Welcome to the Maryland AEYC
Public Policy Web Page
Platform, Priorities and Agenda

The August 2008 Public Policy Report is now available.

Flora Gee, director of the Greenbelt Children's Center (an NAEYC accredited program), submitted a letter to the editor of the Washington Post, the Gazette and Gannet. It concerns the frustrations that many families and providers have about the POC Subsidy program. Click here to read the article [MS Word].

Positive Capitol Hill Experience for MDAEYC Representatives

The NAEYC Public Policy Forum, February 12 - 13, 2008 at the Washington Plaza Hotel in Washington, D.C. was very well planned with knowledgeable presenters - Anne Mitchell (NAEYC President), Mark Ginsberg (NAEYC Executive Director), The Honorable Rosa DeLauro (Special Advisor to Speaker Pelosi on children's issues), Sharon Parrott (Director of the Welfare Reform and Income Support Division, Center for Budget and Policy Priorities), Adele Robinson (NAEYC Associate Executive Director, Policy and Public Affairs), and a panel of media professionals - for the general AEYC delegations from Maine to Florida. We had opportunities to gain information during a variety of break-out sessions that better prepared the delegation to elucidate and bring alive the written hand-outs for the Congresspersons.

After being encouraged by Greg Stevens (MDAEYC Co-President), the MDAEYC delegation - Flora Gee, Tracy Jost, Kate Anderson Simons, Carolyn and Mas Iwata , and Wilhelmina Burress - prepared for the positive Capitol Hill experiences on Wednesday. Despite the busy schedules, we were very fortunate to have been greeted and guided by Steve Jost (Legislative Director for Congressman Dutch Ruppersberger) and to have had our advocacy presentations on behalf of children noted by Ivana Alexander (Senior Legislative Assistant for Congressman Steny H. Hoyer), Sarah D. Greenberger (Legislative Counsel for Senator Benjamin L. Cardin), Terry Lierman (Chief of Staff for Congressman Steny H. Hoyer), and Robin Juliano (Legislative Assistant for Senator Barbara A. Mikulski). The personal input shared by each of us, from the variety of our background experiences, was noted as the NAEYC-prepared written facts were shared and given to the representatives for each of the visited offices of Congresspersons. We look hopefully to the future as we continue to advocate for our most precious resource - our children.

by Wilhelmina Burress

For those who could not attend the event, information on CCDBG, Head Start and other funding is available on the NAEYC website at http://www.naeyc.org/policy/federal/ under Comments on Major Legislation inU 2008.

MDAEYC Public Policy Platform:

As MDAEYC believes that every child in Maryland deserves the kind of early care and education that will help with success in school and in life, we will do what we can do to bring that about and sustain it as part of the children's right to a good education under the Maryland Constitution. MDAEYC, working closely with other organizations and individuals sharing the same vision, shall seek to gather, obtain, and sustain concrete public and government support for the implementation of improvements in the quality of early childhood education and care received by Maryland's young children, especially for improvements in the education, training and compensation of the early childhood education profession.

MDAEYC Public Policy Priorities for 2008-2009:

While governments at all levels as well as businesses and individuals are feeling severe financial constraints, Maryland AEYC must do what it can to preserve the levels of quality and affordability in child care and early education that we now have, while advocating vigorously for the public support and funding that Maryland's young children deserve. We know that all must share in the burdens of reduced resources, but we believe that reducing the grossly inadequate existing levels of public and government support for young children would undermine their hopes of growth and progress, and would end up costing governments much more than any temporary savings that cuts would produce.

1. Adequate Government Funding:
   MDAEYC recommends significant increases in budgetary funding to reach and maintain high quality self-sufficiency for:
   1. an acceleration in the restoration and maintenance of provider reimbursement rates for child care subsidies at the 75th percentile of the current market rates, and a reduction of all mandatory co-payments by parents to less than 10 percent of their net income;
   2. the child care credentialing and tiered reimbursement systems of the Early Childhood Development Division of the Maryland State Department of Education, as they move toward a more fully-featured Quality Rating Improvement System (QRIS), as well as the Division's efforts to improve the supply of college-educated early childhood teachers and other professional development initiatives; and
   3. the Statewide Child Care Resource and Referral Network, the Infants and Toddlers and Family Support services programs of the Maryland State Department of Education, the early childhood mental health initiative, and increased facilitation of accreditation by NAEYC, NAFCC, and MSDE, including training, mentoring, substitutes, fees and materials.
2. Expanded Publicly Financed Preschool:
   MDAEYC supports the full implementation of the recommendations of the State Preschool for All Task Force, for fully funded, high quality, developmentally appropriate publicly financed Pre-Kindergarten and other early childhood program improvements, including the full participation of NAEYC and NAFCC accredited pre-K programs.
   1. The Pre-Kindergarten and all-day Kindergarten portions of the Bridge to Excellence legislation, particularly as it involves the full implementation of all day Kindergarten for all and Pre- Kindergarten for children who are at risk because of low family income, lack of English language comprehension, or disabilities, including Pre-Kindergarten and Kindergarten classes in community settings;
   2. The Strategic Plan for the Early Childhood Division of the Maryland State Department of Education, as approved in 2006 by the State Board of Education;
   3. The recommendations of the Report of the interagency Purchase of Care Study Group of 2005;
   4. The Achieving School Readiness: A 5-Year Action Agenda for Maryland, which has been adopted by the Children's Sub-cabinet as its own plan of action;
   5. The recommendations of the Judith P. Hoyer Blue Ribbon Commission on the Financing of Early Care and Education;
   6. Maryland's Birth Through Three Business Plan, as presented to the State Board of Education;
   MDAEYC hopes to support any recommendations for high quality, developmentally appropriate public Pre-Kindergarten and other early childhood program improvements to be recommended later this year by the Universal Preschool Task Force. MDAEYC also supports the Pre-Kindergarten Business Plan of that Task Force, issued and accepted by the State Board of Education in September 2008.
3. Legislation Supporting reliable funding and expanded preschool:
   MDAEYC supports such legislation and regulations as may be needed to fully implement and sustain progress under the priorities stated above in items 1 and 2.
4. Improved Quality:
   MDAEYC supports legislation and regulations to improve the quality of early care and education in Maryland, including guided, interactive play as the focus of young children's learning activities, and the avoidance of corporal or degrading punishment for all children, and the current efforts to revise and renew the Action Agenda through the Governor's Early Childhood Council..
5. Equalized Compensation and Benefits for Private Sector Teachers:
   MDAEYC supports government programs to equalize the compensation and benefits of all who work in the care and education of young children, including equivalent pay for equivalent qualifications and experience in all settings.
6. Coordinated, family-friendly services for young children in need and their families:
   MDAEYC supports government provision of coordinated child and family supports for the learning and growth of all young children in need of such support, including: Head Start-like services for low income children, culturally sensitive teaching and English and native language instruction for children learning English, and adequate and inclusive assistance and adaptations for children with disabilities. In this context, MD ÅEYC supports the growth and expansion of Maryland's Judy Centers, to cover all children who need that highly integrated approach to their care and education.
7. Continued Transparency in Policy Formulation:
   MDAEYC supports a continuation of the open, transparent, and participative process of government policy formulation and implementation in early care and education.
8. Flexibility:
   MDAEYC remains open to change these priorities during the year as the fulfillment of its vision indicates in the light of changing circumstances.
   

MDAEYC Action Agenda for 2008-2009:

1. Maintain and Increase Funding:
   In the context of a highly controversial and strained State and local government fiscal situation, MDAEYC shall seek to maintain and increase funding where needed to meet our public policy priorities.
2. Fully Implement Early Childhood Division’s Strategic Plan:
   MDAEYC shall support MSDE fully in its attempts to implement its Early Childhood Division's Strategic Plan.
3. Union Representation of Early Childhood Professionals:
   If another Bill to permit the unionization of the family child care providers receiving Purchase of Care reimbursements is contemplated or introduced, MDAEYC will work with all parties to limit the Bill's authorization of union dues to union members and eliminate from the Bill any exclusive bargaining rights between a union and the State Government on any issues of concern to us and our members.
4. Publicly Financed Preschool for All:
   MDAEYC supports universally available high quality, developmentally appropriate and sustainable Pre-Kindergarten for all children, provided that all jurisdictions are encouraged and enabled to use community-based settings for some of their Pre-Kindergarten classes.
5. Government supplements for professional development and staff retention:
   MDAEYC supports sufficient funding for the professional development and associated compensation and benefits of all early childhood professionals who seek them, as provided in our public policy priorities.
6. Administration of Child Care Subsidies:
   MDAEYC will work with MSDE and with other early childhood advocates to improve systemically the administration of child care subsidies, including their outsourcing to a suitable not-for-profit agency.

Membership Input on Priorities and Action Agenda;
MDAEYC will survey its membership annually to determine these public policy priorities and action agenda, as is proposed in the Preschool for All Business Plan, recently greeted with approval by the State Board of Education.

Volunteer for MDAEYC!
MDAEYC encourages all members to get more involved in the public policy process that supports our work with children and their families. Please get in touch with John Surr, or Flora Gee, to volunteer.

[top]