Financing Child Care in the United States - Ewing Marion Kauffman ...

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ALLOCATING PUBLIC REVENUES HEALTH HOW FUND DISTRIBUTED Three state agencies—the Department of Human Services (DHS), the Finance Authority of Maine (FAME) and the Department of Revenue (DR)—are involved in the administration of funds allocated as a result of Start ME Right and coordinate the various program initiatives. DHS administers all aspects of Start ME Right except for the revolving loan fund for child care providers, the Tuition Assistance Program and the various tax–based programs. These programs are administered by FAME or the Department of Revenue. For any program involving the stimulation of improved quality in child care, DHS certifies to the other agencies that the basic criteria have been met before they may distribute funds. POPULATION SERVED Start ME Right expands child care and home visiting services, which benefit parents and children, as well as child care programs and the community as a whole. STRATEGIC CONSIDERATIONS • In the early fall of 1998 the Maine Children’s Alliance convened a group of legislators, interested groups and individuals with plans for legislation so that they could develop a comprehensive legislative agenda. After meeting several times, the group grew and the leadership expanded. What emerged was a three– pronged legislative approach known as Start ME Right. • Start ME Right’s Supporting Parents and Families legislation was introduced by Senator Tina Baker (D) in collaboration with the Task Force on Early Care and Education to assure the availability of an early childhood home–visiting component. The Providing Quality Child Care legislation was introduced by Speaker Steven Rowe (D) in collaboration with the Alliance for Children’s Care, Education and Supportive Services (ACCESS) to improve quality, increase subsidies, extend care to 12– to 15–year– olds, increase child care capacity and extend Head Start capability to full–day, full–year programming. The Encouraging Business and Communities to Help legislation was introduced by Senator Susan Longley (D), in collaboration with business and community leaders, to strengthen child care infrastructure through tax incentives, revolving loans and a scholarship fund. • Coalition participants indicate that the creation of a Code of Ethics for the Start ME Right coalition proved invaluable during the legislative negotiations in support of Start ME Right. Coalition members, including the legislators who sponsored the bills that made up Start ME Right, agreed that it would be important to work together and not permit any one objective, or legislative bill, to be separated from the rest. This strategy proved successful, and participants were able to honor the agreement. • Initially the Start ME Coalition sought to focus its support on access and quality in child care and home visiting, reflecting the long–term interests and preparatory work in these area done by several of its key members. One of the participating legislators, Senator Susan Longley had an opportunity to review the first edition of Financing Child Care in the United States. As a result, she developed an interest in the role of child care in community and economic development, and she researched initiatives to stimulate child care capacity, particularly by using private–sector investment. This allowed the coalition to develop and present additional strategies to enhance child care capacity. • While high–level leadership from legislators helped to pass the Start ME Right legislation, the coalition also was able to make effective use of the press and hearings to get the word out on the scope and breadth of Start ME Right. Coalition members were represented in the group that made recommendations for the use of the tobacco settlement funds. They were able to argue successfully that the Start ME Right agenda was an appropriate use of the tobacco funds. • The inclusion of the tax–based incentives and the business–economic orientation in Start ME Right was seen as important to the support of Governor Angus S. King Jr. (Ind.) for the legislative packet. Maine had a tight labor market at the time the legislation passed; additionally, child care programs provided the third largest source of employment in Maine, which helped position the initiative as a positive contribution to community and economic development. • Members of the coalition report that the implementation of Start ME Right has required ongoing engagement and oversight, particularly since much of the money requires an annual appropriation. They have had to work with the state agencies to develop implementation guidelines and to continue mobilizing to secure ongoing state investment in Start ME Right. This has allowed the participating organizations and individuals to work on increasing the sophistication of the advocacy effort while retaining clarity about their vision and objectives. • One of the key groups that made up the Start ME Right Coalition is known as ACCESS, which serves as a broad–based coalition of child care organizations in Maine. ACCESS started in January 1997 as an informal association bringing together the Maine Child Care Director’s Association, Maine Head Start Director’s Association and the Maine Association of Child Care Resource and Referral Agencies. By fall 1997, Maine’s Office of Child Care and Head Start made funding available to the group through its federal Head Start collaboration grant. Funds from the 79
collaboration grant allowed ACCESS to establish ground rules and principles, create a code of ethical behavior, build skills for collaboration, collect data and establish benchmarks for system improvement. ACCESS was able to establish a unified public policy agenda and identify a legislative champion to introduce legislation. ACCESS’ agenda and legislative contacts were then incorporated into the work of Start ME Right. ACCESS continues to provide leadership on child care issues and to increase the capacity of the child care community as a public policy leader and change agent for child care. • ACCESS was aided in its development and work by support from Maine’s Office of Child Care and Head Start. Maine’s child care administrator was a strong internal advocate who believed that investment in child care would not grow unless the field developed stronger, more unified advocates for child care. The Head Start Collaboration Project provided an opportunity for the state to use flexible funds to assist the child care organizations to strengthen their skills in public policy analysis and advocacy. • In addition to the past work done to create a unified agenda for child care prior to Start ME Right, the coalition also was aided in its work by a public education campaign that preceded the Start ME Right initiative. Using data about children in Maine, along with research findings on brain development, the Maine Children’s Alliance reached out to the public and the media to highlight the need to provide services for children during their early, preschool years. CONTACTS Director Office of Child Care and Head Start 11 State House Station Augusta, ME 04333 Phone (207) 287 5060 Fax (207) 287 5031 Lee Parker, Director Chairperson, ACCESS (Alliance for Children’s Care, Education and Supportive Services) and member, Start ME Right Coalition Bath–Brunswick Child Care Services 44 Water Street Brunswick, ME 04011 Phone (207) 725 6506 Fax (207) 798 4707 E–mail sparker@clinic.net Elinor Goldberg, Executive Director Maine Children’s Alliance 303 State Street Augusta, ME 04338 Phone (207) 623 1868 Fax (207) 626 3302 E–mail mainekids1@mekids.org Web www.mekids.org OTHER SITES WITH SIMILAR STRATEGIES A number of states have expressed interest in using tobacco settlement money to support early childhood care and education. The Kentucky legislature, for example, passed legislation designating 25 percent of the state’s tobacco settlement money ($56 million over two years) for quality improvements in child care and health services for children under age 6. This new law would create an authority in the Governor’s Office of Early Childhood Development that would make the final decisions about grant awards. The law calls for a state system for rating child care centers and preschools based on teacher training, child–teacher ratios and staff size. It authorizes home health visits to new parents, universal vision screening for newborns and hearing tests for new public school students. 80
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FINANCING CHILD CARE IN THE UNITED
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FINANCING CHILD CARE IN THE UNITED
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ABOUT THE GRANTEE PHILADELPHIA CITI
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:02 ALLOCATING PUBLIC REVENUES 54 O
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HOW TO USE THIS CATALOG This catalo
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This revised, expanded edition of F
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DIFFERENT EXPECTATIONS The expectat
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03 LONG-TERM THINKING Successful st
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LEVERAGING Matching and leveraging
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TAXES Income taxes are the major so
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EMPLOYER INCOME TAXES Twenty-five s
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LOCAL PROPERTY TAXES CHILDREN’S S
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GENERATING PUBLIC REVENUE LOCAL PRO
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GENERATING PUBLIC REVENUE SALES AND
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FINANCING CHILD CARE IN THE PRIVATE
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When businesses in the private sect
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PUBLIC-PRIVATE PARTNERSHIPS EMPLOYE
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PUBLIC-PRIVATE PARTNERSHIPS EMPLOYE
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PUBLIC-PRIVATE PARTNERSHIPS COMMUNI
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CAPITAL INVESTMENT PARTNERSHIPS CHI
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PUBLIC-PRIVATE PARTNERSHIPS CAPITAL
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LOOKING TO THE FUTURE TAX POLICY Th
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LOOKING TO THE FUTURE THE HOME MORT
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LOOKING TO THE FUTURE HIGHER EDUCAT
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APPENDIX 174
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WHAT YOU OWN Property taxes on real
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INDEX 178
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Child Care Scholarship Fund of the
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lotteries and gaming, 14 Neighborho
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Area, Kansas and Missouri), 133—1
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income tax provisions for child car
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Financing Child Care in the United States - Ewing Marion Kauffman ...

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