October 2010 ACTION News from
the NYS Infancy Leadership Circles
A project of NYZTT
Dear Friends,
Today, October 5, is National Step Up for Kid’s Day. Recent poverty figures show dramatic rises in poverty among children all over the United States—about one in four children now live in poor or low-income families. Infants and toddlers don’t have a voice in the public policy process, but you do! Today is a good day to call your legislators and candidates for state and local office to remind them that investments in young children have a big payoff for communities and assure a productive society. See the Winning Beginning New York Web site: www.winningbeginningny.org for suggested messages, advocacy power points, and campaign toolkit.
We are pleased to announce that New York Zero–to–Three Network has been selected to receive the 2010 Excellence in Leadership Award from the Center for Children’s Initiatives for its work on behalf of young children and their families in New York. Each of you is part of this award. Your dedication to the infants and toddlers you serve and your willingness to raise your voices and give your valuable time to improve policies and services has earned this award.
The award will be presented at the Annual Champions for Children Awards Luncheon on Monday, October 18 at the Yale Club in New York City. We would love to share the celebration of this award with you. For reservation details and souvenir journal information, please go to: www.centerforchildrensinitiatives.org.
Also, national ZERO TO THREE announces a new interactive tool to identify and grow your advocacy potential: "You Have What It Takes! A Tool For Identifying Your Skills As An Early Childhood Advocate." Go to: www.zerotothree.org/public-policy/action-center/advocacy-tool-final-9-7-10.pdf to use this tool.
In upcoming Action News we would like to highlight more events across the state, but we need you to let us know about them. Please send details to Carole at coshinsky@nyztt.org. We also plan to feature individual Infancy Leadership Circle activities.
Please hold the date: April 28, 2011 for our annual Infancy Policy Forum and meeting of the Infancy Leadership Circles at the NYS AEYC conference–this year in Westchester County at the Hilton Rye Town, Thurs., April 28 through Sat., April 30.
Sincerely,
Carole and Jackie
coshinsky@nyztt.org
jjjones6@verizon.net
EVENTS
Thursday, October 14, 2010, 8:30 AM – 5:30 PM, New York, NY:
Strengthening Families: How Can Child Support Help?
Attend this Family strengthening conference on Child Support policy sponsored by the New York City Office of Child Support Enforcement, The Future of Children project, a collaboration of Princeton University and the Brookings Institution, and the CUNY School of Professional Studies.
Location: CUNY Graduate Center, 365 Fifth Avenue (between 34th and 35th Streets), New York, NY
Friday, October 15, 2010, 6 – 9 PM, New York, NY:
NYC AEYC preconference reception
Friday evening reception at the Food and Finance High School, 625 West 50th Street, New York, New York, will honor programs that strive to provide high-quality care and education for young children through their active participation with NAEYC Accreditation and/or QUALITYstarsNY. Allison Pepper, Senior Director of Accreditation Program Support at NAEYC will be the guest speaker for the evening. To register, go to: www.nycaeyc.org
Saturday, October 16, 2010, 9 – 5PM, New York, NY:
NYC AEYC Annual Conference
Dr. Medina will be the keynote speaker at this fall’s New York City Association for the Education of Young Children’s annual professional development conference at. He will talk about how to use brain research to inform real-life parenting and teaching
practices. Also choose from over 20 workshops and special forums in the areas of policy, leadership, students/new teachers, and special education. See above for Friday evening reception information
Location: Food and Finance High School, 625 West 50th Street, New York, NY
To register, go to: www.nycaeyc.org
Saturday, October 16, 2010, Brooklyn, NY:
Introductory Course: Stimulating Expressive Speech: Ages Birth to Three, 9 AM – 5 PM
Learn how to help young children with severe expressive speech delays become more vocal, verbal, imitative, and communicative. Presented by Pam Marshalla MA, CCC-SL. Earn 6 PDU credits for NBCOT Certification renewal; 6 credits for ASHAn CEU at the Intermediate Level-related area. Includes light breakfast, lunch and materials kit in fee. Cost ranges from $145–195 for the day.
Location: Challenge Early Intervention Center, 649 39th Street, Brooklyn, NY 11232
For Information and Registration call Miriam at: 718-851-3300 x152.
Tuesday, October 26, 2010, 8:45-11 am, New York, NY:
Impact of Trauma on Young Children
Guided discussion for interdisciplinary professionals who supervise or work directly with young children. Limited Seating.
Location: Center for Child Development and Learning, Jewish Board of Family and Children’s Services, 34 West 139 Street, New York, NY (Between 5th and Lenox Avenues)
RSVP by October 21 to Ms. Eula Mae Young: emyoung@jbfcs.org or 212 690-7234 X213.
Tuesday, October 26, 2010, 6 – 9 PM, New York, NY:
Initial Session of Infant Parent Study Center Program,
The Infant Parent Study Center is still accepting applications for this year-long program. For more information call Dorothy Henderson (212) 690-7234 ext. 205.
AWARDS
UJA Federation Zella Bronfman Butler Awards for Change Agent and Direct Service Provider
This award honors two professionals working with people with disabilities served by the UJA-Federation of New York network of agencies. The award honors a professional who is a Change Agent, the other for a Direct Service provider. For more information and to obtain a nomination packet please visit www.ujafedny.org/zella-award
Fellowships in Public Policy, Society for Research in Child Development
Applications are now available for the 2011–2012 Public Policy Fellowships with the Society for Research in Child Development (SRCD). SRCD Policy Fellows, who are placed in both Congressional and Executive Branch positions, work as "resident scholars" at the interface of science and policy. Application deadline is December 15, 2010. For more information and application instructions, go to: www.srcd.org/index.php?
ADVOCACY
State Policy Update
The ZERO TO THREE monthly Baby Monitor recently reported on how New York is using ARRA Funds to Strengthen Supports for Infant-Toddler Child Care Programs
New York is using $3.1 million in ARRA funds through the infant and toddler set-aside of the Child Care and Development Block Grant to fund four projects that will strengthen supports for infant-toddler child care programs. These investments will improve the quality of IT services and ensure they are reaching more families across the state of New York.
- Funding for the seven regional Infant Toddler Resource Centers was doubled, making it possible for ten additional Infant/Toddler (IT) Specialists to be hired
- Funding for the Early Care and Learning Council, the organization that provides coordination and support to the IT Resource Network, was increased so that staff could be hired to assist with implementation and evaluation projects
- Training for 120 IT professionals (trainers and educators) to be certified in the Program for Infant and Toddler Care (PITC) training institute
- Four communities piloting various models to assess the efficacy of social-emotional consultation in infant and toddler child care settings.
For more go to: policy.db.zerotothree.org
Home visiting
Allison Lake of the Westchester Children’s Association informs us that NY State’s Needs Assessment draft on home visiting is completed. Westchester County is one of 14 counties the State has identified as an "at risk community" that could benefit from new home visiting funding. This is only the initial assessment and the next step will be to refine and enhance the preliminary profiles of the 14 counties.
RESOURCES
Visit New York Zero–to–Three Network’s web site, and click on "Take Action" to view new resources for Action News from the Infancy Leadership Circles.
Go to: www.nyztt.org