Early Learning Action Alliance Long Term Plan (LTP) and the Statewide Plan for Early Learning (ELP)

Common Elements:

  • Provide historical context, new research, and changing needs of families prompting greater attention to early learning
  • Reference previous work in early learning that Washington is building on
  • Emphasize preparation/achievement gap and the need to pay mind to equity when making policy decisions
  • Establish need to make policies child- and family-focused
  • Identify early learning in basic education as a way to ensure greater protection for PreK
  • Devote strategies/sections in plan to Family, Friend and Neighbor care
  • Call out protective factors and strengthening families as a way to reach positive outcomes for kids
  • Identifies need for professional development and compensation as necessary components to achieving high quality child care
  • Calls for inclusion of programs like Head Start/ECEAP and license-exempt preschool in QRIS
  • Call for multi-disciplinary and across agency governance (ELAA plan identifies elevating ELAC, ELP talks about collaborative governance model under development)

Differences:

Early Learning Action Alliance Long Term Plan / State Early Learning Plan
Written as a prenatal to age 5 plan / Written as a prenatal to age 8 plan
Contextualizes work under Undoing Institutional Racism frame / Significant section on closing the preparation/achievement gap
Does not include a health-focused section, identifying the Health Coalition for Children and Youth as the primary place for children’s health advocacy / Includes health outcomes, including oral health
Identifies desire to reframe child care subsidies as scholarships that allow kids access to high quality programs / No specific reframing mentioned
Written in 2008 and doesn’t have updates on changes over last two years / Includes more current changes to landscape
Has called-out section on social/emotional learning / Integrates policies that promote social/emotional learning within other categories
Includes specific recommendation for paid family leave and incentives to employers with flexible working schedules / Does not include paid family leave as a strategy
Does not have policy recommendations in early intervention (IDEA Part C) / Includes early intervention services
Does not have specific policy recommendations re: early literacy and numeracy / Includes early literacy and numeracy
Early Learning Action Alliance Long Term Plan / State Early Learning Plan
Does not include K-12 school policy changes (0-5) / Includes schools as part of system (0-8)
Calls for stronger minimum licensing standards / Does not address changes to minimum licensing standards
Calls for all preschools to be licensed, beginning with registration and background checks / Talks about licensing and background checks, but doesn’t call for requirement
Calls for setting maximum co-pay for Working Connections Child Care at 10% family income / No maximum co-pay identified
Does not have specific recommendation re: kindergarten readiness assessment / Identifies kindergarten readiness assessment as strategy
Offers phase-in ideas (now outdated) for higher WCCC eligibility and reimbursement rates / Does not identify desire to raise WCCC eligibility
Does not include indicators / Begins identification of indicators
Calls for advisory body specific to overseeing professional development
Has recommendations specific to P-20 Council (no longer exists) / Written after P-20 Council discontinued
Has draft section on public awareness

Early Learning Action Alliance Development

In the ELAA Long Term Plan, outside consultants made the following observations and recommendations about the coalition’s development:

  • Think about coalition continuity and ongoing leadership, with possibility of having 2-3 co-leads, with specific leadership development and coaching for coalition leaders
  • Expand of coalition research capacity
  • Increase coalition expertise in early learning financing
  • Build the strength and capacity of coalition members to be firmly grounded in effective messaging re: early learning
  • Have office space in Olympia
  • Think about developing a coalition budget that allows for dedicated funding – possibly with member organizations contributing to a shared lobbyist
  • Consider joint fundraising for ELAA
  • Work to gain positions in the bodies advising/governing early learning in Washington

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