A frozen Du Pen fountain on the Capitol Campus
(Photo Credit: Erica Hallock)

Trivia!

Initiatives to the Legislature

Back in 1915, the Washington State Legislature failed to act on an initiative to the Legislature, “the Brewers’ Hotel Bill,” sending the issue to the voters as Initiative Measure 24 for their consideration in the November 1916 general election. The voters soundly defeated Initiative Measure 24 with 48,354 voting yes and 263,390 voting no.

What subject did the “Brewers’ Hotel Bill” cover?

Week Two is Almost in the Books!

This short legislative session is setting into a rhythm, with the first cutoff (policy committee cutoff) a mere 12 days away. The winnowing of bills (and dreams) has already begun, and lobbyists have the benefit of fewer bill numbers to recall off the top of their heads!

While week one’s theme was food and parking, week two’s theme was weather. Like the rest of the state, it has been COLD in Olympia (as evidenced by the picture of the frozen Du Pen fountain above). With pass closures, slippery roads and the availability of virtual participation in legislative activity, the number of people on-campus is notably lighter than in previous years.

Yet, even with the cold, we see people participating in organizational lobby days on the Capitol campus. This week, I saw students from higher education institutions calling for more affordable college as well as a number of people wearing badges from the Wheat Association. I got very excited thinking there might be free cinnamon rolls from the Wheat Association, but I was unsuccessful in finding any. Perhaps another day.

On Martin Luther King Jr. Remembrance Day, both the Senate and the House held celebrations honoring the late Dr. King and his legacy. Dr. King strongly believed in the power of civic engagement; what a way to celebrate him by seeing it all in action.

This is a reminder that Washington’s legislative session “clock” counts all seven days a week (meaning even weekends count toward this year’s 60-day session). It is not unusual for weekend legislative activity to be scheduled, and we already expect two Saturday fiscal committee meetings and additional weekend floor activity. The Washington Legislature moves at a fast pace! In addition, as evidenced by Monday’s activity, our Legislature works on the two federal holidays during our sessions – Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Day and Presidents Day. This provides opportunities for the public to engage more fully on what are typically days off from work for many Washingtonians.

Bill Activity Highlights

A number of early learning related bills had public hearings throughout this second week of the legislative session. Due to our publication schedule, we will include a summary of hearings related to HB 2195 (Representative Callan) Early Learning Facilities, SB 5870 (Senator C. Wilson) Expanding and Streamlining Eligibility for Early Learning Programs, and SB 6018 (Senator C. Wilson) Designating Early Learning Coordinators at Educational Service Districts in next week’s newsletter.

On Jan. 17, the Senate Early Learning and K-12 Committee passed Substitute Senate Bill 5774 by Senators Billig and C. Wilson. This bill requires the Department of Children, Youth and Families to maintain the ability to perform fingerprint background checks in at least ten of its child welfare and early learning field offices. The substitute bill prioritizes geographic locations and limits the staff support to .25 FTE to each office location. The measure now moves to the Senate Ways and Means Committee.

What’s on Deck for Next Week?

This short session started off with a bang and a flurry of bill hearings and executive sessions right out of the gate. As noted above, the first cutoff for policy committees is quickly approaching on Wednesday, Jan. 31.

As noted in last week’s Notes From Olympia, a huge volume of legislation was pre-filed and introduced during the first week of the legislative session. With that said, the bill introductions have slowed down considerably and if bills have not yet been scheduled for a policy committee hearing, the likelihood they will move forward in this short 60-day session is becoming less and less. We will focus on our state’s fiscal outlook in later newsletters as we transition into the fiscal committee timeframe. Still, the state’s budget outlook is not as flush as previous years, which also impacts decisions about scheduling bill hearings.

The committee schedule for week three has been released and – at least for the time being – it is notably lighter as it relates to early learning bills. We are at the stage of the legislative session, though, where bills are constantly added and removed from committee schedules. This is all to say it can change on a dime, so if you are tracking a particular bill, it is a good idea to keep a close eye on its status via leg.wa.gov.

On to next week …

Child Care and Tax Relief

Three bills have been scheduled related to leveraging our state’s tax system to support child care:

• HB 1716. The House Finance Committee will hear HB 1716 by Representative Rule Jan. 23. This bill would establish a Business & Occupations Tax Credit for businesses that provide child care assistance to employees. Now you might be wondering, wasn’t that bill heard last year? If you are thinking that, you would be correct. HB 1716 was introduced by Rep. Rule in 2023 and received a hearing in the House Finance Committee March 23, 2023. During the second year of a two-year legislative session, bills that did not pass in the first year are reintroduced and retained in their current status, so HB 1716 was eligible for another public hearing in the House Finance Committee.
• HB 2322. The House Finance Committee will also hear HB 2322 by Representative Senn Jan. 23. This bill would require entities receiving tax preferences from the State of Washington to provide child care assistance to their employees.
• SB 6038. Finally, the Senate Ways and Means Committee will hear SB 6038 by Senator Claire Wilson Jan. 25. This bill contains two primary provisions: 1) it would eliminate child care licensing fees and 2) provide for a tax preference to expand the business and occupation tax exemption to include income derived from child care.

A Good Little Bill for Families

• HB 2052. By Rep. Callan would provide that any construction or renovation in which public restrooms are required, baby diaper changing stations must be included. The bill has been scheduled for a public hearing in the House Local Government Committee Jan. 23 and an Executive Session Jan. 26.

Executive Sessions Scheduled

Two bills of note (in addition to HB 2052 noted above) are scheduled for Executive Session next week:

• SB 6109. Primarily related to child welfare, the bill also includes a provision related to home visiting. This bill is scheduled for Executive Session (vote) in Senate Human Services Jan. 22.
• HB 2243. By Representatives Reeves and Waters would create the children’s social equity land trust wherein funding for child care deserts would be generated by revenue from working forests statewide. Its public hearing is scheduled after the publication of this newsletter (Jan. 19 at 10:30 a.m.) in the House Committee on Agriculture and Natural Resources. Next week’s committee schedule shows an Executive Session Jan. 26.

Bill Tracker

As the legislative session progresses, our resource page will update with a weekly bill tracker. Please note that legislation changes quickly, so the version on our website may not represent a bill’s latest version as it is published the Thursday of each week.

A rainy and stormy opening day to the 2024 legislative session
(Photo Credit: Erica Hallock)

Trivia!

What is the significance of these numbers to Washington’s 2024 legislative session?

60
599
18
6
71
200
311

And We’re Off!

The 2024 legislative session got off to a rainy start Jan. 8 with lawmakers, staff and lobbyists alike donning purple attire to show their support for the University of Washington Huskies representing the Pac 12 in the National Championship Game. RIP Pac 12. There goes my childhood dream.

In a short session with big needs, grand ambitions and minimal time, lawmakers quickly got down to business with the House passing bills on the first day. The campus truly was an example of “zero to 60” with a flurry of fiscal and policy committee hearings throughout the first week. There was no easing back in gently!

The big news causing chatter on the Capitol campus was the new cafeteria in the Legislative Building. I’m sure I’m not alone in grieving the loss of the Dome Deli. I will particularly miss the sandwiches of the “D.D.,” named after notable legislators as well as the friendly faces who worked there for years. There is still food, but it is primarily via vending machines and pre-made, so it is not a bad idea to pack a lunch if you are coming for the day! No more Helen Sommers sandwich with chips …

What’s the Tea?

In the lead up to the start of legislative activity, we heard a lot from the Governor as well as Democratic and Republican leadership via the traditional Associated Press Forum, the Governor’s State of the State (including the Republican response), the House of Representative’s Opening Ceremonies where both the Speaker and Minority Leader outlined their priorities as well as Democratic and Republican leadership media availabilities.

In what was his final State of the State, Governor Jay Inslee opened by stating this is not his farewell speech and, as the son of a high school track coach, he was always taught to “run through the tape.” In other words, he intends to finish strong. At the start of his remarks, the Governor referenced the support of the First Spouse, Trudi, and talked about how he loves seeing the campus child care center she inspired to serve Capitol families.

The Governor looked back at how the state has grown (literally, by its population) and evolved with its policies. And he acknowledged the challenges we continue to face, particularly in climate and housing.

Throughout all of these speeches and media availabilities, it was clear the leadership of both parties see similar needs. Democrats and Republicans alike in both chambers spoke to pressing needs in housing (including rising rents), child care affordability and access, behavioral health, public safety, and the pressing needs of Washington’s workforce.

At the Associated Press forum prior to the start of the legislative session, a poll conducted by Elway and Crosscut was shared that found the public’s top priorities include: 1) economic issues, including cost of living and inflation; 2) public safety and homelessness; 3) taxes; 4) government; and 5) environment. The poll also found the public supports more investment in services but would like to see reduced taxes.

While Democrats and Republicans identify the same challenges and both parties acknowledge that challenges and solutions do not exist in siloes, the Democrats and Republicans clearly have different approaches. At the Republican leadership media availability this week, one reporter jokingly teased Republican leaders about their “pessimistic attitude.”

These varying approaches are apparent in the policy bills introduced as well as in the lines of questioning in policy committees during this first week of the legislative session. In child care, for example, there is a school of thought that child care has become less affordable and expensive due to over-regulation and there has been legislation introduced to exempt some family child care homes from licensing requirements and/or to change educational requirements for providers.

This dialogue, of course, is all part of the democratic process and we will see how it evolves in the next 55 days!

Highlights of the Week

As noted above, policy committees got off to a fast start this week. Tuesday’s inaugural meeting of the House Human Services, Youth and Early Learning Committee focused exclusively on early learning related legislation, including:

• House Bill 2101 by Representative Rule would prohibit the Department of Children, Youth, and Families (DCYF) from charging child care licensing fees. During the pandemic, child care licensing fees were temporarily suspended. This bill would make this permanent. Proponents spoke about the financial challenges faced by child care providers and how these licensing fees could be reinvested into serving the needs of their students.
• House Bill 2111 by new Representative Nance is a technical bill that would reorganize the Working Connections Child Care (WCCC) statute to reflect changes made through the Fair Start for Kids Act to increase access and affordability. Supporters of HB 2111 testified that the reorganizational nature of the bill will make eligibility for Working Connections clearer for parents and caregivers. In addition, the bill is a culmination of concrete steps the state has taken to address the (lack of) affordable child care and increases access for populations such as low-income students.
• House Bill 2124 by Representative Eslick would change Working Connections Child Care work requirements to include family participation in ECEAP, Early ECEAP, Head Start and Early Head Start. It would also make inflationary adjustments to dual language and subsidy rate enhancements established in Fair Start for Kids Act a requirement, rather than subject to appropriation. Finally, it would allow employees of ECEAP or Early ECEAP to be eligible for Working Connections Child Care if their household income is below 85% of the state median income. Proponents, including families who have participated in ECEAP, spoke to the positive impact the program has had for their families.
• House Bill 1945 by Representative Alvarado would make children that are eligible for federal or state Basic Food benefits categorically eligible for ECEAP and Early ECEAP. It would also simplify income eligibility requirements for Working Connections Child Care by providing that eligibility for federal or state Basic Food benefits satisfies WCCC income requirements. Proponents of the bill testified to the importance of coordination between programs and not placing undue burden on families by making multiple requests for information already provided and available.

All of these bills aside from HB 1945 are scheduled for Executive Session (i.e. a vote) Friday, Jan. 12 at 8 a.m. We will report on the outcomes – and any amendments adopted – in next week’s update.

On Thursday, Jan. 11, the Senate Early Learning Committee heard Senate Bill 5774 which would require DCYF to maintain the ability to roll, print, or scan fingerprints in its early learning and child welfare offices, thereby increasing the capacity for conducting fingerprint-based background checks for prospective employees in child care and other programs. Sponsored by Senator Claire Wilson and Senate Majority Leader Andy Billig, this bill is a response to the challenges prospective providers face in finding locations to conduct fingerprint background checks. This can be particularly difficult in more rural and remote areas where significant travel or limited availability for openings can make securing the fingerprints a problem.

What’s on Deck for Next Week?

I joke that during the legislative session, an hour is like a day, a day like a week and, well, you get the idea. Each Wednesday night, the Senate and House release their proposed hearing schedules for the following week. This helps advocates plan and arrange testimony and sign-ins. Often, these schedules change as bills are added and removed from the calendars, but it is a helpful organizing tool.

As it stands now, key early learning related bills scheduled for hearing next week include:

• SB 6109 (Wilson, C. and Boehnke) will be heard in the Senate Human Services Committee Thursday, Jan. 18. This bill relates to child welfare in that it would change the removal standard for out-of-home placement for children due to the use or possession of a high potency synthetic opioid. But it also includes a number of supports for families experiencing substance use disorder including up to 150 targeted, voluntary home visiting slots (similar to the proposal contained in Governor Inslee’s proposed budget).
• HB 2195 (Callan and Eslick) will be heard in the House Capital Budget Committee Thursday, Jan. 18. This bill would make changes to the Ruth LeCocq Kagi early learning facilities development account (ELF). Most significantly, it would allocate any capital gains tax revenue after the first $500 million into the Education Legacy Trust Account, with 25% to the ELF account and 75% to the Common School Construction Fund, effective July 1, 2024. It would also remove the ELF award limits effective July 1, 2025; add translation services as an eligible administrative cost; prioritize applications for ELF construction, renovation, purchase, or repair grants to facilities that are ready for construction; and codify language allowing ELF facilities collocated with housing developments to receive state funding for 90% of the project cost, regardless of the match amount.
• HB 2243 (Reeves and Waters) will be heard in the House Agriculture and Natural Resources Committee Friday, Jan. 19. (This is – I think – the first committee referral for an early learning bill!). This bill would create the Children’s Social Equity Land Trust wherein funding for child care deserts would be generated by revenue from working forests statewide.

Finally, the Thursday, Jan. 18 meeting of the Senate Early Learning & K-12 Committee will focus on Early Learning legislation with hearings on bills relating to streamlining early learning program eligibility (SB 5870); technical cleanup of Working Connections Child Care statutes (SB 5941); and designation of early learning coordinators at educational service districts (SB 6018).

Bill Tracker

Start Early Washington produces a more comprehensive list of introduced legislation available on our resource page via our bill tracker. It is updated each Thursday to include the next week’s committee schedules. The status of bills can change quickly, though, so it is always a good idea to check the latest status on the legislative webpage.

On November 15, Mayor Brandon Johnson passed his first budget for the City of Chicago, naming it the “People’s Budget.” In many ways, this budget marks a huge success for the Mayor and represents many of his campaign promises to invest in people and support structures that have seen historical neglect. For example, the final budget contains resources and funding for public safety, including re-entry services for formerly incarcerated people, mental health and infrastructure, and one of the most topical investments was a $30 million allocation from state grants to the Department of Family Support Services (DFSS) to support newly arrived migrant families. Despite these investments, there are no direct increases to early childhood education.

Like past years, this budget season was filled with challenges, and most pressing was the fact that it is one of the last that will include support from the American Rescue Plan Act’s temporary investments. These COVID-era funds support a variety of city programs including vital prenatal-five services. As we approach this fiscal cliff, City-funded early childhood initiatives remain level-funded despite recommendations from 15 key early childhood stakeholders advocating for additional investments. The Chicago Early Learning Workforce Scholarship, the Chicago Early Childhood Integrated Data System (CECIDS), Family Connects Chicago and the Chicago Early Learning hotline did not receive an increase in funding heading into next year.

The Legislative Building showing off its winter festive self with the Holiday Tree display. The trees hold 7,000 lights with the theme of “video games.”
(Photo Credit: Erica Hallock)

Release of Governor’s Supplemental Budget

On Wednesday, Dec. 13, Governor Jay Inslee released his proposed $70.9 billion supplemental budget. All of the supplemental budget details can be found on the Office of Financial Management’s webpage, including a summary of the budget highlights and the proposed budget bill.

Supplemental budgets are intended to make “tweaks” to biennial budgets to reflect caseload changes or emergent needs and, as a result, do not typically contain significant new investments. The most significant new investments are focused in areas the Governor deems “critical issues,” including housing/homelessness, behavioral health and the fentanyl/opioid crisis. And while revenue has increased, the budget documents note that costs related to providing ongoing services, increasing caseloads and inflation have also grown, making fewer of these additional resources available for new investments.

Early learning highlights include:

• ECEAP Rate Increase. A total increase of $10.2 million to provide a 6% rate increase for school-day slots and a 10% rate increase for working-day slots.
• Transition to Kindergarten (TTK). A total of $1.4 million for Transition to Kindergarten Coordinated Enrollment for DCYF to provide consultation to the Office of the Superintendent of Public Instruction to support connections among TTK programs and local early learning providers.
• Voluntary Home Visiting. A total of $1.6 million to support 150 targeted voluntary home visiting slots for families where substance use disorder may be a risk factor.
• Contracted Child Care Slots. A total of $1.6 million for DCYF to pilot contracted child care slots for child protective services-involved infants.
• Early Achievers Grant Program. A total investment of $2.4 million in Washington Education Investment Act funding to assist child care providers earn a credential in early childhood education. The increased funding is intended to cover recruitment, advising and support activities at community and technical colleges.

Revenue and Caseload Forecasts Released

Revenue Forecast

On Nov. 20, the Washington State Economic and Revenue Forecast Council met to receive the final revenue report from retiring State Economist Dr. Steve Lerch.

Despite slowing revenue collections, revenues do continue to exceed previous projections, with an estimated increase of $191M anticipated for the remainder of the 2023-25 biennium, and an estimated additional $579M for the 2025-27 biennium.

Caseload Forecast

On Nov. 8, the Washington State Caseload Forecast Council met to receive updated caseload projections for entitlement programs. The Caseload Forecast Council also produces narratives discussing potential risks to the forecast. A number of programs impacting early learning and children and families are included in the caseload forecast:

• Working Families Tax Credit. For the first time, the Working Families Tax Credit is included in the caseload forecast and is expected to benefit 20,754 families in State Fiscal Year (SFY) 2024 (the fiscal year we are currently in) and 27,390 families in SFY 2025 (the fiscal year starting July 1, 2024).
• Working Connections Child Care. Working Connections Child Care is expected to serve 28,063 families in SFY 2024, up 1,081 families from the June 2023 forecast, or 4%. The program is expected to grow to serve 30,170 families in SFY 2025, an increase of 386 since June, or 1.3%.
• Transitional Kindergarten. Transitional Kindergarten is expected to serve 4,983 children in SFY 24, up 281 children since June (a 6% increase), followed by serving 5,480 children in SFY 2025, an increase of 425, or 8.5%.
• Early Childhood Education Assistance Program (ECEAP). ECEAP is projected to serve 13,938 children in SFY 2024, down 811 children from the June forecast, or a 5.5% reduction. In SFY 2025, the program is expected to serve 15,025 children, down 1,141 from June, a 7.1% reduction.

The revenue and caseload forecasts were used to inform Governor Inslee’s supplemental budget and updated forecasts developed during the latter part of the legislative session will inform the supplemental budget ultimately adopted by the Legislature.

In short, the revenue forecast signals to decision-makers how much money they have available to spend while the caseload forecasts indicate how much money must be spent on entitlement programs such as K-12, prisons and certain health care programs. Increasing revenue projections can be offset by rising caseload projections (which bring increasing spending commitments).

It’s Beginning to Feel a Lot Like Legislative Session …

Although it may feel as though the 2023 legislative session just ended, the start of the 2024 session is just around the corner. This will be the “short,” 60-day session, running from Jan. 8 through March 7.

Short sessions are full-out sprints with one legislative cutoff after another. At the same time bills are running through their processes, budget writers will be focused on drafting and negotiating a supplemental budget that will make adjustments to the 2023-25 budget the Legislature adopted before they left town last April.

Do not fret! Notes From Olympia will be here to recap all the goings on in Olympia and preview what is to come.

Committee Assembly Days 

Each year in late November/early December, Senate and House members gather at the Capitol for “Committee Assembly Days.” These days are meant to provide an opportunity for legislative committees to receive updates on issues of interest via work sessions and allow lawmakers to connect with each other and partners on priorities. These Committee Days are also scheduled right before the fundraising “freeze” for elected officials kicks in, so there are fundraisers in the morning and night.

Committee Days are a bit like the first day of school as folks reacquaint after the legislative interim, but then return home after just a few days. It is also a good test to see if one is “session ready.” Can you find your backpack? Did you unpack said backpack after last session? Did you bring a water bottle? Did you prepare your backpack with breath mints and snacks? (Spoiler alert: the author failed on all counts of this very basic assignment).

Back to the work at hand, the House Appropriations Committee held a work session that included a very helpful overview of 2024 state budget items presented by the House Appropriations Operating Budget Coordinator Mary Munroe. Munroe’s document contains a lot of helpful data about budget components and I plan to hold on to it for reference as session progresses. You can also watch the presentation via TVW beginning at the 1:30 mark.

Finally, a very exciting update. TVW and the state Legislature are partnering to pilot offering picture-in-picture American Sign Language (ASL) interpretation for certain Senate and House legislative hearings. Both TVW and the legislative webpage will denote which hearings will have ASL interpretation.

Prefiled Bills 

Beginning the first Monday of December, legislators are able to prefile bills for introduction prior to the start of the legislative session. These prefiled bills are officially introduced on the first day of the legislative session.

Of note for early learning, Senator Andy Billig has introduced SB 5774, which would require DCYF to offer background check fingerprinting in its local offices, to the extent funding is provided.

In addition to releasing weekly Notes From Olympia, Start Early Washington will produce a weekly bill tracker that provides a quick status update on bills. The bill tracker and other resources will be available on our Policy and Advocacy Resources page.

Welcome Zoë!

Zoë Erb (she/her) joined Start Early Washington in November as our Policy & Advocacy Manager, the newest policy-wonk to join the policy team. Passionate about alleviating systemic inequities, she established her career in the nonprofit and higher education sectors; she is excited to learn more about making a difference for families and caregivers in the early learning space.

Prior to working at Start Early Washington, she worked at a nonprofit called Communities Rise that provides capacity building to grassroots/BIPOC-led organizations in Washington. Zoë has spent most of her life in the Evergreen State and looks forward to keeping you in the loop about the goings-on at the state Legislature through the Notes From Olympia.

Here’s her favorite fun fact about Washington: The city name Walla Walla means “place of many waters” in the Nez Perce language (although tourists are often told it comes from being a place “so nice they named it twice”). We are thrilled to have Zoë as a member of our team!

Capitol Campus Construction Update

(Photo Credit: Erica Hallock)

While I was in Olympia for Senate Committee days, I had to check out progress on the replacement of the Irv Newhouse Building. (Note there is a prefiled bill that, if passed, would ensure the new building maintains the Newhouse name).

Construction is impacting a broad area around the Capitol, limiting parking and traditional pedestrian walking paths. Crews continue to make swift progress with an estimated completion date of November 2024.

I went back and checked where construction was at on the last day of the 2023 session and I would say they have come a long way!

As we reflect on Martin Luther King Jr. Day and the National Day of Racial Healing, we asked our early learning experts for advice on how talk to your little ones about racial healing, equity and justice.

As a parent, it can sometimes be difficult to talk to your children about serious issues like racism, but it is so very important. Sparking conversation with your little ones on this topic can help them to address bias and to be mindful as they navigate this big and sometimes scary world we live in.

The month of December is often referenced as the most wonderful time of year, and I have always taken advantage of this time to personally reflect and think about the successes and challenges over the past 12 months. 2023 has been a tumultuous year for me as I personally experienced the best and worst that our profession has to offer, getting caught in the crossfires of a book ban aimed at dismantling the foundation of the early learning profession. My experience has strengthened my resolve that we must invest in young children and the workforce that serves them by providing holistic, high quality early learning environments.

I am frequently asked how the so-called “culture wars” impact early childhood education. I begin these conversations praising our early childhood workforce for their resilience and commitment to early learning. We show up every day to serve children and families despite what’s happening around us. We hug babies and toddlers and offer support for families when our own world is crumbling due to the lack of infrastructure to fund our profession and support our work to create inclusive early childhood systems.

We cannot continue to ask more and more of our workforce while our country continues to devalue and disrespect our early educators.

• Early childhood workforce turnover is as high as 40% ¹
• Average wages are $11-15/hour, with early educator poverty rates 8X that of K-12 educators. The federal poverty line for a family of 4 is $30,000. A typical early educator earning the average hourly wage would come in around $26,000 annually ²
• Professionals are deeply stressed, with depression rates 13% higher than the national average ³

These statistics are compounded when we consider that our workforce is comprised primarily of women – particularly women of color.

Recently, we have seen yet another wave of oppressive legislation and public attacks, including doing away with loan forgiveness and affirmative action, striking the right to abortion, and demonizing and limiting the use of words and practices around diversity, equity, inclusion and belonging.

All of these efforts silence, scare and limit our efforts to foster a diverse and effective workforce that provides high quality early learning experiences for children and families. How can we be okay with policies and practices that discriminate against children and families while disregarding their culture and diversity?

Attacking Early Childhood Quality

On a personal note, for 5 years I led in a state where we heralded pre-k as a bi-partisan policy effort and as a result we had a pre-k program that was number 1 in reaching NIEER (National Institute for Early Education Research) quality for 17 years in a row. For DAP (Developmentally Appropriate Practice) to be under attack now is unconscionable as DAP was always the foundation for quality in our classrooms.

Terms including “culturally responsive,” “social-emotional learning,” “implicit bias,” and “diversity” are being censured. When states change competencies, dismantle standards and professional learning to remove these words, it prevents our workforce from receiving the support they need to employ best practices that are critical for children’s development. An urgent example is the crisis we are experiencing around harsh discipline practices that disproportionately affect black children. We must teach culturally responsive, anti-racist, and anti-bias pedagogy to address this.

Silencing and Restricting Workforce Rights

We have a staffing crisis and desperately need qualified, prepared teachers and staff. Striking down Affirmative Action and Loan Forgiveness programs shuts down essential educational support for staff.

When our professionals can’t access the healthcare they need for themselves and their families because of losing Reproductive Rights, it jeopardizes well-being.

“Color Blind” lawsuits threaten specific programs and interventions for Black, LatinX, and indigenous children and families who make up both our workforce and classroom populations. We see gaps in rights, quality of life, and wealth growing even bigger from this discrimination and racism. The workforce, and the children and families we serve, are from diverse backgrounds and we cannot serve them effectively when we employ strategies that force us to ignore the complexities of race, culture and ethnicity.

A question I keep hearing is, “How can we remain hopeful and enable a brighter future for our professionals, families and children?” My response is that there is no living and no better tomorrow without hope. Hope allows us to return each day knowing that we are making a difference and putting the needs of others first.

At Start Early our mission is to eliminate the opportunity gap so that all children can thrive and learn. We are focused on four areas of action:

1. Career Pathways. We must create accessible and affordable pathways to support our workforce in getting the credentials and knowledge they need to earn higher wages.
2. Professional Learning. We need powerful, rich onboarding to support new staff. We must improve workplace culture and climate to be inclusive and supportive. And we need to foster ongoing learning to increase educator effectiveness and confidence – and improve retention.
3. Engage Congress & Lawmakers. We must raise awareness about the science behind early childhood and demand support for early learning as the economic plan for improving our country and preparing tomorrow’s leaders.
4. Support Each Other. And equally important, we can create space to slow down and be intentional about supportive environments in our programs and classrooms. We can embrace rest, joy, relationships, and connections. This is what will help us cultivate resiliency and hope as we face these historic challenges to our workforce.

“Culture Wars” are a call to action for us all. As we prepare to end one year and start a new one, we must ensure that the early learning workforce has the support necessary to build strong relationships with children and families that last a lifetime. Our educators must not be forced to work in fear of retaliation for using strategies that optimize early learning spaces. It is up to each of us to do our part to tackle these issues with those in power. We must arm ourselves with knowledge and engage our communities and local coalitions to spread the word about why the work we are doing for our youngest citizens matters. We must demand for every child what we expect for our own young children.

Sources
¹Turnover: Ed Surge; OPRE; Yale Medicine 
² Hourly Wage Average & Rate of Poverty: 2020 Early Educator Workforce Index; Alabama 
³Depression: Children’s Equity Project, Mental Health Report

Each year the Illinois General Assembly passes legislation that can have an impact on families, or the organizations in our communities providing early childhood or related supportive services to families. Start Early leads on some of these legislative changes, often in coalition with others, and in other cases we contribute our early childhood lens and expertise to support the efforts of another lead organization. The 2023 Legislative Summary provides a listing of those bills that became law in the spring 2023 session that we thought would be relevant to families with young children and the field.  We hope that this is a resource you will download and share with colleagues and families alike. We are happy to provide additional information about any of these initiatives or connect you with other advocates where needed. Initiatives that were led by Start Early are marked “*”. 

Enrollment and retention data have long suggested the home visiting field could do more to meet the needs and desires of families, and workforce data point to challenges finding and sustaining a highly-qualified workforce. Start Early’s Illinois Home Visiting Caregiver and Provider Feedback Project used an organic, mixed-methods approach to understand what families and providers see as needed improvements to the home visiting system, and from this input, created precise recommendations.

The findings of this multi-year project carry significance for programs, model developers, researchers, systems leaders and policy makers. By actively engaging with the recommendations, leaders at all levels can ensure that resources are optimally allocated and can drive transformative change, paving the way for a more responsive, equitable and effective system that uplifts families and nurtures the healthy development of young children.

We encourage members of the home visiting field – including funders, model developers, researchers, program leaders, home visitors, and family participants – to read this report and identify the levers for change that they can act upon to strengthen and improve how the home visiting system supports caregivers and providers.

For questions about this report, please reach out to alowefotos@startearly.org.

With the close of Fiscal Year 2023, Start Early’s Illinois Policy team ended our inaugural, multi-year policy agenda. In launching that agenda, we wanted to try to capture the breadth of the work we do with our state and local elected officials and agencies to continuously strengthen and improve our early childhood programs, strengthen the early childhood workforce and to improve access to economic and health supports that we know are so critical for children and families to thrive. That agenda launched in the early months of not only a new governor’s term, but also a global pandemic.

Despite the strange mix of both hopefulness and uncertainty of that year, our team was focused on the kinds of change and progress we wanted to see for our state’s children and families – both now and in the years to come. Over those years, thanks to the leadership of Governor Pritzker and the members of the Illinois General Assembly, along with the tenacious advocacy of the early childhood community, we’ve seen:

• Increased investments in early childhood programs* lifting our state commitment from just over $1 billion in FY21 to more than $1.5 billion in FY24.
• A blueprint to re-imagine the early childhood system to ensure that families can find the services they want and need, and that those supports are available equitably across Illinois.
• Use of federal COVID-relief funding to not only to respond to the unique needs of the pandemic, but also to lay the groundwork for changes toward the state’s long-term vision.
• Increased attention towards better supporting the early childhood workforce for the critical work they do.
• Efforts to ensure that our programs are able to enroll and serve families who too often face systemic barriers to participation – such as children with delays or disabilities, who are experiencing homelessness or who might come from a home where languages other than English are the primary.

Despite all of that progress, there is much work to do. We need to continue toward this new vision of our system, but recognize how many serious challenges are being experienced daily in early childhood programs – particularly to attract and retain folks into the early childhood workforce. The child care business model was already fraught before the pandemic. There is a great need for stronger federal partnership and funding to help states advance their early learning goals.

Our team was proud to lead and significantly contribute to so many advances over the past few years – and in our new multi-year agenda will lay out some of the key priorities of work yet to be done. We have a short window in the first five years to help children launch into school and life with the strongest foundation possible – opportunities are in front of us and we owe it to our youngest learners to do what we know needs to be done.

* Early Childhood Block Grant, Home Visiting, Early Intervention and the Child Care Assistance Program and the Early Childhood Construction Grant

The Start Early Illinois Policy team is pleased to release our newest multi-year policy agenda, guiding our work for the next four fiscal years (FY24-27) and building on the work of our recently-concluded inaugural agenda.

The FY24-27 Policy Agenda incorporates the many advances in the field over the past four years, including Governor Pritzker’s exciting multi-year Smart Start initiative, and encompasses our priorities – both within and alongside Smart Start. Our work will also both inform and be shaped by the governor’s recent announcement of the creation of a standalone early childhood agency. The agenda continues to be anchored in community and provider voices, and is organized into four foundational components:

1. A stronger, more cohesive infrastructure for early childhood services where families can find the services that work for their children, where providers can easily access supports like I/ECMHC and strategies for inclusion of children with disabilities, and where quality, transparent data guides decision-making.
2. Well-designed and administered early childhood programs where programs have the resources they need to meet the diverse needs of young children and their families.
3. A thriving representative workforce with stronger pathways to earning needed credentials, receive the compensation and benefits that reflect the importance and complexity of their work and who receive ongoing professional learning opportunities.
4. Improved access to health and mental health care, economic supports and healthy communities, which we know are basic necessities all children deserve and need to thrive, particularly in the prenatal to kindergarten entry period of life.

We look forward to work that not only drives us toward this vision but is rooted in the current challenges we know families and early childhood providers and programs face on a daily basis. The challenges the field faces are significant and urgent, and while recent investments have been incredibly helpful, our progress is tenuous. We can be successful only when we work in partnership with families and providers, our advocacy partners, our public partners in city and state government and the tremendous philanthropic community in Illinois. We look forward to tackling these challenges with all of our partners to make Illinois the best state in the nation to raise a child.