Occasionally, Start Early Washington team members are honored with opportunities for thought leadership on a global scale. In this blog, ParentChild+ Washington State Program Director, Pamela Williams shares a few thought-provoking insights from her recent presentation at the 18^th World Congress for the World Association for Infant Mental Health in Dublin, Ireland.

A Global Stage for Equity & Social Justice

In July 2023, Pamela Williams joined a global panel discussion at the 18th World Congress for the World Association for Infant Mental Health in Dublin, Ireland, focused on Equity and Social Justice in Infant Mental Health. Joining co-presenters from Canada, Australia and the U.S., Pamela led a session exploring the Residual Effects of Colorism and the Impacts of Implicit Bias in Our Decision Making. This presentation provided a unique opportunity for practitioners to reflect on how unconscious bias affects decision making in their field.

Exploring Colorism in Media & Society

Pamela led her audience through a series of thought-provoking questions and exercises, shedding light on the presence of colorism in communities, society and media. She showcased compelling historical and contemporary print ads, billboards and advertisements from the U.S., France and Asia, demonstrating how media supports a harmful, racist narrative that white is best, “the lighter your skin, the better you are.” She encouraged her audience to reflect on the messages the media portrays to Black, Indigenous and other people of color (BIPOC), and the messages it portrays to white people.

Broadening the Scope of Race Equity Work

Pamela stressed the importance of broadening the scope of race equity work beyond an American-centric perspective to better serve diverse staff with varying life experiences. Recognizing the disparities in the representation experienced by BIPOC American-born staff and those born outside the U.S., she pointed out that discussions about race need to adapt to the backgrounds of the communities we partner with. “Many of our BIPOC American-born staff struggle to remember the age when they saw people like themselves on TV, and many of my team members born outside of the U.S. said they saw representation all their lives.”

The result is that the conversations around race we may have in the U.S. do not mean the same thing to individuals raised in other countries. However, when we ask what it means to have dark skin, many individuals around the globe can relate to biases around skin tone. –Where the U.S. may embrace terms such as “Black” and “Brown,” individuals born outside the U.S. may cringe at the thought of their child or themselves being labeled with terms such as brown or black because they are viewed negatively in their home country.

Embracing Uncomfortable Conversations for Positive Change

Delving into these deeply ingrained biases, Pamela acknowledged the weight of these discussions. She was particularly mindful of encouraging her audience to stay present and engaged, as addressing these “sneaky little buggers that sit with us” is crucial for positive change and needs to be talked about. As a result, there can be powerful outcomes from doing this hard work; by challenging ourselves to uncover deeply held biases, we can improve our decision making, allowing us to do better in the communities we serve.

Resources For Deeper Understanding

To gain a deeper understanding of colorism, Pamela referenced the book Colorism: Investigating a Global Phenomenon by Dr. Kamilah Woodson. She also shared movie suggestions that explore this subject, including Imitation of Life and Passing. These resources provide valuable insights into the complex worldwide issue of colorism and its societal impacts.

Children’s Books to Celebrate & Honor Native American Heritage Month

Storytelling is integral in Indigenous cultures—they can be told from books or through utilizing oral storytelling as a way for entertainment, education/teaching, and the sharing of culture and traditions.

As parents, we know that learning is most impactful when it’s shared with our children. Native American Heritage Month encourages us to engage in activities that promote understanding, respect and appreciation for Indigenous cultures. Here are a few age-appropriate books and resource recommendations you can share with your little one to celebrate this special month:

Books recommended for infants and toddlers:

• Black and White: Visual Stimulation Images for Babies by Morgan Asoyuf, Tsimshian
• Learn & Play by Various Native and First Nation Artists
• Good Morning World by Paul Windsor, Haisla
• Goodnight World by Various Native Artists
• We All Count by Jason Adair, Ojibway
• My Heart Fills With Happiness by Monique Gray Smith, Cree & Lakota
• Sweetest Kulu by Celina Kalluk, Inuit
• First Laugh, Welcome Baby! by Rose Ann Tahe, Navajo & Dine nish’li & Nancy Bo Flood

Books recommended for children in pre-K or kindergarten:

• You Hold Me Up by Monique Gray Smith, Cree & Lakota
• Powwow Day by Traci Sorell, Cheokee Nation
• Thunder’s Hair by Jessie Taken Alive-Rencountre, Hunkpapa Lakota
• We Are Water Protectors by Carole Lindstrom, Anishinabe/Métis
• Fry Bread by Kevin Noble Maillard, Seminole Nation
• Sweetgrass by Theresa Meuse, Mi’kmaq First Nation

Additional resources:

• Oral Storytelling: Gene Tagaban — Gene is an oral storyteller from Tlingit and Haida from Southeast Alaska. Every tribe has their own storytellers.
• Celebrating Native Cultures Through Words: Storytelling and Oral Traditions

Head Start programs across the country are facing an enrollment crisis exacerbated by the pandemic and a persistent staffing shortage. According to a NIEER report, Head Start programs enrolled around 257,000 fewer children (a 33% decline) during the 2020-21 program year than they did in 2018-19. Numerous families made other arrangements for their children. Many centers had to reduce the number of classrooms they operated and struggled to find and retain qualified staff – leaving remaining staff with less capacity to support recruitment.

Although enrollment numbers have started to rebound in recent years, the disruptions and challenges exacerbated by the pandemic continue to plague Head Start programs. As of February of this year, NHSA reports that under-enrollment is a big problem for many programs, with current enrollment relative to funded enrollment at roughly 79% for Head Start and 81% for Early Head Start nationally. Many Head Start programs are scrambling to rebuild their capacity and recruit more families to enroll with a looming threat of funding cuts if they are unable to fill slots. The innovations and lessons learned from Head Start programs during this time may also provide ideas for leaders of other publicly funded early learning programs and systems – like home visiting – that may also be looking to ensure families are aware of and able to access and enroll in these critical services.

Also, it is worth noting that recruitment, eligibility, and enrollment barriers occur at numerous levels. The research discussed in this blog focuses on challenges at the local and program level. To learn more about national trends and Head Start in general, check out this post.

Recent Research Provides Insight Into Key factors Affecting Enrollment

In January 2022, Start Early embarked on a new interdisciplinary project, funded by the Vivo Foundation, to understand barriers to Head Start enrollment in Chicago Head Start programs. The multi-year project sought to address a key challenge: improve recruitment and enrollment to ensure more eligible children and their families receive high-quality Head Start supports.

In the first phase of the project, researchers used a human-centered design approach to understand the current state of recruitment efforts and experiences from a staff and family perspective. They surveyed Head Start staff most knowledgeable about recruitment and enrollment and conducted interviews with families.

Findings suggest strategies to increase enrollment:

Action Area 1: Reduce barriers to entry for families and create welcoming environments.
Systems leaders need to be aware of hidden barriers that families may face, including confusing or burdensome eligibility requirements, lengthy wait times, and a first impression that programs have a regimented, transactional, and unwelcoming approach to families. Such barriers might be mitigated by:

• Addressing the stigma and hurdles that families feel by creating warm and welcoming environments. Program leaders and staff need support to understand and address the stigma that some families may feel around demonstrating and documenting their eligibility for EHS/HS services. Staff also need to be prepared to be upfront with parents about expectations and timelines; yet still warm and inviting.
• Clarifying eligibility requirements so parents and staff know what is needed. Eligibility requirements and timelines from application to enrollment are not always clear to families and the paperwork required can be burdensome and invasive for some parents given the amount of personal information requested.

Action Area 2: Support Head Start Centers to communicate about program effectiveness and benefits. Parents are interested in high quality, child-centric programs. Programs and systems need to find more effective ways to communicate program benefits and quality. This might be achieved by:

• Digital marketing. Programs need support to build an online presence that is accurate, appealing, and accessible (e.g., free of unfamiliar jargon, translated into families’ home languages) because most families start their search for information online. The lack of such digital information may inadvertently create barriers for families.
• Clarifying availability of programs that meet families’ needs. Many working families want full-day programs and need easier access to information about program availability and qualification requirements. Messaging should also highlight other important areas for families, including proximity, safety, and cleanliness.
• Highlighting the research supporting early childhood education and program quality. Parents need more assurance that Head Start programs meet their personal priorities and standards, especially in the providing high-quality early learning experiences by credentialed teachers. Highlighting the evidence of Head Start’s documented impact and value could help encourage parents to enroll in Head Start programs.

Programs Cannot Address These Challenges Alone

As a next step in this project, Start Early staff have partnered with several Head Start programs to test new strategies for reaching, recruiting, and supporting families – including though more effective communication strategies and employing a relationship-based approach. However, program-level efforts alone are likely insufficient to address this systemic, national challenge; systems leaders have a key role to play, including not only supporting scaling of the efforts described above, but in solving other contributing issues to this challenge, like workforce recruitment and retention. In addition, the lessons learned from Head Start programs in meeting enrollment goals may also be useful to leaders across other parts of the early childhood system as they seek to increase accessibility to other critical early childhood services and supports, from home visiting to child care subsidy.

Numerous teams across Start Early are focused on the challenges of Head Start enrollment this year. Be on the lookout for more details, including a report on strategies to increase enrollment and a digital marketing guide, in the coming months.

This blog post was co-authored by Amanda Stein, Managing Director, Research & Evaluation at Start Early. 

Overview of Head Start

Head Start is a federally funded program founded in 1965 with the mission of promoting the school readiness of young children from low-income families by enhancing their cognitive, social, and emotional development. This blog focuses primarily on Head Start programs, which provide preschool services and support to children ages three through five and their families, rather than Early Head Start, which supports pregnant people and families with children under age three. However, the challenges outlined here are applicable to Early Head Start as well. The focus on Head Start here is because that is where the majority of resources are currently dedicated.

Head Start programs are free for families who are eligible, which include:

• Families who are at or below 100 percent of the Federal Poverty Level (FPL)
• Families receiving public assistance such as Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF), Supplemental Security Income (SSI), or Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP)
• Families experiencing homelessness
• Children in foster care
• Children with disabilities

With the child at the center of their approach, Head Start programs provide services in three key areas: early learning and development, family engagement and wellbeing, and health and wellness. There are also Head Start programs that provide services tailored to specific populations. American Indian and Alaska Native (AIAN) Head Start programs serve children of AIAN heritage and offer traditional language and cultural practices that honor their rich heritage. Migrant and Seasonal Head Start programs provide services to families who are in agricultural labor and have changed their residence within two years or who are engaged in seasonal agricultural labor.

Head Start operates using a federal-to-local funding model. Head Start grantees include local school districts, nonprofit and for-profit groups, faith-based organizations, and tribal councils. Thus, Head Start can be provided in a variety of settings, including child care and development centers, schools, and family child care homes (Office of Head Start, 2022).

Access to Head Start

Close to one million children access Head Start and Early Head Start each year, yet many families cannot access the program due to a range of systemic and programmatic barriers. In 2021, the National Head Start Association conducted a survey, focus groups and key informant interviews that identified key issues that make participating in the program difficult for families – access to transportation, outdated locations, the instability of poverty, low income eligibility limits, inadequate hours of service for families, the workforce crisis, lack of awareness of the program’s comprehensive services, and a possible bias for school-based services.

Perhaps the greatest systemic barrier to accessing Head Start is the income eligibility limits. Income eligibility is based on the federal poverty guidelines. The United States’ method for determining the poverty level is incredibly outdated. The calculation does not consider housing, transportation, child care, or medical costs. Geographical differences are also not considered, even though costs of living vary significantly across the country. Another systemic barrier is transportation, with low income families disproportionately having limited or no access to personal or public transportation.

Head Start programs are required to conduct annual family and five-year community assessments to determine whether slots are distributed in the most appropriate locations, whether the hours of service are meeting families’ needs, and a variety of other topics. These assessments are then used by the program staff and the Policy Council to determine how best to implement the program. However, making significant changes such as changing the location of a center or increasing the hours of service can be costly, require a great deal of time, and be difficult to implement.

Conclusion

Head Start has a deep history providing two generational programming for very low income families. The standards have been reviewed and revised over the 60 years of implementation, based on research as well as parent, community, and grantee feedback. The power of Head Start is not only in its comprehensiveness but also in the inclusion of family leaders in governance and implementation of the program. In addition to being a child development program, Head Start is also an economic empowerment program, providing training and jobs for parents.

The funding per child for Head Start grantees, though significantly more than the average per child reimbursement for state pre-k, is directly related to the depth of the standards. It is important to note that as a national program, many of the regulations, funding and eligibility principles are averaged across all the states and territories. This can create significant implementation challenges for states and communities with high costs of living particularly regarding staff compensation, facilities, and enrolling income-eligible families. These challenges can lead to under enrollment and missed opportunities for collaboration in mixed delivery pre-k, leaving many families without the opportunity and supports needed as they strive to provide their children with a foundation for future social and academic success.

Federal policy solutions to these problems included allowing grantees to convert Head Start slots to Early Head Start slots with supports for the cost increases and allowing for automatic eligibility for families that already quality for SNAP and housing assistance. States can consider providing funding for Head Start and Early Head Start programming with higher income eligibility requirements that are more fitting for their state and community context.

Earlier today, Illinois Governor JB Pritzker announced the creation of a new, unified state agency focused on early childhood. This major undertaking, which will take place over several years, aims to simplify and streamline how families access critical early learning and care services – by better aligning and coordinating programs, data and policies.

Across the country, families with young children and those who care for them continue to navigate a complex, fragmented and under-resourced early care and learning system, making it challenging to meet the diverse needs of communities.

Illinois leaders and stakeholders have called for an early childhood agency that can more efficiently and equitably manage the range of services that young children and families need to thrive, and we are prepared and ready to design and implement this new governance structure with success.

For decades, Illinois has been a leader in prioritizing policies and investments that put children and families first and has built a robust early childhood system through deep public and private engagement, helping to ensure services reflect what families and providers need and value. This long history gives the current administration lessons to build upon and partnerships to harness as this new agency is designed and launched.

Start Early is excited to offer its longstanding experiences directly providing early childhood services and informing policy in Illinois as state leaders embark on this historic transformation of the governance and design of our early learning and care system.

“Today, the governor presented a unique, historic pledge to redesign and transform how we serve Illinois families with young children,” Start Early Vice President of Illinois Policy Ireta Gasner shares. “Start Early is eager to be a collaborator in this work. We know that we will have greater success when we bring the voices of the early childhood community alongside our government partners in this effort.”

As the backbone organization of Raising Illinois, a statewide public-private coalition of more than 1,400 parents, providers, advocates and policymakers working to achieve a better future for Illinois’ infants and toddlers, we have seen the power of what Illinoisans can contribute in driving transformational change. It will take the experiences of those on-the-ground in communities across the state for such a notable, positive and sustainable change to be made to our state’s early childhood infrastructure.

While the transition team works to establish the new agency, it remains critical for us to stay committed to the multi-year investments and program improvements outlined in the governor’s Smart Start plan. We must approve and implement substantial annual investments in all early childhood program to address early childhood workforce shortages and waiting lists for services, and to expand services to where families face disparities in accessing programs they need to work and for their children to thrive.

“The first five years of a child’s life are the most important for positive health and development, and our youngest Illinoisans are growing and learning right now,” Start Early President Diana Rauner states. “So, as we look toward this brighter future for how we serve Illinois families, Start Early remains steadfast in its efforts to reach more families with quality early learning experiences through transformational policies, investments and research.”

For over 40 years Start Early has worked tirelessly to advance quality early learning and support for children and families. We know that starting early has the biggest impact on a child’s development and that Head Start and Early Head Start are an essential part of our work to help all children thrive.

In honor of Head Start Awareness Month, we spoke with Diana McClarien, our vice president of the Early/Head Start Network, to share how our relationship with Head Start began, the benefits of the program and our hopes for the future of Head Start and Early Head Start.

Celebrating Head Start Awareness Month

As part of Head Start Awareness Month, our Early/Head Start Network will launch a Child Development Associate® (CDA) program for parents that have children in Start Early and partner sites. The CDA Credential™ is an important credential for early childhood professionals, as obtaining it allows them to take the next step in their career.

We hope to engage with Head Start parents everywhere to elevate their perspectives and gain insights on the best ways to support their children. We know that when teachers and parents are aligned in building a solid foundation, children can thrive.

Join us this October as we celebrate and promote Head Start on social media! Use the #HeadStartAwareness hashtag in your posts to highlight the program.

Citations

• Bloom, H. S. and Weiland, C., Quantifying Variation in Head Start Effects on Young Children’s Cognitive and Socio-Emotional Skills Using Data from the National Head Start Impact Study (March 31, 2015).
• Love, J. M., Kisker, E. E., Ross, C. M., Schochet, P. Z., Brooks-Gunn, J., Paulsell, D., Boller, K., Constantine, J., Vogel, C., Sidle Fuligni, A., Brady-Smith, C. (2002). Making a difference in the lives of infants and toddlers and their families: The impacts of early Head Start. Volumes I-III: Final technical report and appendixes and local contributions to understanding the programs and their impacts. Washington, DC: U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, Administration for Children and Families, Office of Planning, Research and Evaluation.

Echoing Resilience: Intertribal Canoe Journeys

October celebrates Indigenous Peoples Day, honoring Indigenous People’s legacy, traditions and invaluable contributions.

In the rich tapestry of Indigenous coastal communities of the Pacific Northwest, Canada and Alaska, the timeless art of canoeing embodies more than just transportation — it represents profound journeys that symbolize unity, resilience, and a deep connection to the land and the water.

Start Early Washington’s Training and Technical Assistance Specialist Alex Patricelli shared how she reclaimed her Native culture and traditions with her young boys Mateo (6) and Kulani (4) through the celebration of intertribal canoe journeys at the 2023 Paddle to Muckleshoot.

For generations, coastal tribal communities relied on canoes for daily life. However, cultural ties were severed when canoeing was banned in the U.S. and Canada in the 20th century. More than 100 years passed before this restriction was lifted. In 1989, coastal communities reclaimed the canoe with an intertribal canoe journey to symbolize the resilience and survival of traditional practices against colonization and Western assimilation challenges.

In preparation for the 2023 epic canoe journey, Alex wanted to make her boys custom drums. The drum is regarded as the heartbeat of Indigenous culture in ceremonies, celebrations and spiritual gatherings.

Alex’s vision for the drums was clear: to harmoniously blend her son’s multifaceted cultural identities, uniting them as brothers while also preserving their individuality. She soaked the deer hide, skillfully assembled the drum kits and hand-painted each drum. The drums serve as a canvas for symbolism, where a turtle and manta ray take center stage through distinct imagery.

Alex elaborated on the origins of her art designs, “The outer ring symbolizes the boys’ Native heritage, inspired by the ‘formline’ design of Coastal Native artwork. Within the lines, both drums bear the symbols of a turtle and manta ray, which hold cultural significance to our Chamorro and Filipino heritage and represent qualities of persistence, wisdom, patience, good fortune, power and protection.”

Alex further emphasized, “drums are regarded as living entities and not just musical instruments; before a drum can be used, we awaken their spirit by burning sage and infusing them with good thoughts, energy and blessings. Mateo and Kulani are learning to respect and understand the hand drum’s cultural significance, a vital part of our families’ cultural teachings and identity that we’ve worked hard to reclaim for our family.”

*all photos credited to Alex Patricelli

Children have many big emotions! Preschoolers are learning to name and manage them. They are also learning friendship and other social skills. And sometimes, their behaviors are challenging. Many behaviors are appropriate for a child’s stage of development yet are found challenging by adults. This may be one of the biggest pain points for educators in early childhood. We’re taking a new approach to support educators who want to build positive social skills and decrease challenging behaviors in their classroom – Reflectable SEL.

In early childhood, we have always focused on social and emotional learning. We know that high quality social and emotional skills are linked to all other areas of children’s learning and critical to their success; skills like empathy, regulating behaviors and emotions, and problem solving. It can be challenging to supply the support preschoolers need to develop these important skills.

Every Pre-K teacher that I have met is deeply invested in the growth of their students. They want to send children to kindergarten ready to succeed in school and in life.

How Early Childhood Teachers are Feeling Today

At this moment, teachers are worried about the state of children’s social and emotional growth. There is an increasing number of challenging behaviors in the classroom that they must deal with, like emotional dysregulation, difficulty building relationships, or coping with change in routine. These challenges affect the mental health of both teachers and children in ways we haven’t seen before.

The recent pandemic highlighted the vital role early childhood teachers play in families’ success and how under supported they are. We know educators experience high levels of stress—and when they are stressed, children show more challenging behaviors. And the cycle of worry, frustration, anger, and dysregulation repeats.

In a recent visit to a child development center, I asked teachers, “What do you need to help children grow and learn skills like empathy, sharing, friendship skills and regulating their emotions?” Their answers:

1. We need support that is focused and specific to the work we are doing.
2. We need support that helps us respond to challenging behaviors in the moment during our daily work.

There are many valuable frameworks, curricula, and learning models for promoting growth and preventing challenging behaviors. Their use creates lasting and positive effects on children. But it is hard to apply frameworks, curricula, and special resources to guide a teacher’s practice day to day in real time.

Applying a Human-Centered Approach to Problems of Practice

At the Early Learning Lab – where we combine human-centered design and early childhood expertise with data and technology – we asked: How might we help practitioners quickly recall the strategies they learn in training to make it easier to use them with children? How might we provide easy mindfulness supports?

To answer these questions, we used a discovery process to create a new tool and bring it to teachers to get their ideas and input. These pilot teachers helped us make the experience one that would be helpful to them. With guidance from these educators, we built the first Reflectable tool to supply focused and specific bite sized actions in simple and easy to apply language. This put the power in the teachers’ hands. They were able to reflect on the topics that mattered most to them. This made it easier for teachers to practice the skills they learned during training in a way that made sense for their unique needs. In turn, this helped educators make quick choices for how to best care for children when challenging behaviors appear.

“I didn’t realize I had the power to really change things!” – Pilot Pre-k Teacher

After using this simple, new tool to reflect on practice and set weekly goals, teachers said they:

• felt valued as experts for the work they were doing
• could thoughtfully make choices that help children’s growth
• made meaningful mindset shifts for themselves
• experienced less stress themselves and saw fewer challenging behaviors among children

A New Tool to Support Reflective Practice

The result of testing and refining this tool is Reflectable® and its Social Emotional Learning content module. Reflectable’s online, guided 10-minute weekly reflection, helps educators see the power of taking small, intentional steps. These steps improve their social emotional learning practice in the areas they decide matter most and positively impact children.

Reflectable is a helpful pause for educators to take time for themselves and give children the attention and support they deserve. In turn, this boosts outcomes, morale, self-efficacy, and job satisfaction.

It’s time to rethink support tools for the early learning workforce. They are a precious resource, and their job is tough. The early learning workforce deserve to be heard and valued so they can listen to and value the children in their care.

No matter the season, the Capitol Campus is always gorgeous!
(Photo Credit: Erica Hallock, Sept. 19, 2023)

Changes in the Legislative Makeup in 2024 and Beyond

What legislative makeup changes can we expect heading into 2024’s legislative session? Christine Rolfes’ decision to leave the state Senate for a seat on the Kitsap County Board of Commissioners kicked off a series of changes to the Senate and House of Representatives membership and committee assignments. During the first shift, in August, the Kitsap County Board of Commissioners appointed House of Representatives member Drew Hansen to serve the remainder of Senator Rolfes’ Senate term (with now Commissioner Rolfes abstaining in the vote).

In September, the same Board of Commissioners appointed Greg Nance to fill Rep. Hansen’s former House seat. The part of Rep. Nance’s resume that is generating the most conversation is his passion for running and the fact that he ran across the country (that’s 3,156 miles!) for youth mental health. He also enjoys running ultramarathons. Impressive!

Because former Senator Rolfes chaired the powerful Senate Ways and Means Committee, her departure led to a number of changes in Senate Committee assignments. Last week, Senate Democrats announced that Senate Ways and Means Committee Vice Chair June Robinson from Snohomish County would assume the Chair role, with Senator Joe Nguyen from West Seattle serving as the Committee Vice Chair. Senate Higher Education and Workforce Development Committee Chair Emily Randall from Kitsap County was added to the Ways and Means Committee, filling Sen. Nguyen’s seat.

Senator Hansen was appointed to the Senate Higher Education and Workforce Development, Labor and Commerce and the Transportation Committees. In other shuffling, Senator Marko Liias replaced Sen. Rolfes on the Senate Agriculture, Water, Natural Resources and Parks Committee.

How are the 2024 elections shaping up? As we’ve previously reported, Governor Jay Inslee’s decision not to seek a fourth term set in motion a series of cascading dominoes. We know two current statewide officeholders – Attorney General Bob Ferguson and Public Lands Commissioner Hilary Franz – have thrown their hats into the ring for the open Governor seat, along with the current state Senator from the Issaquah area, Mark Mullet. Further, longtime Insurance Commissioner Mike Kreidler announced he does not plan to seek a seventh term, opening up a fourth statewide office.

As of this writing, five sitting state senators have announced plans to run for the four open statewide seats:

• Senator Mark Mullet from Issaquah for Governor
• Senator Manka Dhingra from Redmond for Attorney General
• Senator Patty Kuderer from Bellevue for Insurance Commissioner
• Senator Kevin Van De Wege from Port Angeles for Public Lands Commissioner
• Senator Rebecca Saldana from Seattle for Public Lands Commissioner

With Senate seats up for election every four years, only two of these current state senators have to give up their Senate seats to run for statewide office – Senators Mullet and Van De Wege. Senators Dhingra, Kuderer and Saldana are up for election in the Senate in 2026. Should any of these three prevail in their statewide election, however, there would be appointments for their Senate seats. Like with the recent ascension of Drew Hansen to Christine Rolfes’ Senate seat, it is very common for House members to seek an open Senate seat (which of course leads to openings in the House and more shuffling).

Another data point is that in 2024, 27 of the 49 Senate seats will be up for election. This is higher than usual because of a number of midterm Senate appointments. All 98 House seats will be up for election in 2024 as well.

Are you following all of this?? It is confusing and, yes, I had to make my own chart to keep track of all the potential movement. And, this is all happening before the usual round of retirement announcements that typically occur during the legislative session. Guess I should have written my chart in pencil …

State Revenue Update

On Sept. 26, the Washington State Revenue and Forecast Council met to receive the latest revenue report from the state’s Chief Economist Dr. Steve Lerch. While revenue collections are slowing, they do continue to outpace projections. Revenues are expected to be $663M more than anticipated for the 2023-25 biennium and $437M more than anticipated for the subsequent 2025-27 biennium.

Washington continues to enjoy its lowest unemployment rate of all time at 3.6%. High inflation rates continue to be a risk to the state’s economy as does the potential federal government shutdown. Dr. Lerch noted that the resumption of federal student loan payments will mean fewer dollars will flow into our state’s economy, impacting sales tax receipts. The question of the magnitude of the impact of the student loan payments resuming was asked by a number of legislators on the panel and Dr. Lerch replied it is too early to anticipate the impact.

After years of service, Dr. Lerch will be retiring from his role as the state’s economist and the Council is slated to appoint his successor at its Oct. 6 meeting. Dr. Lerch is widely considered a trusted resource and is appreciated for calling it like he sees it.

State Agency Decision Packages

Each September, state agencies submit to the Office of Financial Management (OFM) “Decision Packages” containing agency requests for consideration of funding to be included in the Governor’s budget released in mid-late December.

Note that 2024 is an “off year” where the Legislature will adopt a supplemental budget. Supplemental budgets are designed to account for caseload shifts or unanticipated expenses (such as expenses associated with intense fire seasons). While supplemental budgets are not intended for significant investments, state agencies and advocates (and legislators) will still try to advance priority initiatives.

Over the next few months, the Governor and his team will weigh the various proposals against available funding. One final revenue forecast released in November will inform the Governor’s proposal with the Governor’s budget out in December.

These decision packages can be found on the OFM website. Web access to the decision packages is clunky, so we summarized some of the key early learning requests submitted by the Department of Children, Youth and Families below:

ECEAP Entitlement

DCYF requested a total of $37M for the supplemental budget, with the amount rising to $82.09M in years 25-27. DCYF proposes the new funding support three areas: slot rates, slot expansion and quality supports.

• Slot Rates ($29.759M). DCYF requested a 19% rate increase for school-day slots and a 28% increase for working-day slots. Funding at this amount would equal the full rate recommendation in the ECEAP cost study . This would raise the school-day rate from $14,893 to $17,659 (and then to $18,030 in SFY 26). It would also increase the working-day rate from the current $21,478 to $27,587 (going up to $28,166 in SFY 26).
• Slot Expansion ($4.976M). The adopted 2023-25 budget included 500 new school-day slots. In the supplemental budget, DCYF is requesting an additional 200 school-day and 50 working-day slots. The decision package notes that three contractors returned 246 slots this year due to staffing shortages.
• Quality Supports ($1.046M in maintenance and $149K for new slots). This funding request would support child assessment, curriculum and training. This request was not fully funded in the 2023-25 budget and $1.046M represents that funding gap. Additional funding is needed because of pricing increases from a vendor and quality funding not provided to support new slots allotted.

Making Child Care Work for Families

A total of $12.597M in the 2023-25 supplemental budget is requested to align eligibility for ECEAP, Working Connections, Head Start, Early Head Start and Early ECEAP. Alignment would include:

• Allow participation in ECEAP, Early ECEAP, Head Start and Early Head Start as an approved Working Connections activity. This would cost $2.377M and impact about 166 families who are enrolled in Working Connections and either Head Start or ECEAP.
• Continued Working Connections Eligibility for 12 months for children adopted or in guardianship. This would cost $1.091M.
• Exclude child support, Social Security and SSI as income for ECEAP and Working Connections Eligibility. This would cost $6.876M for child support and $2.115M for SS/SSI exclusion.

Infant Rate Enhancement and Non-Standard Hours Bonus

A total of $23.758M is requested in the 2023-25 supplemental budget and $47.458M in 2025-27 to:

• Increase infant rate enhancement from $90 a month to $500 a month. This would cost $14 million and impact about 2500 children. DCYF also requests 1 FTE to manage the contracting of slots for the approximately 100 infants placed with kin or relative parents.
• Increase non-standard hour care bonus from $135 a month to $500 a month. This would cost $8M.
• Increase shared services funding to $1.7M. This supports training, mentoring and consulting.

Transition to Kindergarten Coordinated Recruitment and Enrollment

DCYF requests $1.357M and 2 FTE to implement the requirements of the 2023 Transition to Kindergarten legislation (the adopted budget did not include this funding). The decision package also includes funding for Child Care Aware to support bringing local partners together to coordinate and communicate. The goal is to support increased access to pre-K and informed parental choice.

The Office of Superintendent of Public Instruction may also have a decision package for its costs associated with this work, but it has not been posted as of this writing.

State Redistricting Updates

In August, U.S. District Court Judge Robert Lasnik found that the map for the 15th Legislative District in the Yakima area limited Latino voter participation and representation in elections. The Washington State Standard does a great job of describing the case in a series of articles.

Invalidating the map drawn by the state’s Redistricting Commission, Judge Lasnik directed the Legislature to either call the Redistricting Commission back to redraw the district or leave the redrawing to the federal court. The Judge ordered the new redistricting plan be sent to the Secretary of State by March 25, 2024 to allow time for the new district(s) to be considered for the 2024 elections.

It is important to note that the redrawing of one legislative district has ripple effects and it is likely that this redistricting will impact the makeup of multiple legislative districts.

While the District Court did provide an option for the Redistricting Commission to be convened by the Legislature to redraw the district, on Sept. 13, the State Standard reported that Democratic legislative leadership does not plan to exercise that option, and the federal court should undergo the redistricting process.

Expect this redistricting conversation to be another focal point in 2024.

Capitol Campus Construction

Irv Newhouse Building during the waning days of the Legislative session in April 2023
(Photo Credit: Erica Hallock)

A much different view in September 2023
(Photo Credit: Erica Hallock)

A visit to Olympia is not complete without checking out the progress on the Capitol campus modernization project. As the most recent picture clearly demonstrates, the Irv Newhouse Building – which housed Senate Republican members – along with the Capitol Press houses and the old visitor center are all demolished. The new “view” as you walk toward the Capitol campus is striking.

You can learn more about the Newhouse replacement building on the Department of Enterprise Services website. One update that will bring joy to Capitol dwellers is the inclusion of conference rooms for meetings – something that is sorely lacking on the current campus.

A note if you are planning to visit the Capitol in the near-term, the visitor’s parking lot is closed due to the construction. Alternative parking lots can be found here.