Winning Beginning NY

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2010 Early Learning Poster
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Winning Beginning NY is a statewide coalition working to inform policy makers and the public about the many benefits of early care and learning including home visiting, child care and Pre-K. The coalition aims to build a broad-based constituency to make investment in quality early care and learning a top public priority in New York State.

Winning Beginning NY is co-convened by the Center for Children's Initiatives, the Schuyler Center for Analysis and Advocacy, the Early Care & Learning Council, and the New York State Association for the Education of Young Children.

Federal Education Secretary Arne Duncan Comes To Albany

Federal Education Secretary Arne Duncan spoke at a press conference at the NYS State Capitol on August 30th, prior to meeting with the New York State United Teachers at their offices in Latham. Winning Beginning NY representatives attended the press conference, and photos of the event are here.

Strengthening the Pre-K Investment: A Working Forum

Thank you to all who participated in this forum! See YNN news footage here, and photos here.

Presentations by:
Kristie Kauerz, Harvard Graduate School of Education
Marci Young, Project Director, Pre-K Now
Dr. John B. King, Senior Deputy Commissioner for P-12 Education at the NYS Education Department
Dana Friedman, Founder & President of the Early Years Institute

The forum highlighted the newly released WBNY report Strengthening the Pre-K Investment: Next Steps to a Winning Beginning for Every Child in New York State. The report includes new data and lessons learned in the first 12 years of Pre-K implementation. The recommendations propose strategies to improve Pre-K as part of a comprehensive early care and learning system.
download report
download 8-page summary

2010 WBNY Leadership Initiative Candidates Selected

Winning Beginning NY would like to congratulate the following emerging leaders who have been selected for the 2010 WBNY Leadership Initiative. We believe that the professional experience, personal qualities and leadership potential each of these candidates demonstrated during the application process will lead significantly to the success of this initiative.

We look forward to working with these emerging leaders in the coming months to help them further hone their leadership skills, deepen their understanding of critical early childhood policy issues, and support and strengthen their ability to be effective advocates for New York’s young children and their families. The 2010 WBNY Leadership Initiative candidates are:

Marilyn Ballard
Cynthia Berghahn-Sickler
Jessica Cherebin
Ola Friday
Sean Tracy-Hamilton
Beth Kazel
Casey Labuzeta
Kristine Markatos-Soriano
Kelly Mikulski
Michele Morrison
Carol Murray
Jenn O'Connor
Carol Robinson
Michael Ruzza
Kim Sicliano
Lillian Smith
Pamela Wadhams

Legislative Materials

Winning Beginning NY Legislative Agenda 2010 and Talking Points is here

A February 1, 2010 letter to Governor Paterson, urging him to restore home visiting funding in the 21-day amendments is here.

Governor Paterson released the 2010 Executive Budget on January 19th. It is a $7.5 billion gap-closing plan. Click here for proposed cuts that are relevant for Winning Beginning NY's work on early care and learning as part of a 0-8 continuum. Proposed cuts include funding for programs that prevent child abuse, keep children safe while their parents work, and engage youth after the school day ends. It’s time to make your voices heard! Please send Governor Paterson the message that our children should not be collateral damage in the state's fiscal crisis!

Other Resources

Be an Oral Health Champion, a new, printable poster from the National Maternal and Child Oral Health Resource Center.
download poster

Medicaid reimbursement is now available for the application of fluoride varnish to children’s teeth by pediatric primary care providers (PCPs) in New York State. This simple procedure can be integrated into regular office examinations and will help prevent early childhood caries - which contribute to pain, early tooth loss, infection, and increased risk of adult tooth decay. A new publication from the New York City Department of Health and Mental Hygiene entitled Early Childhood Oral Health, PRIMARY CARE PROVIDERS: What You Need to Know About Fluoride Varnish and How You Can Promote Early Childhood Oral Health is available to providers to encourage fluoride varnish application and good preventive oral health practices.
download publication

On April 14th, the National Women's Law Center released a report, Supporting State Child Care Efforts with American Recovery and Reinvestment Act Funds, which outlines the many innovative ways that states across the nation are utilizing ARRA monies to support child care. In New York, $1.2 million in ARRA funds has been dedicated to the field testing of QUALITYstars NY, $3 million to support quality in family child care settings, $3.1 million for infant/toddler resource centers for staff capacity-building, and $5 million for an automated child care time and attendance payment system in all counties outside of New York City. For more information on these projects, please contact Jenn O’Connor at joconnor@scaany.org
download report

The Empire Justice Center has newly revised brochures regarding expanded eligibility for food stamps for families with child care and dependent care expenses. The revisions reflect the upward adjustment of the eligibility levels (200% of poverty), which were done in October, 2009. The brochures are available in English and Spanish. download English brochure
download Spanish brochure

A Matter of Degrees: Preparing Teachers for the Pre-K Classroom, a Pre-K Now report on early childhood education and teacher preparation. March 2010.
download report

New York Seniors4Kids: Raising Our Voices for Quality Pre-K, a Generations United report that emphasizes how older adults in New York care about high-quality prekindergarten education, and recognize the benefits to all citizens of investing in quality Pre-K. March 2010.
download report

2010: A road map to success, a Winning Beginning NY marketing publication, explains the benefits of investments made early in a child's life. January 2010.
download publication

Mending the Patchwork, an Empire Justice Center report examining county-by-county inequities in child care subsidy administration in New York State. January 2010.
download report

From Birth through Young Adulthood: A Blueprint for Collaboration between the Early Care and Education and Afterschool Systems in New York State, a New York State Afterschool Network (NYSAN) policy brief. Fall 2009.
download brief

Addressing Dental Disease In Early Childhood Programs, a PowerPoint presentation by SCAA, the NYS Oral Health Coalition, and the NYS DOH Bureau of Dental Health. October 2009.
download PowerPoint

WINDOWS OF OPPORTUNITY: A Look at Pre-K on Long Island, a May 2009 report by the Early Years Institute is available here. The Executive Summary is here.