State Early Childhood Advisory Councils PDF Download

Author: National Governors' Association. Center for Best Practices
Publisher:
ISBN:
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Languages : en
Pages : 13

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Book Description
Nearly all governors have designated a state early childhood advisory council to advise policymakers in the state on how to best meet the needs of children from birth to school entry. Early childhood advisory councils in the states vary in their structure and scope, but all of them provide recommendations on improving the quality, availability, and coordination of early childhood care and education programs. Because states typically administer early childhood care and education programs across multiple agencies and funding streams, such councils play an important role in shaping a common agenda for early childhood policy. To ensure that their councils will continue to serve as a ready source for early childhood policy recommendations and a hub for efforts to coordinate across agencies, a number of governors are taking steps to do the following: (1) Promote the state's early childhood advisory council's sustainability, whether through legislation, public-private partnerships, or by embedding the council's role in state government structures; and (2) Fully align and connect the state's early childhood advisory council with other state efforts to coordinate services for children and families, including the work of governors' children's cabinets and P-20 (preschool through higher education) councils. More information on state early education advisory councils can be found in the National Governors Association Center for Best Practices' (NGA Center's) detailed state profiles, developed in partnership with the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. Information in the state profiles is based on a review of state applications for grants provided by the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (ARRA), as well as updates provided by council leadership in April 2011. This "Issue Brief" summarizes data compiled in these profiles. (Contains 3 figures, 4 footnotes and 9 endnotes.).