers at a salary commensurate
  with their level of education.

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Federal Priorities (continued)

• Re-competition of Head Start Grantees. The issue
  of re-competition of grants and any activities
  which support that process should be limited to
  poorly performing programs which have unresolved
  deficiencies.  A system is in place which
  includes timely resolution of issues. A clear and
  concise definition of the term deficiency is
  needed relative to the issue of re-competition.
•  
• Funding for Transportation.  Funding needs to be
  available to provide much-needed transportation
  for families and to ensure that programs can meet
  all standards effectively and serve children
  safely.  Programs must be able to provide
  transportation and meet all safety standards
  without continuing to write waivers which only
  serve to stall the problem of inadequate funding
  in meeting mandates.
•  

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Federal Priorities (continued)

• Increase set aside funding for Early Head Start.
  By increasing the set aside of funding, programs
  would be allowed more flexibility regarding the
  shifting of slots to respond to community needs. 
  The increase would also allow for a more
  comprehensive approach and seamless services to
  enrolled families.
•  
• Maintain the current Policy Council Shared
  Governance Structure. It is critical that the
  current Policy Council structure of shared
  decision making be maintained. It is vitally as
  important to provide a clear understanding of the
  delineation of roles and responsibilities of the
  Policy Council and the governing board and ensure
  that each entity is held accountable for
  fulfilling its designated responsibilities.

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What to Raise Your Voice AboutState Issues

• The Kansas Legislature has voted to increase
  funding for Kansas Early Head Start by 3.4
  million in the last two years.
• This is the first time state dollars have been
  used to support Kansas EHS.
• This years expansion added 12 new counties which
  have KEHS services.

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What To Raise Your Voice About

• The new Coalition for School Readiness brings
  together early learning and business leaders to
  support young children.
• Visit kansasschoolreadiness.org to learn more.
• Watch for more information coming this fall.

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What to Raise Your Voice About

• Governor Sebelius and key legislators understand
  the importance of investing in young children and
  families.
• We have an opportunity to reach more children
  with quality programs.
• Now is a great time to get involved!

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What to Raise Your Voice About

• Other Issues
• What else is important to you?