March 15, 2011

Voices welcomes new Birth to Eight staff

Madelyn James joins Voices as the director of the “Great at Eight” initiative and brings with her decades of experience in early childhood education, including as a Head Start and state preschool teacher and an Illinois STARNET trainer and project director.  Jessica Roberts, community engagement associate, brings to Voices several years of professional journalism experience and strong dedication to the policies and programs that serve children and their families.  Representing an ambitious new chapter for Voices, The “Great at Eight” Initiative builds on our strong, birth-to-5 foundation with increasing emphasis on the learning and development needs of children aged 5 to 8. Click to read Madelyn's bio and Jessica’s bio .

        
Madelyn James                                                                                           Jessica Roberts
Policy Director                                                                                             Community Engagement Associate
 

House revenue estimates fall short for kids & families

FY 12 revenue estimates adopted in House Resolution 110 are about $1 billion below the figures estimated by the Commission on Government Forecasting Accountability (CGFA), the legislative agency known for its accurate forecasting; furthermore, as explained in a new issue brief by the Budget and Tax Policy Initiative at Voices, sticking with the HR 110 revenue estimates would force $2.6 billion in cuts from the Governor's proposed appropriations in order to balance the budget.  Critical steps can and should be taken to address budget pressures, including decoupling from the recently enacted federal "bonus depreciation" law to save Illinois $600 million, and authorizing at least $4.5 billion in debt-restructuring bonds to pay the backlog of bills to school districts and human service providers, among others.  In addition, the Senate could and should consider CGFA revenue estimates in its own approach to FY 12 decisions - and both chambers should work to avoid further, disproportionately large cuts to human services.

Improving bilingual education fairness

Resources for bilingual students' education would be distributed more fairly statewide, under legislation that's advancing in Springfield.  State law currently sends 60 percent of bilingual funding to Chicago Public Schools, reflecting the proportion of Illinois bilingual students that CPS served in 1995.  But under shifting demographics, Chicago now is home to only about 40 percent of such pupils.  HB1831/SB2133 would codify the more even, statewide distribution of funding that has been temporary practice for the past two fiscal years.

Durbin co-sponsors early learning measure

Stronger, higher-quality systems of early care and education are the aim of new federal legislation co-sponsored by Illinois’ U.S. Sen. Dick Durbin.  The “Supporting State Systems of Early Learning Act” would make competitive grant funding available to states for improving program quality and workforce qualifications; new resources also would help break-down barriers that often keep initiatives from working together for the maximum benefit of young children and their families.  Illinois’ years of strong work on early childhood matters make ours a leading state on these issues, although budget pressures continue to threaten our continued progress.

It's time for the 14th Annual Wrigley Start Early Run!

Join us and 3,500 other runners and walkers who are committed to building better lives for children at the 14^th Annual Wrigley Start Early Run on Saturday, April 23 in Chicago’s Grant Park. Shake off the chill of winter with a 5K/10K Run or a 1 Mile Walk where all ages are welcome. This is a great family event with entertainment, activities and a kids dash where every kid wins a prize! For more information or to register, please click here.

Illinois Kids Count 2011 Symposium recap

Ruby Takanishi, President of the national Foundation for Child Development,  joined four panelists: State Rep. Robyn Gabel of the18^th Representative District; state school superintendent Christopher Koch of the Illinois State Board of Education; Sylvia Puente, director of the Latino Policy Forum; and Sara Slaughter, education program director for the McCormick Foundation.  Together they stressed the importance of investing in children’s health, education, and family economic security during the crucial birth-to-8 years. Advocacy and public policies must be focused and guided by evidence about what matters in a child’s development—evidence that is abundantly available in Voices new publication: Illinois Kids Count 2011: “Great at Eight: Investing in the Whole Child from Birth to Eight.” “We must build a solid birth-to-8 foundation for success in school, work and life for all children,” said Kathy Ryg. “This is a crucial, achievable and sustainable goal.”

Keynote speaker: Ruby Takanishi