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PACE
You will not want to miss this opportunity to advocate for our state's youngest learners! Parents and community advocates can have their voices heard at the annual Early Learning Advocacy Day on May 24 in Sacramento at the Capitol Event Center.
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PACE
PACE invites you to submit a presenter application for the PACE Annual Education Conference on Oct. 20-22 at the Wyndham Anaheim Garden Grove Hotel.
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PACE
PACE 2017 Annual Education Conference at the Wyndham Anaheim Garden Grove Hotel
Click here for reservations.
Call Toll Free: 877-999-3223
Mention Group Name: PACE 2017 Annual Education Conference
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ECEC
Click here to find the May Federal Policy Update — lots of action today! The Senate passed the more than $1 trillion Omnibus spending bill to fund the government through September and it is off to the President for signature. It passed the Senate by a vote of 79 to 18. In addition, the House passed the American Health Care Act by a vote of 217 to 213 — now the Senate will begin its process on the bill, and it could take some time. More details on both measures are included in the Update.
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CAPPA
This week, California Assembly and Senate floor sessions will convene on Monday and Thursday.
Upcoming child care, early education and related issues main budget hearing days are as follows:
- Thursday May 11, 2017 @ 9:30 - SEN Budget Sub 1 pm Education - Department of Education
Click here to read all related budget information including hearing information, budget bill language, trailer bill language, and other related information.
By the end of this week, the May Revise will be released. CAPPA will post updates as released in real time. Click here to go to the CAPPA Budget page.
Budget priorities are:
- Support funding for child care programs in this year's budget and holding the Administration to their promise of continued funding
- Increase all provider rates
- Increase the State Median Income (SMI)
- Allow contracting for 0-5 child care and early education to be delivered by California's mixed delivery system
At a basic level, the California state budget is the vehicle that provides our communities with necessary funding for child care and public services. However, on a societal level, the state budget reflects the values that we prioritize as Californians.
Increasingly, critical policy issues are being decided through the budget process, often making the full impact of these policies difficult to fully comprehend until already enacted.
Although the fiscal system can be complex, we should have a basic understanding of the budget process and how it enables participation in key decisions that impact working families; housing, food insecurity and a host of other public and social supports.
In the simplest terms, the California state budget is comprised of state funds and federal funds - roughly two thirds and one third of the total budget, respectively. More specifically, the state funds are comprised of the General Fund (not designated by law for specific purposes), Special Funds (designated by law for specific purposes) and Bond Funds (money borrowed from citizens by government agencies).
State Budget Revenue Sources
There are several different revenue sources that support the comprehensive state expenditures for a given fiscal year. Think back to all the sales, income and other taxes that you incur each year.
To put the various revenue sources into perspective, out of the total 2017-18 governor's proposed estimated revenue sources: nearly 50% of revenue for the 2017-18 fiscal year will come from personal income tax; 21% from sales and use tax; 6% from corporation tax; 3% from highway users taxes; 5% from motor vehicle fees; 1.3% from insurance tax; 1.2% from cigarette tax; and 13% from other sources.
That is a total estimated revenue of $175.7 billion for one fiscal year alone.
Both the Legislative Women's Caucus and the Legislative Latino Caucus have committed child care as a priority.
Click here to read Legislative Women's Caucus Press Release
Click here to read Legislative Women's Caucus Priority Letter to the Governor.
Click here to read Legislative Latino Caucus Press Release, where AB 60 was named as 2017 priority legislation.
Click here to see all of the legislation that has been identified to be of interest to our field. You can find fact sheets and sample letter templates when available. On this page, CAPPA also will be noting legislative hearings of interest to our field. To track and/or review legislation or to create your own tracking list, click here.
To access the Senate Daily Files, click here.
To access the Assembly Daily Files, click here.
To watch live coverage of the Assembly and Senate, click here.
The legislature has begun work on framing the legislative and budgetary priorities for the upcoming 2017-18 session. Click here to see the upcoming calendar. Please feel free to forward to us any trainings, conferences or meetings that you think would be beneficial to our field.
Survey Findings: State Should Do More to Raise Awareness of the California EITC
The California Earned Income Tax Credit (CalEITC) is a refundable state tax credit, modeled after the federal EITC, that helps working families who earn very little to better afford the basics. A new report from Senior Policy Analyst Alissa Anderson presents findings from a California Budget & Policy Center survey of visitors to county human services offices, intended to gauge awareness of the CalEITC and how to access it. Conducted in fall 2016, this survey found that many respondents who likely qualify for the CalEITC had never heard of the credit and that just half of those who were likely eligible actually filed their taxes for 2015. Additionally, many respondents were unaware of the federal EITC and that free tax preparation services are available in their communities.

Federal Omnibus Budget, Health Care, and More
The federal omnibus spending bill, which passed both the U.S. House and Senate this week and covers the remaining five months of fiscal year 2017 (FY17), is a mixed bag for poor and low-income people. CLASP is heartened that the bill rejects President Trump's call for deep cuts to key domestic programs-even making modest additional investments in programs that will help people on their paths to economic security-and ignores outrageous demands like funding the border wall. The bill also avoids a partial shutdown of the federal government, which would have delayed the delivery of important services. At the same time, we are concerned that FY17 funding is wholly inadequate to meet the needs of low-income people. Moreover, we see dark clouds ahead because of even greater threats in the upcoming FY18 budget, as well as in the efforts to repeal the Affordable Care Act,attack Medicaid, and cut taxes for corporations and the wealthy.
Last Thursday, the U.S. House Republicans passed the American Health Care Act (AHCA) by a very narrow 217-213 vote, taking a major step toward undoing the historic health care gains of the Affordable Care Act. The AHCA would dramatically increase the number of people who are uninsured, make coverage less comprehensive and more expensive, and slash hundreds of billions of dollars from the Medicaid program. At the same time, the bill would provide billions in tax cuts to the wealthy.
Click here to read CLASP's statement on the omnibus bill.
Click here to read CLAPS's statement on the passage of the AHCA.
CLASP
Child Care Tax Plan Misses the Mark for Americans that Suffer the Most
Following widespread criticism that its benefits were weighted toward the very wealthy, the Trump Administration appears to be pivoting from an earlier child care tax deduction proposal to one based on tax credits. This proposal is couched within a blueprint for tax reform that would give enormous tax cuts to wealthy Americans and corporations. But a modest step towards addressing child care affordability for some families cannot compensate for the Administration's overall tax and budget proposals that put low-income families at grave risk of economic insecurity and hardship.
How much do you know about the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP)?
Since its inception in the early 1960's, when it was known as the Food Stamp Program, SNAP has proven to be the singular most effective anti-ginger program in the county.
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Child Care Program
The Spring 2017 Quarterly Update for the Child Care Program is currently posted up on our website. Please feel free to forward this information to anyone you feel would be interested. To be added to our update list, please email us at childcareadvocatesprogram@dss.ca.gov.
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California Department of Education
The CDE/EESD announces the availability of $22.4 million in the Child Care Facilities Revolving Fund for the California Renovation and Repair Loan Program. The intent of the CRRL Program is to provide loans for the renovation or repair of existing facilities in order to help ensure eligible CDE contractors meet applicable health and safety standards for federal and state licensure compliance.
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PACE
Click here to read the full report.
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PACE
High-quality child care is crucial for our children to be safe, healthy, and happy, for parents to work and support their families, and for our country's economic success. The federal government, with strong bipartisan support, has long played an important role in making child care more affordable and available to families. But today, many families are still struggling to afford high-quality care for their children.
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AAP
Partnering with child care programs or schools to encourage influenza vaccination of all children, staff, and caregivers is beneficial. Encourage child care providers to take the free online PediaLink course "Influenza Prevention and Control — Strategies for Early Education and Childcare 2016-2017." This course was recently updated and is approved for 1.0 contact hour.
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PACE
As a membership benefit you now also receive a 20 percent discount on Exchange's new Turn-Key Online Learning! Watch comprehensive video-based training and earn CEUs from your home computer.
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PACE
Is your center looking for good, local employees? Develop your workforce with PACE! Members may post jobs at no charge. We invite you to see how easy it is to post jobs online today! Post a job, now! View resumes of job seekers! Important note: Members need their ID number and password to submit jobs to the Job Bank or to view resumes. If you have forgotten, click here to request your login and password.
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PACE
ThinkHR is a service offered through Arrow Benefits Group, which provides PACE members HR support for employer issues such as compliance, policy structure, employee performance, and proper discipline or termination procedures. ThinkHR is a complimentary service to PACE members and is administered through Arrow HR, which provides a full suite of Benefits and HR compliance services.
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PACE
Kaplan Early Learning Company — 15% discount on all order & free shipping on order over $250 — Call PACE for the member code!
Lakeshore Learning Materials- Free Shipping over $250 on all shipments UPS or Truck and a 10% Merchandise Certificate that can be redeemed on a future order. Call PACE for the member code!
Discount School Supply 15% of all products and free shipping of $79 — Call PACE for the member code!
Click here to view a complete list.
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Department of Finance
California Child Care Programs Local Assistance — All Funds 2016-2017 Budget Act
Department of Education Child Development Programs 2016-2017 Budget Act
HR Ideas
May 2017
Due date: May 31 — Annual Business Registration Renewal fees due to the SF office of the Treasurer and Tax Collector
July 2017
Due date: July 1 — Updated waste water capacity charge rates: announced by the SF Public Utilities Commission
Due date: July 1 — First day of SF Business Registration fiscal year period
Due date: July 1 — OSHA: Establishments with 250 or more employees in industries covered by the recordkeeping regulation must submit information from their 2016 Form 300A. Businesses with 20-249 employees AND in a high-risk industry must electronically submit 2016 information from Form 300A-Summary of Work-Related Injuries and Illnesses
Due date: July 1 — Form 550: due for calendar year defined contribution and benefit plans
Due date: July 1 — Form 5500: due for non-calendar year plans
August 2017
Due date: Aug. 31 — SF Last Day to pay business personal property taxes before penalties are added
September 2017
Due date: Sept. 30 — EE01: Employer will be required to report compensation data as well as the hours. Additionally, now private employers with 100 or more employees will be required to report employees’ W-2 compensation information and hours worked.
Due date: Sept. 30 — VETS-100: Covered categories include: special disabled veterans, Vietnam era veterans, recently separated veterans, and other protected veterans.
Due date: Sept. 30 — VETS-100A: Covered categories include: disabled veterans, other protected veterans, recently separated veterans, and Armed Forces Service Medal veterans.
Smithsonian
AI expert Joseph Qualls thinks artificial intelligence will change the way kids learn. But it also raises some big issues.
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Futurity
Children who transition earlier to a formal school environment learn to be more focused and are less impulsive than children at play-based preschools, a new study suggests.
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Northwestern Now
Pairing early childhood education for low-income children with career training for their parents in a single program has the potential to break the cycle of poverty, according to Northwestern University researchers.
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Minnesota Public Radio
Economist Arthur Rolnick says we're under-investing in our most vulnerable kids, and that paying for early childhood programs is not just morally right, it's economically smart. Rolnick believes it's the very best public investment we can make.
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Missed last week's issue? See which articles your colleagues read most.
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By Pamela Hill
What do students with learning disabilities need the most from their special educator? While many individualized skills and interventions are needed, there is one skill all students need from their special educator: the ability to problem-solve. Problem-solving is a key skill for every area of learning. The student with learning disabilities needs his teacher to conscientiously and methodically teach him how to navigate this skill successfully.
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Seattle Times
New research finds that the high cost of child care in America widens the gender gap in the workplace. The study finds that government spending on early childhood education and care would have the most significant impact on creating gender equity at work — even more than offering paid parental leave, paid time off or flexible work schedules.
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The Associated Press via U.S. News & World Report
Supporters of after-school programs say the study help, social skill-building and supervision they provide is at stake if President Donald Trump's administration cuts the main federal funding for such programs.
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Model D
Not long ago, early childhood education meant glorified babysitting—a place to go when mom and dad worked. Infants, toddlers, and preschoolers would often go to grandma's, a church, or another facility not designed for the education or care of young children, staffed by non-credentialed carers who followed their own rules for raising children.
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EdTech
Over the last few years, Google Classroom has been an effective tool in helping teachers keep organized, promote collaboration, enable personalization and communicate with students at school and away. Now, Google has announced in a blog post that this tool will be available for even the most unconventional learning experiences.
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It's Time Again to File Forms 1094-C and 1095-C
Watch On Demand
ThinkHR's senior benefits advisor Bethany Lopusnak returns with insights and guidance into getting ready to complete the 2016 "C Forms" (1094-C and 1095-C) that must be filed in early 2017 by applicable large employers (ALEs) documenting benefits coverage offers extended during 2016. Bethany provides a refresher of the rules, covers the new items, and answers the most common questions employers have about Forms 1094-C and 1095-C.
May 24 at 2 p.m. ET — Help Young Children Cope with Stress and Trauma by Becoming an Ally: Bridge the Relationship Gap
Presented by:
Dr. Sara Langworthy
Attachment in the Classroom: How Trusting Early Experiences Shape Brain Development
Presented by:
Dr. Jon Baylin
SPARK
Your professional development begins here! Each summer SPARK conducts 2 day "Institutes" for each program in beautiful San Diego that are similar to the SPARK Premium Program — yet offer an even richer, in-depth training experience.
We only offer Institutes once a year, and attendance is limited to 40 (on a first registered basis), so make sure to register soon! Registration is now open for the 2017 SPARK Institutes.
Select a program below to learn more & register:
We hope see you in San Diego this summer!
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 7701 Las Colinas Ridge, Ste. 800, Irving, TX 75063
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