Decision makers have been busy in Springfield recently. Read on to learn about revenue reform, the state education budget, changes to children’s health insurance and the Early Childhood Capital Program.

Budget Update

The fall “veto session” in Springfield lasted into the beginning of the New Year, resulting in several major actions taken by the outgoing 96^th General Assembly.

Most significant for early childhood programs and advocates, the General Assembly voted to raise the state’s personal and corporate income tax rates as part of a revenue reform plan.  This tax increase, coupled with significant budget cuts over the past two years (including decreases in early learning funding) and budget development reforms will help Illinois begin to deal with the $13 billion state budget deficit.

Lawmakers voted to raise the personal income tax from 3% to 5% for the next four years and to limit spending increases during that period. Unless future legislation is enacted, the increased personal tax rate will be rolled back to 4% in 2014 and rolled back further to 3.5% 10 years after that. A small portion of the permanent component of the tax increase will be split evenly between education and human services. Get more details on the tax increase legislation. 

A legislative proposal to restructure a portion of the state’s deficit so that it can be paid off over 14 years did not pass in January. That proposal would have given providers access to the FY11 funding they are owed more quickly by extending the state’s timeframe for fully eliminating the deficit. The deficit totals nearly half of the overall discretionary budget. Legislation on the debt restructuring was proposed again as the new legislative session began and could be considered in the State Senate as early as next week.

In addition to the problem of delayed payments, there are concerns that the state may face additional budget cuts in the current fiscal year.  Most of the discussion has been centered on cuts in funding for human services, specifically to the Child Care Assistance Program that provides child care subsidies for low-income, working parents. The Ounce of Prevention Fund and our advocacy partners will continue to monitor the situation and provide updates as more information is available.

We will keep you informed of any legislative actions that could impact early childhood programs during the new session. One of the first budget actions will be the governor’s budget address on February 16. Look for our upcoming Information Alert to learn how early childhood programs fare in Gov. Quinn’s proposal.

ISBE Budget Recommendations

The Illinois State Board of Education (ISBE) met in January and approved the budget that it will recommend to the General Assembly. The ISBE budget has been dramatically reduced over the last few years, including a 10% cut to the Early Childhood Block Grant (ECBG) in FY2010. For FY 2012, ISBE recommended that the ECBG remain flat funded at the FY 2011 level.

ISBE proposed a 10.2% increase over last year’s total education funding level, with much of the increase going to restore transportation funding and to modestly increase the per child General State Aid amount paid to districts.

ISBE also recommended designating $1.5 million toward developing a Kindergarten Readiness Assessment process for Illinois. This funding, a reallocation from a previously administered assessment that is now wrapping up, indicates ISBE’s commitment to building effective connections between early childhood education and K-12 systems.

New Legislators

The 97^th General Assembly was sworn in January 12 and, after a brief delay due to the weather, began work this week. Many new legislators are in Springfield for the first time. Look up your legislators to see if they are new.

Changes to All Kids Health Insurance

During the veto session, the General Assembly implemented cost-saving changes to the state’s Medicaid program, which provides health care for low-income citizens. One change limits enrollment in the state’s All Kids health insurance program to children in families with income less than 300% of the federal poverty level, or $64,000 for a family of four. Previously, children from families at all income levels were eligible for All Kids if they had been uninsured for more than one year and paid a sliding scale toward premiums and other costs.

This new legislation requires families to provide proof of one month’s income to prove eligibility (previously only one pay stub was necessary) and to recertify their income eligibility for the program annually. .

Early Childhood Capital Program

At its December 14, 2010, meeting, the General Assembly’s Joint Committee on Administrative Rules approved the rules for the Early Childhood Capital Program.

Built on a $45 million appropriation in the capital bill passed in 2009 and strengthened through legislation advocated for by the Ounce of Prevention Fund and its coalition partners in 2010, this program would have provided funding for construction or renovation of space in both school- and community-based early childhood programs.

But on January 26, the Illinois Appellate Court ruled that the entire capital bill was unconstitutional, thereby putting a hold on the entire capital program, including the Early Childhood Capital Program. The Governor’s Office has appealed the Appellate Court ruling to the State Supreme Court, which has ordered a temporary stay of the Appellate Court’s decision while it considers the case.

With changes in leadership after November’s election, early childhood advocates around the country have lots of work to do to protect federal Head Start, Early Head Start, and child care funding.

Congress has yet to finalize the FY 2011 budget and work has already begun on the upcoming FY 2012 budget. A Continuing Resolution, a temporary funding measure passed by Congress in December, expires on March 4.

More than 300,000 children across the country are in jeopardy of losing access to federally funded Head Start, Early Head Start, and child care services if sufficient funding is not appropriated. . With many new legislators involved in the budget process for the first time, we must act now to educate them about the value of early learning programs.

President Obama will introduce his proposed FY 2012 budget next week. In his recent State of the Union Address, President Obama reiterated his commitment to investing in education starting at birth. He stressed the need to start early and support children throughout their education to ensure not only their success, but also the economic stability of our country.

We will keep you informed of developments in the federal budget process and opportunities for you to advocate for early childhood programs.

We’ve been talking a lot lately about Head Start and Early Head Start in the federal budget process. Here’s why these federal early learning programs are so significant

Nearly 1 million economically disadvantaged children are served by Early Head Start and Head Start programs nationally, including more than 39,000 in Illinois. The long history of high-quality programming makes these federally funded services critical parts of the early learning landscape.

Developed in 1965 as a component of President Lyndon B. Johnson’s War on Poverty, Head Start is widely considered one of the most important social and educational efforts of the 20th century.

Created as an intensive, eight-week summer program for young children from low-income communities getting ready to enter public schools, the Head Start program served 560,000 children its first summer. Now under the Administration for Children and Families in the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, the Head Start program has served more than 27 million children since its inception.

Head Start’s original intent was to help break the “cycle of poverty” by providing comprehensive services to meet a child’s health, nutritional, social, emotional, psychological, and educational needs while enhancing parent-involvement in the child’s education. Head Start programs promote school readiness in three- and four-year-olds by enhancing their social and cognitive development.

In the 1990’s, evidence mounted that high-quality experiences in the birth-to-three years improved children's growth and development. So Early Head Start was created in 1994, under the Clinton administration, to serve infants and toddlers. Early Head Start works with pregnant women, infants, toddlers and their families to promote healthy prenatal outcomes for pregnant women, enhance the development of very young children, and promote healthy family functioning.

The Office of Head Start provides grants to local public and private, nonprofit and for-profit agencies to provide the comprehensive child development programs.

Hear directly from former students who benefited from Head Start and how the program impacted their lives.

Learn more about the history of the program from the Illinois Head Start Association

Many newly elected officials in Washington or Springfield will be asked to make crucial decisions that affect young children. Take this opportunity to invite them to tour your program to see quality early childhood services in action. You can use your program tour to move the state and federal early childhood legislative agenda.

Distinct from parent tours, legislator visits are an opportunity to connect public policy with real-life early learning practices. A knowledgeable guide can help legislators connect what they see in an early childhood facility with current research and best practices. Narrating the intention behind various teacher-child interactions can make the benefits of early childhood education more explicit and tangible for legislators.

Here are some tips for executing a great legislative tour. 

• Plan ahead: Call your elected official’s office well in advance of a legislative recess when they will be in your district. Get on their calendars early to ensure you get an opportunity to show off your program.
• Make sure you schedule tours during times when the children are actively engaged in projects, so you have a chance to describe the educational value of what legislators are seeing.
• Have a well-prepared tour guide who can connect what lawmakers observe with early learning research and policy implications.
• Prepare teachers and staff for the visitors.
• Provide succinct handouts that reinforce the message you are trying to communicate.
• Work with the advocacy professionals at the Ounce to ensure a relevant, coherent message.

Interested in hosting a tour, but not sure where to start? Contact us and we can help!

Get more advocacy tips in our Early Childhood Advocacy Toolkit. Also available in Spanish.  

Economist’s Plan to Improve Schools Begins Before Kindergarten
In a recent article, the New York Times featured an economist’s prescription for reducing government deficits: investing in early childhood development. Dr. James Heckman, Nobel Laureate in Economics from the University of Chicago, attributes the widening academic achievement gap to deficits in skills and abilities that begin with inadequate early childhood opportunities.

Why Business Should Support Early Childhood Education
Developed by the U.S. Chamber of Commerce, this paper calls for public investment in high-quality early learning opportunities for children from birth to five. It concludes that a strong education system, beginning with our youngest children, is a smart investment that yields positive economic and social returns.

Mobilizing Business Champions for Smart Investments in Young Children
This paper from First Focus explains why business leaders, who think in terms of a “beginning-to-end process,” should support investments in early learning.

Investing in America’s Economy: A Budget Blueprint for Economic Recovery and Fiscal Responsibility
This report by Our Fiscal Security lays out a path for economic recovery that includes investing in key areas like early education.

Events and Opportunities

Early Childhood Advocacy Day
April 7, 2011
Each year, the Ounce of Prevention Fund brings early childhood advocates—teachers, program directors, and parents—from around the state to Springfield to talk with legislators about the importance of early childhood programs. Join us this year to help protect critical early learning programs. We'll provide attendees with a legislative update, advocacy tips, and everything you need to be an effective advocate.  Watch videos from last year’s Advocacy Day. . 

It’s Good Business to Invest in Young Children Annual Luncheon
April 13, 2011
U.S. Secretary of Education Arne Duncan will speak at the Ounce of Prevention Fund's It's Good Business to Invest in Young Children Annual Luncheon. The event engages the business community in a discussion about the importance of starting early to improve the life chances of young, impoverished children who are most at risk for school failure.

Call for Proposals: 2011 Head Start Pre-Service Conference
August 5, 2011
Each year, the Ounce of Prevention Fund sponsors a pre-service conference for our Head Start and Early Head Start delegate and partner agencies. We are seeking presenters for workshops in the areas of education, disabilities, mental health, family and community services, program design and management, health, nutrition, and ERSEA. .