NAEYC Children’s Champions

October 23 , 2007

CHILDREN'S CHAMPIONS UPDATE: MULTIPLE ISSUES

*Joint Accrediting Bodies Document and Statement on QRIS
*New Report on State Child Care Assistance Policies
*State Developments and Reports

Joint Accrediting Bodies Document and Statement on QRIS

NAEYC, in collaboration with the National Association for Family Child Care (NAFCC) and the National AfterSchool Alliance, has developed a document that describes and summarizes each of the organization's accreditation systems. The document also includes a statement in support of linking Quality Rating and Improvement Systems (QRIS) to the three major national program accreditation systems. The document is available on NAEYC's website at http://www.naeyc.org/accreditation/ under the "Related Information" header.

This document will also be posted on the State Trends and Policies page of NAEYC's website, along with updated QRIS information, by the beginning of next week. These resources can be accessed here http://www.naeyc.org/policy/state/.

New Report on State Child Care Assistance Policies

"State Child Care Assistance Policies 2007: Some Steps Forward, More Progress Needed," published by the National Women's Law Center, compares child care assistance policies in 2007 to 2006 and 2001 in four policy areas: reimbursement rates for providers, income eligibility, waiting lists for assistance and co-payment requirements. NWLC found that between February 2006 and February 2007, states made some progress on income eligibility and waiting lists. But states made far less progress on copayments and made virtually no progress with respect to reimbursement rates.
http://www.nwlc.org/pdf/StateChildCareAssistancePoliciesReport07Web.pdf

State Developments and Reports

There have been numerous developments in early care and education at the state level during the past legislative session. Governors and state legislatures have approved investments in a variety of areas including professional development and quality rating and improvement systems, as well as in prekindergarten, public schools, and kindergarten. The link is a recap of public policy developments in states.
http://www.naeyc.org/policy/state/pdf/State%20ECEPolicyDev.pdf

The report, "Raising Young Children to the Top of the Policy Agenda: Lessons from Illinois," tells the story of how Illinois advocates have worked to put early care and education at the forefront of policymakers' agendas in the state.
http://www.earlylearningillinois.org/lessonsfromillinois.pdf 

NAEYC: Comments on Major Legislation in 2005

CCDBG (Child Care & Development Block Grant)

Head Start

Higher Education