Upcoming Michigan House of Representatives meetings related to young children:
Committee: Conference Committee
Date: October 29, 2007
Time: 9:30 a.m.
Location: Senate Appropriations Room, 3rd Floor, State Capitol Building
Agenda: SB 229 (Pappageorge) Appropriations; zero budget; general government; provide for fiscal year 2007-2008.

Upcoming Michigan Senate Committee meetings related to young children:
None scheduled at this time.

Committee meetings are often added or agendas changed after the update is sent. Check the legislature's committee calendar for additions and changes.

Current actions on Michigan bills related to young children:
SB 237 2007-08 School Aid (Jelinek) Provides 2007-08 budget for K-12 school aid. Introduced and referred to Appropriations (02/21/07). Received by the House (9/23/07). Re-referred in the House (10/9/07). Senate requests House return bill (10/23/07).

SB 842 Basic Literacy (Kuipers) Requires students to show basic literacy before they can be advanced to the fourth grade. Introduced and referred to Education Committee (10/24/07).

HRC 51 S.C.H.I.P. (Dean) Urges Congress to override the president's veto of the SCHIP program. Passed in the House (10/11/07). Rules suspended (10/16/07). Referred to committee on appropriations (10/16/07). Discharge committee postponed (10/18/07). Discharge committee withdrawn (10/24/07).

Bill abstracts provided by Voices for Michigan’s Children. See the status of other bills at Michigan's Children.

Budget update:
Conference Committee for FY 2008 School Aid Budget Releases Report
On Wednesday, October 24, the House/Senate Conference Committee charged with developing a compromise for fiscal year 2008 spending for K-12 School Aid met to review its conference report. The report could not be approved and signed because there was no quorum. Michigan’s Children

Have you Heard? – Weekly additions
For Additional reports and findings please visit the MiAEYC web site:
www.miaeyc.org/News/Have_You_Heard.html

All Our Children? The Health and Education of Children of Immigrants: 2007 Annual Report
Investing in the healthy development of immigrant children is critical to our nation's future because they will have a large impact on America's cultural and economic vitality. Foundation for Child Development

State Developments and Reports
There have been numerous developments in early care and education at the state level during the past legislative session. Governors and state legislatures have approved investments in a variety of areas including professional development and quality rating and improvement systems, as well as in prekindergarten, public schools, and kindergarten. The link is a recap of public policy developments in states. National Association for the Education of Young Children

New Report on State Child Care Assistance Policies
"State Child Care Assistance Policies 2007: Some Steps Forward, More Progress Needed," published by the National Women's Law Center, compares child care assistance policies in 2007 to 2006 and 2001 in four policy areas: reimbursement rates for providers, income eligibility, waiting lists for assistance and co-payment requirements. NWLC found that between February 2006 and February 2007, states made some progress on income eligibility and waiting lists. But states made far less progress on copayments and made virtually no progress with respect to reimbursement rates. National Women's Law Center

Joint Accrediting Bodies Document and Statement on QRIS
NAEYC, in collaboration with the National Association for Family Child Care and the National AfterSchool Alliance, has developed a document that describes and summarizes each of the organization's accreditation systems. The document also includes a statement in support of linking Quality Rating and Improvement Systems to the three major national program accreditation systems. National Association for the Education of Young Children

In the News– Weekly additions
For Additional reports and findings please visit the MiAEYC web site:
www.miaeyc.org/News/The_News.html

House to test revised kids' health bill
Today, house democrats are pushing for a vote on the revised children's health proposal despite the fact that President Bush threatened to veto it again. Bush said he will veto this bill because it does too little to enroll low-income families ahead of those slightly better off, and it includes a tax-hike on tobacco. Yahoo! News

For the love of children Child Care Resources marks 18th year celebrating and training child care providers at its Early Childhood Conference
Preschool teacher Sue Danna has had her share of challenging days. Like ``a day when all the children show up crying and saying they want to go home, when the teachers are sick or grouchy, or when somebody sits on you with a wet bottom,'' said Danna, an instructor at The Discovery Center in Kalamazoo. Kalamazoo Gazette

Senate approves bill to fund labor, health, education programs
The Senate approved a $605.5 billion spending bill for the departments of Labor, Health and Human Services and Education on a 75-19 vote Tuesday, setting up the first round of the endgame appropriations battle with President Bush.
Government Executive

Hasbro: On top of its game
While competitors such as Mattel Inc. took a beating in the third quarter due to lost sales and costs associated with multiple product-line recalls, Hasbro has so far steered clear of these problems. MSNBC

Greening Up Baby
Those cute little feet sure do make a big carbon footprint. The mountains of disposable diapers, the piles of swiftly outgrown clothing, the bins of last year's toys. So many resources consumed, so much energy burned. Washington Post

SOLVING CHILD CARE DILEMMAS: Shelter's new center to watch over kids while parents search for work
Tyrika Henley, 21, knows how hard it is to find a job in Michigan's harsh economy. Add to that the pressure of having to find a place to live. And all the errands that both entail. And having to find a babysitter for a toddler. Detroit Free Press

More money for early education won’t help
In short, research on preschool and full-day kindergarten shows that these programs have had meaningful short-term effects on disadvantaged students’ cognitive ability, grade-level retention and special-education placement. However, most research also indicates that the academic effects of early education programs disappear soon after children leave the programs.
The Daily Press

Preschool benefits kids academically, socially
My now 12-year-old son attended preschool for three years before entering kindergarten. I watched him morph from the boy who wouldn't let go of my leg at the classroom door to the kid who takes charge of most situations, whether or not he's asked. He's the young man his teachers have referred to as "my leader" from that very first conference in kindergarten.
Battle Creek Enquirer

Introducing the ‘No Toddler Left Behind' era
The savings are everywhere: Those kids are more likely to graduate high school, enroll in college, hold a job and stay out of trouble with the law. That kind of hard-nosed calculation has drawn states such as Oklahoma (not the first state you think of as the touchy-feely type) into leadership roles in this revolution. So how does preschool appear on the ’08 campaign stage? Politico

Taming Baby Rage: Why Are Some Kids So Angry?
New research indicates babies are born with violent tendencies that most learn to control. Scientific American

Putting poor children second
Funding for Head Start and Early Head Start, which provide health and education services to some 900,000 preschool children, has not kept up with inflation over the past five years, forcing programs to lay off teachers, reduce salaries and curtail operating hours. The president’s budget also seeks to eliminate Even Start, a program to help preschoolers and their mothers develop literacy skills. New York Times