This article originally appeared in the March-April 2008 issue of the Children's Advocate, published by Action Alliance for Children.

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Children's Advocates Roundtable

New Preschool Foundations—and controversy

Action: A coalition of preschool educators and advocates for English language learners has issued a statement criticizing the California Department of Education’s (CDE) Early Learning Foundations, saying they “don’t address how young children learn” and “may steer teachers and publishers to implement developmentally inappropriate instruction,” in the words of Alan Guttman, director of child development programs for the Claremont School District.

Background: The CDE has released the Foundations, outlining “key knowledge and skills that most children can achieve when provided with the kinds of interactions, instruction, and environments research has shown to promote early learning and development.” The Department of Education spent three years developing the Foundations, with the input of educators, researchers, advocates, and parents. The Foundations include more than 180 specific learning goals in four areas—social-emotional development, language and literacy, English-language development (for English learners), and mathematics—“based on research and evidence and . . . enhanced with expert practitioners’ suggestions and examples.” Publishing the Foundations, says the CDE, is “a critical step in the California Department of Education’s efforts to strengthen preschool education and school readiness and to close the achievement gap.”

A coalition of early childhood experts, the Campaign for High Quality Early Learning Standards, and the English Language Learners Preschool Coalition issued a statement criticizing the Foundations in two areas:

• “The push-down of skill-driven standards,” which “will not reduce the achievement gap but will surely create earlier school failures, more obesity, lowered self esteem, and negative feelings about school and learning,” according to Marilyn McGrath, president-elect of the California Association for the Education of Young Children

• “A push to a rapid transition to English” for English language learners. Advocates fear “students who do not speak English (will be) put at a disadvantage” and labeled “a failure or not ready for kindergarten,” according to Antonia Lopez, director of early care and education for the National Council of La Raza.

For info:

• Preschool Learning Foundations, California Department of Education, www.cde.ca.gov/re/pn/fd/documents/preschoollf.pdf.

• Coalition of educators critical of the Foundations:
  Angelica Solis, 213-605-6210,
  Diane Ujiye, 310-532-6111.

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National platform on family issues

Action: The Equal Voice for America’s Families campaign, an effort by the Marguerite Casey Foundation and the organizations it funds, is building support for a national family-issues platform created and advanced by families.

Background: The campaign is based on the principle that “No family should live in poverty.” Its strategy is to build a movement of parents and community-based organizations to promote social and economic justice. The platform will include issues such as affordable housing, subsidized child care, living wages, universal health care, and quality education. Campaign organizers hope to spark a national dialogue about policies that affect families and to make sure families are part of that discussion.

get involved: The campaign will:

• hold town hall meetings—eight in California—to discuss what should be in the platform

• bring families together in conventions in Los Angeles, Chicago, and Birmingham, Alabama, on September 6 to release the platform

In California, the Equal Voice for America’s Families Town Hall Meetings will be held in March and April in Oakland, Marin, Fresno, San Francisco, Stockton, South Los Angeles, Long Beach, and San Diego. For locations and dates, see www.equalvoice2008.org.

Sponsoring organizations in California: Asian Immigrant Women’s Association, Centro Binacional para el Desarrollo Indigena Oaxaqueño, Chinatown Community Development Center, Ella Baker Center for Human Rights, Women’s Foundation of California, Fresno Center for New Americans, LIFETIME, Marin Grassroots Leadership Network, Parent Voices, Parent Services Project, PICO, Radio Bilingüe, Center for Third World Organizing, Parent Institute for Quality Education, Coalition for Humane Immigrant Rights of Los Angeles (CHIRLA); Consejo de Federaciones Mexicanas en Norte América; Asian Pacific American Legal Center; Instituto de Educación Popular del Sur de California; Los Angeles Alliance for a New Economy

For info: Northern California, Kim Kruckel, 510-717-6287, kkruckel@equalvoice2008.org; Southern California, Miguel Perla, 415-279-9759, mperla@equalvoice2008.org

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Governor’s budget proposal

Next year’s state budget (for July 08 – June 09) is estimated to be $14.5 billion in the red. To close this gap, Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger has proposed a budget that would cut spending—by 10% in most state programs and departments. The governor has said he will oppose new taxes, but has proposed ways to bring in some new money. These include:

• selling $3.3 billion in “economic recovery bonds”

• closing the $21 million “yacht tax loophole,” which lets people escape sales tax on boats, vehicles, and planes bought outside the state

• increasing fees on property insurance policies and vehicle registration

• gaining $430.4 million from tribal gaming—in deals voters approved Feb. 5, Propositions 94, 95, 96, 97

Major spending cuts that would directly affect children include:

Health

• Reduce Medi-Cal spending, mainly by reducing payments to health care providers, also eliminating services such as optometry, psychology, speech therapy, and more

• Reduce support for Healthy Families by reducing payments to providers, limiting dental care, and increasing some family fees and copayments

• Reduce support for Regional Centers, serving people with developmental disabilities

• Reduce funding for other health programs such as the Early and Periodic Screening, Diagnosis, and Treatment program, substance abuse programs, and more

Child care and development

• Reduce unannounced visits from the licensing agency to child care facilities from once every three years to once every seven years

• Suspend cost of living increases and funding for growth in child development and preschool programs, cutting approximately 17,000 places in programs

• Reduce funding for before- and after-school programs

• Freeze the eligibility cap for subsidized child care

Income support

• Reduce support for children whose parents have been on “sanctions” for six months and eliminate it after a year

• Eliminate support for children whose parents have reached the program’s time limit unless they are working enough hours to meet federal requirements

• Limit support to five years for children whose parents aren’t eligible for CalWORKs

Human services

• Reduce child welfare spending

• Reduce payments in nutrition programs including free and reduced-price child nutrition programs and food stamps for legal non-citizens

K-12 education

• Cut school spending by a total of $787 per student

• Reduce funds for special programs including class-size reduction, instructional materials, home-to-school transportation, and more

• Reduce special education funding

Environment

• Reduce funds for the Environ-mental Protection Agency

• Close 48 state parks and reduce the number of lifeguards at some state beaches

Advocates for children and families are mobilizing to oppose these cuts and to push for higher revenues instead. See p. 4 for more information.

Sources: California Budget Project, Child Care Law Center

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Family child care conference

The California Association for Family Child Care (CAFCC) 2008 annual conference will be held on April 18-20, 2008 at the Holiday Inn San Jose.

• To attend, contact Dee Val Devers, 210-464-2549

• To present in English, call Sharon Coleman, 707-428-3180

• To present in Spanish, call Grace Castro, 562-692-8992.

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Advocacy for children: How to connect

Is there an issue that you’d love to get active on—but you don’t know where to start? The Children’s Advocate has compiled a list of organizations taking action on a wide range of children’s issues: child care, education, health, poverty, and more, as well as upcoming events and actions you can participate in. Find out where you can plug in to step up your advocacy for children at: www.4children.org/mcadv.htm

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For your calendar:
Sacramento advocacy days

• April 22: Pre-K Advocacy Day, Preschool California, 510-271-0075

• May 7: Stand for Children, Parent Voices, 415-882-0234

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Action Alliance
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