What's New? ~ Contact Us ~ Submit a Referral ~ Site Map ~ Translate

  Last Updated on 12/17/2008

Michigan Child Care Task Force Minutes for February 1, 2006

CHILD CARE PROVIDER PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT SERVICES - The ECIC must address several issues before finalizing contracts for these services. The ECIC Executive Committee will consider these issues at its meeting today (February 1). Scholarships and incentives to providers for accreditation, and incentives to day care aids and relative care providers will be provided by Michigan 4C.

Cheryl Thompson, the contact person for both sets of service contracts, is available at: thompson2@michigan.gov or 517-335-6213.

EARLY CHILDHOOD WORKFORCE STUDY - The ECIC Policy and Program Committee will make an award recommendation to the ECIC Executive Committee; the Executive Committee may make a final decision today (2/1/06). The contract for this study is expected to begin on March 1 and last for 15 months until May 31, 2007.

GREAT START COLLABORATIVES - A press release, on January 14, announced that 14 communities will receive $1.24 million in grants from the ECIC for Great Start Collaboratives. The press release is at www.greatstartforkids.org. Seven ISDs will receive grants totaling $820,000 and seven more will receive "Capacity Building Grants" totaling $420,000. All applicants (around 38 ISDs) received a letter from the ECIC Chairperson that discussed strengths and weaknesses of their proposals.

Mike Foley, ECIC Chief Operating Officer, and Marianne Udow, DHS Director, are traveling around Michigan to host local media events with each grantee (or sets of grantees). These events include grantees and local legislators, and feature "ceremonial" checks plus photo opportunities. These events will run to about March 1. Grantees will meet with ECIC staff between February 20 and March 3 to finalize work plans, budgets and contracts. Contracts should be in place for all communities by the end of March. Joan Blough, the contract manager, is available at: jblough@ownmail.net or 269-345-5969.

** Judy Levine, MiDeptEduc, Early Childhood and Parenting Programs
* COLLABORATIVE CONFERENCE - Held at the end of January, it drew 1200 people. Highlights included: Keynote by Sharon Lynn Kagan who discussed standards of quality and the alignment of standards across preschool programs and between various grade levels; Kagan also noted that expectations for children is being pushed down from higher grades.

* EVEN START - This program has lost about 56% of its funding. Michigan has 28 programs, of which 15 are up for re-competition. With $740,000 available, only three of those 15 will receive funding. Applications are due on March 24.

* COMPETITIVE MSRP - There will be two technical assistance meetings in late April, one in Lansing and one in Gaylord. Applications will be available in mid-April on the MDE website. Applications are due on May 24 and a reader's session will be held on June 13.

* TRAINING ON GOALS/OBJECTIVES WRITING - MSRP consultants will offer training during March and April on writing meaningful goals and objectives using data from assessments of children's progress. MDE hopes to unveil a draft of the revised Implementation Manual.

* EARLY ON - Early On seeks public comment on Part C of the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act. The document is available at www.eotta.ccresa.org.  A public comment period runs from February through
March 10.

** DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATION INFORMATION
You can obtain information on MDE'S early childhood programs at: http://www.michigan.gov/mde/0,1607,7-140-5234_6809-22847--,00.html
Information on ECEC grants is available at:
http://www.michigan.gov/mde/0,1607,7-140-5236---,00.html

** GUEST SPEAKERS:
* KRISTIN FAIR, Constituent Relations Director for Senator Nancy Cassis
* ANNE BLANKENHORN, Senate Majority Policy Staff
They spoke on Senator Cassis's package of bills called S.A.V.E. The Children ("S" for classroom Skills; "A" for home school Alliances; "V" for Valuable teacher training; "E" for Early learning success). These bills would serve children (and their families) and teachers in K-3. The original package included Senate Bills 324 through 330 (SB 573 now replaces SB 326).

AGE OF KINDERGARTEN ENTRY, SBs 324-5 Ð These bills would shift the current qualifying age for K entry from age-5-by-Dec-1 to age-5-by-Sep-1. This controversial proposal has come up about every three years for over 30 years only to be beaten back for a whole host of reasons. These bills appear to be dead, again, for the reasons that have defeated similar bills in the past.

ENGLISH PROFICIENCY, SB 573 (replaces SB 326) Ð Schools not achieving "Adequate Yearly Progress" in English Language arts must include specific English language components in their school improvement plan.

CONTINUING EDUCATION IN ENGLISH TEACHING, SB 327 Ð New teachers must take continuing education courses on dealing with reading deficiencies in pupils.

FUNDS FOR EARLY INTERVENTION, SB 328 Ð Some Durant funding (related to special education matters) would be used for early intervention programs.

SCHOOL DISTRICT GRANTS FOR EARLY INTERVENTION, SB 329 Ð This bill details how the grants are established and implemented.

AT-RISK FUNDS FOR EARLY INTERVENTION, SB 330 Ð School districts receiving at-risk funds could use those funds for early intervention. This package was inspired by an early education program used in Northville Schools that appears to have significantly reduced special education enrollment.

SBs 327 - 330 have passed the Senate and Senator Cassis is optimistic they will receive serious consideration in the House. SB 573, though still in the Senate, should move on. The big bill may be SB 329, grants to school districts, because this effort would help Michigan's schools gain important knowledge about how to intervene successfully with pupils who need help in the K-3 years. During Q&A, the task force wanted to discuss the importance of the Michigan School Readiness Programs as a natural part of early intervention. Points discussed included the loss of classroom experiences for at-risk four- year-olds because some MSRP funds are diverted elsewhere. The group discussed problems with testing standards in grade three pushing too much academic curriculum into the lower grades and into preschool. The group wanted to thank the legislature for beginning to recognize that early education is really a matter of birth-to-age-8 and that the Cassis package helped move the public toward that recognition.

** Deb Marciniak, MDCH Mental Health Services to Children & Families
* A conference: Mental Health Needs in Child Welfare: Addressing the Needs of Children & Families
March 23-24, 2006, Kellogg Center, East Lansing.
Co-sponsored by:
Governor's Task Force on Children¹s Justice
Michigan Department of Community Health
Michigan Department of Human Services
Office of Children¹s Ombudsman
State Court Administrative Office ­ Child Welfare Services Div.
Dr. Bruce Perry, Child Trauma Academy, Houston, will do a keynote titled: "Implications of Early Childhood Trauma on the Mental Health and Well-Being of Children and Young Adults".
For a conference brochure and registration info go to: http://www.childcrt.org/.

* CALENDAR OF EARLY CHILDHOOD CONFERENCES Ð 2006
The Michigan Unified System of Learning for Providers of Services for Children Prenatal to 3 and Their Families has compiled a chart titled Early Childhood Conferences ­ Calendar Year 2006. It lists state, national, and local-regional early childhood conferences (not trainings). The authors will update and re-issue the chart on April 1, July 1, and Oct. 1. To obtain the calendar contact Deb Marciniak at: dmarcini@mphi.org

** Don Vita, Division of Child Day Licensing, DHS. vitad2@michigan.gov
* Don introduced himself as new to the licensing division. He discussed the new statutes regarding criminal background checks and finger printing for child care workers and others.

** CRIMINAL HISTORY CHECK FOR CHILD CARE WORKERS Ð Don discussed the many logistical challenges involved in implementing the new background check law. The work load is too big for those who take fingerprints and do background checks.

Many people who make appointments to give fingerprints and do other paperwork fail to show up. It is proving difficult to give clearances. Because the law took effect one month ago in, some people who needed immediate clearance will seek license renewals in just a few months; the law is unclear on how to deal with people needing two clearances in a very short time period. This issue has not yet been resolved. Some people get the same clearances because they work with schools. The child care and school systems have not found a way to have one clearance suffice for a person who works in both systems. This is being "worked on."

** NEW CHILD CARE RULES
* The HOME based child care rules took effect on January 1. The Division is conducting training on how to operate under the new rules.

* The CENTER rules have received their final drafting based on public input from hearings and written commentary. They have gone to the State Office of Administrative Hearings and Rules (SOAHR) for final approval as to form; the Michigan Legislature also has a chance to examine them. The center rules are expected to take effect sometime this summer.

** NEW STAFF APPROVED FOR DAY CARE LICENSING Ð The Division has permission to hire two new licensing consultants, bring the total to 60 people. One will go to the Grand Rapids office and the other to the Lansing office. The caseload ratio with these new hires will drop to 1:350.

** Steve Manchester, Michigan AEYC, on FRAMING PUBLIC POLICY ISSUES
* Research into how people process complex social and political ideas has produced theories about how people use "frames" to do this processing. In politics and advocacy, those who understand "framing" do better than those who don't understand it.

* "Frames" are organizing principles that are socially shared and persistent over time; they work symbolically to structure the social world. For example, people typically see "CHILD CARE" & "EARLY EDUCATION" AS QUITE DIFFERENT. Polls and focus groups show that average citizens look at "child care" as the private business of individual families and commonly believe government should not support child care. Polls and focus groups of the same populations show that "early education" is seen as something that government might well promote because children need to get ready for school. These two frames involving "child care" and "early education" have had a profound impact on early childhood advocacy in the last 10 years.

* People organize their frames (subconsciously for the most part) into "hierarchies of understanding." LEVEL 1 involves big ideas like freedom, success, opportunity, America the victorious; LEVEL 2 involves broad issues such as the environment and child care; LEVEL 3 involves specific issues like acid rain and developmentally appropriate practice. People process complex ideas, especially new ideas, through these three levels STARTING AT LEVEL 1. Successful advocates and politicians use these hierarchy of understanding; they "PRIME" their arguments by leading people through Level 1, then Levels 2 and 3 - IN THAT ORDER. An understanding of priming or lack of understanding explains much of who wins and loses in politics and advocacy.

* New ideas that do not conform with a person's existing frame are dropped rather quickly by the person. If straight-forward, logical facts are inconsistent with a person's frame, the frame generally wins and the facts are ignored.

* Steve provided examples of successful framing used by President Bush. He also provided an example of efforts to revise a child advocacy document using these framing principles.

He explained why Dr. Joan Firestone's article, "Building Children's Brains" has been so effective: it uses a very powerful frame (Joan was not aware of frame theory when she wrote the article). Steve said that in Michigan's state government, Republicans understand framing and use it all the time; Democrats are essentially unaware of what's going on. Steve shared a news article that demonstrated this.

* An electronic copy of Steve's notes for this presentation is available via an email request to smanchester@miaeyc.org.

*For an examination of frame theory go to <www.frameworksinstitute.org>.

There are two excellent articles for child advocates to examine; they are:

1) The FrameWorks Institute, "Framing Public Issues" (Washington, DC: Frameworks Institute, 2005), This TOOLKIT is available at: http://www.frameworksinstitute.org/strategicanalysis/FramingPublicIssuesfinal.pdf

2) The FrameWorks Institute, "Talking Early Child Development and Exploring the Consequences of Frame Choices: A FrameWorks Message Memo" (Washington, DC: Frameworks Institute, 2005), Available at: http://www.frameworksinstitute.org/products/frameworksmemo_1.pdf

** Richard Lower, Mich. Head Start Association, HEAD START REAUTHORIZATION
* No major progress on Head Start Reauthorization. It is stuck in the U.S. Senate. The main sticking point is the employment practices discrimination provision that allows Head Start faith-based grantees to consider religion in their employment practices. Some in the Senators want to offer an amendment to allow discrimination while others are against. Moreover, there is not consensus within the Republican caucus nor between the caucus and the Bush Administration on this point. Reauthorization will not go forward in the Senate until this is worked out between the caucus and Administration.

To keep up to date on reauthorization you can go to www.mhsa.ws and www.saveheadstart.org.

The meeting adjourned at noon. Meeting notes compiled by Steve Manchester, Michigan AEYC, with assistance from many of the people who made reports.

MCCTF Co-Chair Contact Information:
Richard Lower
Michigan Head Start Association
Executive Director
517-374-MHSA
richard@mhsa.ws

Jane Zehnder-Merrell
Michigan League for Human Services
Senior Research Associate & Director
Kids Count in Michigan Project
517-487-5436
janez@mlan.net

The MCCTF Organizational Sponsors:
Michigan 4C Association (Community Coordinated Child Care)
Michigan¹s Children
Michigan Association for the Education of Young Children
Michigan League for Human Services
Michigan Head Start Association
Association for Child Development

Legislative Sponsors:
Senator Patricia Birkholz, Dist. 24
Representative Michael Murphy, Dist. 68