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What is the next skill that you'd like to learn really well? 

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What is the next skill that you'd like to learn really well? 

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e: Meranda.Smith@scworkforce.org
e: Armando.Flores@scworkforce.org

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Erica Hallock
e: ehallock1224@gmail.com

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The Working Families Tax Credit will put up to $1,200 per year back in the pockets of those who need it most. The Working Families Tax Credit is a new annual tax refund for Washington residents worth $50-$1,200 depending on your income level and how many qualifying children you have in your household.

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Why Early Learning is Important:

Research has shown that children who are able to participate in early learning programs perform better throughout their years of schooling. Early learning programs focus on six areas of kindergarten readiness:

Social-Emotional - Children do better in school when they can regulate their emotions, establish positive relationships with others, and constructively participate in group settings.

Physical - The early years are important for the development of fundamental gross-motor and fine-motor skills needed to be active learners.

Language - Children need to understand increasingly complex language and use language to express their thoughts, ideas, needs, and feelings.

Cognitive - Children are more successful in school when they have positive approaches to learning, and are able to attend, engage, and persist to solve problems.

Literacy - A child's progress in reading and writing is one of the best predictors of whether the child will function competently in school and in life.

Math - Research shows that math is the number one predictor of future success in reading and math.*

*Duncan, Greg. University of California, 2007. Early Childhood Longitudinal studies. "The strongest predictors of later achievement are school-entry math, reading, and attention skills. Early math skills have the greatest predictive power."

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Research has shown that children who are able to participate in early learning programs perform better throughout their years of schooling. Early learning programs focus on six areas of kindergarten readiness: Social-Emotional - Children do better in school when they can regulate their emotions, establish positive relationships with others, and constructively participate in group settings.

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The Early Learning Advisory Council (ELAC) was created by the Legislature in 2007.

ELAC representatives from around the state meet regularly to provide input and recommendations to the Department of Children, Youth, and Families (DCYF) so our strategies and actions are well informed and broadly supported by parents, child care providers, health and safety experts and interested members of the public.

Governor Jay Inslee holds final authority for policy decisions.

The council has adopted a Racial Equity Framework through which it conducts its business as an advisory board to the Department of Children, Youth, and Families.

Members

The Early Learning Advisory Council (ELAC) members are a diverse group of people whose role is to provide DCYF with input and recommendations to inform DCYF's work.

ELAC includes parents, child care providers, health and safety experts, legislators, representatives of Tribal Nations, independent schools, K-12 and higher education, and others who are interested in creating a statewide early learning system that helps all children realize their full potential.

Some ELAC members are appointed by the Governor. Others are appointed by various entities as required in the legislation that created ELAC.

Meetings

The Early Learning Advisory Council has six regular meetings each year, held on the first Tuesday of odd months. At each meeting, ELAC members get updates on DCYF's work and provide input and recommendations to DCYF.

Members of the public are welcome to attend ELAC meetings. Public comment periods are offered throughout each meeting. The locations and times vary for each meeting.

2022
December 6, 2022 August 2, 2022 October 4, 2022 June 7, 2022 April 12, 2022 February 1, 2022
At the time of the meeting, please join the Zoom meeting via the link below.

9:00am-3:00pm

Meeting number (access code): 824 9183 1069
Meeting password: 904723

Join by phone: 1 253 215 8782 US Toll
Passcode: 904723

2021
December 7, 2021 October 5, 2021 - Joint Early Learning Advisory Council, Provider Supports Subcommittee, and Parent Advisory Group Meeting August 3, 2021 June 1, 2021 - Joint Provider Supports Subcommittee Meeting March 30, 2021 - Joint PAG Meeting February 2, 2021

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Department of Children, Youth & Families

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The Early Learning Advisory Council (ELAC) was created by the Legislature in 2007. Read the statutory language ELAC representatives from around the state meet regularly to provide input and recommendations to the Department of Children, Youth, and Families (DCYF) so our strategies and actions are well informed and broadly supported by parents, child care providers, health and safety experts and interested members of the public.

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Please follow this link to sign in for today's meeting!

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Please follow this link to sign in for today's meeting!

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Cindy Carroll
e: Cindy.Carroll@multicare.org

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Purpose: To provide access to childcare for working families (provide child care service to individuals seeking workforce training)

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Purpose: To provide access to childcare for working families (provide child care service to individuals seeking workforce training)

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Leg Session Grand Finale-Erica Hallock, Start Early WA

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Leg Session Grand Finale-Erica Hallock, Start Early WA

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The Washington State Legislature adjourned "Sine Die" just after 10 p.m. Sunday, April 23.

Following is a recap of key actions since our Friday morning release of "Notes From Olympia."

Release and Passage of 2023-25 Budgets

Both the House of Representatives and the Senate passed the Operating, Capital and Transportation budgets over the weekend. The Capital and Transportation budgets passed with broad bipartisan support, while the Operating budget passed on a party-line vote in the House and saw 8 Republicans joining Democrats to vote for passage in the Senate.

Of particular interest to loyal "Notes from Olympia" trivia readers, the final Capital budget does include funding to restore the skylights above the Senate and House chambers in time for the Legislative Building's centennial celebration in 2028.

Start Early Washington updated its budget comparison document on our resources page to reflect the final early learning related budget items. Despite concern of a potential economic downturn as well as multiple competing demands, the adopted budgets contain significant investments for a number of early learning programs.

Lawmakers worked incredibly long hours to craft this budget and would no doubt appreciate hearing a "thank you" for prioritizing early learning investments. Legislative email addresses all share the format of firstname.lastname@leg.wa.gov. Specific emails can be found on the legislative website.

Updates on Outstanding Bills

We've updated our bill tracker on our resource page to include this weekend's bill activity. Remember, bills that did not advance in 2023 can be revisited in 2024.

In what turned out to be the final bill vote for the 2023 legislative session, the House voted to concur in Senate amendments to 2SHB 1550 on a 60-37 vote, sending the legislation relating to Transitional Kindergarten to the Governor's desk. Earlier in the evening, the Senate adopted a striker to 2SHB 1550 on a 39-10 vote.

As passed by the Legislature, the bill:

Codifies Transitional Kindergarten and reconstitutes it as Transition to Kindergarten (TTK).

Directs the Office of Superintendent of Public Instruction to develop rules for the administration of and standards for TTK. Initial rules must be adopted prior to the start of the 2023-24 school year with permanent rules by the 2024-25 school year.

Provides that only school-district authorized charter schools may immediately offer TTK and the charter commission authorized charter schools may offer TTK beginning in the 2025-26 school year.

Defines eligibility for TTK as those children who have been determined to benefit from additional preparation for kindergarten and who are at least four-years old by 8/31 of each year.

Requires, as practicable, TTK programs prioritize children from lowest income families and those most in need of additional preparation.

TTK is not considered a child-level entitlement.

Unless excused by parents or caregivers, requires administration of WaKIDS at the start and end of the school year.

Calls for a local child care and early learning needs assessment prior to beginning or expanding a TTK program. Also directs OSPI and DCYF to develop statewide coordinated eligibility, recruitment, enrollment and selection best practices.

Provides that TTK programs must follow OSPI developed guidelines related to best practices for site readiness, developmentally appropriate curricula and professional development. OSPI must also develop a process for site visits to provide feedback on these guidelines.

Prohibits charging of tuition as well as excluding children due to the presence of a disability.

Allows TTK programs to blend and co-locate with other early learning programs.

Provides that TTK students will be counted as a kindergarten student for funding purposes, but reported separately (to be able to get an accurate count of the number of TTK students). Funding is equivalent to the prototypical school funding model (including transportation), but is not considered part of basic education.

Directs DCYF to make administrative changes to better align early learning programs.

Finally, directs the caseload forecast council to forecast for TTK.

You can track the scheduling of bill signings on the Governor's webpage. The Governor must act upon all bills that reach his desk by May 15.

Legislative Leadership Change Announced

On Sine Die, House Minority Leader JT Wilcox shared his plans to step down as the House Republican leader. The leadership change will occur when the House Republican Caucus selects a new leader. During an interview on TVW, Representative Wilcox stated he does plan to continue in the House.

Thank you for your partnership with us through the 2023 legislative session. We look forward to continuing our shared work to build more equitable systems for children and families in Washington state.

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NEW: Notes From Olympia: 2023 Legislative Session Finale

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The Washington State Legislature adjourned "Sine Die" just after 10 p.m. Sunday, April 23. Following is a recap of key actions since our Friday morning release of "Notes From Olympia." Both the House of Representatives and the Senate passed the Operating, Capital and Transportation budgets over the weekend.

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Community Partners Toolkit: multiple languages available!

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Community Partners Toolkit: multiple languages available!

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Community Partners Toolkit | Washington State Working Families Tax Credit

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Log into Facebook to start sharing and connecting with your friends, family, and people you know.

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https://us02web.zoom.us/j/89642965812

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Start Early Washington State Policy and Advocacy Resources and Documents

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A collection of helpful state & policy resource documents for Washington state advocate, covering a wide range of topics available for all to download.

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Meet the team: South Central Workforce Development Council

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Meet the team: South Central Workforce Development Council

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South Central Workforce Development Council

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The South Central Workforce Council (SCWDC) oversees workforce development activities in Kittitas, Klickitat, Skamania, and Yakima counties. We manage the funding for training programs to help job seekers and business connect, and increase economic development in our part of Washington state.

Employees (and their families) are covered by medical, dental, vision and basic life insurance. Employees are able to enroll in a defined benefit retirement plan as well as a deferred compensation plan. Employees also receive 6.65 hours of vacation leave each month, 8 hours of sick leave each month, and 15 paid holidays throughout the calendar year.

Sorry, we have no openings at this time.

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Meet The Team - South Central Workforce Development Council

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The South Central Workforce Council (SCWDC) oversees workforce development activities in Kittitas, Klickitat, Skamania, and Yakima counties. We manage the funding for training programs to help job seekers and business connect, and increase economic development in our part of Washington state. Employees (and their families) are covered by medical, dental, vision and basic life insurance.

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Start at the 34:45 minute mark for the TTK section of this hearing

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Public Hearing: SHB 1479: Concerning restraint or isolation of students in public schools and educational programs. SHB 1550: Assisting eligible children in

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WA State Budget and Policy Center: Working Families Tax Credit resources

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WA State Budget and Policy Center: Working Families Tax Credit resources

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The Working Families Tax Credit is now open for applications! - Budget and Policy Center

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Check out our new resources to support the launch of the groundbreaking new Working Families Tax Credit on February 1!

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@forthekidswa

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Free 2-Minute Quick Focus Reset Meditation: Regain Focus to Work, Study, or Get Tasks Done

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The Senate Appropriations Committee will again be accepting member requests from Senators for the Fiscal Year 2023 Appropriations bills. This is an important and valuable way for each member to communicate their federal budget priorities for the fiscal year and advocate for programs that are important to their constituents and benefit their states.

General guidance for Senators making requests to the Appropriations Committee, including deadlines for receiving requests by Subcommittee, can be found HERE.

In addition to accepting programmatic requests, the Senate Appropriations Committee will again, on a bipartisan basis, accept requests for Congressionally Directed Spending. This will be the second year that Chairman Leahy has restored the practice of Congressionally Directed Spending.

In fiscal year 2022, Chairman Leahy imposed new reforms on the practice to promote transparency and accountability, which remain in place for fiscal year 2023. These reforms can be found HERE.

In a commitment to transparency, all members will be required to post any requests they make for Congressionally Directed Spending to their Senate office website and certify that neither they nor their immediate family have a financial interest in their requests. The Appropriations Committee will update this page with links to each post when they become available.

The Committee will carefully review all member requests. Only those requests that comply with Committee and Senate rules and are deemed appropriate for federal support will be considered for funding.

In fiscal year 2022, Congressionally Directed Spending, and Community Project Funding directed by the House Appropriations Committee, accounted for less than 1 percent of discretionary spending, a commitment made by both Chairman Leahy and Chair DeLauro. These worthwhile projects directed taxpayer dollars back into communities to promote economic development, education, health care initiatives, and other worthy investments in the American people. A complete list of projects that were funded, and those that were requested, in fiscal year 2022 can be found HERE.

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FY 2023 Appropriations Requests and Congressionally Directed Spending | United States Senate Committee on Appropriations

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The Senate Appropriations Committee will again be accepting member requests from Senators for the Fiscal Year 2023 Appropriations bills. This is an important and valuable way for each member to communicate their federal budget priorities for the fiscal year and advocate for programs that are important to their constituents and benefit their states.

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Start Early's Blog and News About Early Childhood and Development

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Support Start Early and change the future for generations. Read stories about great need and triumph. Stories that will inform and inspire you.

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Congressional Directed Spending Disclosure - Senator Patty Murray

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Fiscal Year 2024 CDS Requests Member Recipient Name Project Purpose Project Location Amount Requested Appropriations Bill Financial Certification Murray Army Corps of Engineers (Civil) Columbia River Fish Mitigation, WA, OR, & ID (CRFM): Evaluations, Design, and Construction of measures to address t…

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ITIN Filers Fact Sheet: Working Families Tax Credit

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ITIN Filers Fact Sheet: Working Families Tax Credit

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borrowed from ESD 105

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Michele Crawley provided lots of contacts to start conversations on what they may need.
States centers in Kittitas are okay with staffing.
Missy @ Happy Feet, Ms Moran @ Creative Kids, Mercer Creek Church, KariAnn @ Cle Elum SD, Nicole Mathews, Claudette, WIC, Apoyo, Cle Elum Downtown Assoc, Bookmobile Tues nights during summer.

Selah SD is talking about putting a childcare center for parenting students at elementary. May also branch out to provide childcare for SD staff

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Easterseals WA is in its final day of our largest fundraiser GiveBIG. 

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Easterseals WA is in its final day of our largest fundraiser GiveBIG. 

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Today is the final day to GiveBIG and aid in Easterseals Washington reaching our fundraising goal. Families of Camp Stand By Me, are matching up to $5,300 so when you donate today, your donation will bring in twice as much!

Please make a final share and call to our cause today!
https://www.wagives.org/story/Rf84ye?fbclid=IwAR1dKFoH11swmXnQx6KLYdNTwGe1SBb_tigxL6phHBb4gWK5znL7lvDFcvE

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Support Easterseals Washington on Washington Gives

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To support ESW is to support "All Abilities, Limitless Possibilities"

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Nice article re West Valley in the AASA Magazine

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Nice article re West Valley in the AASA Magazine

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https://www.aasa.org/resources/resource/young-spark-student-growth-family-engagement

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Yakima Valley Libraries Community Needs Assessment

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Yakima Valley Libraries wants to understand the changing needs of the communities it serves. This survey will help to ensure that the library continues to offer services that will address the needs of residents in Yakima County.

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Join me for the AASA Learning 2025 National Summit