EAST LANSING - Creating a single place within state government to coordinate early childhood programs and funding should be a top priority, the state's top early childhood advocates said this week.
That initiative was among the components of what advocates called their "Fiscal Year 2011 Early Childhood Policy Agenda," presented Dec. 15 at Challenge 2010, an annual statewide convocation sponsored by the Early Childhood Investment Corporation (ECIC).
The agenda also includes:
- Positioning early childhood efforts, birth to 5, as among Michigan's top priorities in the minds of candidates, lawmakers and voters.
- Establishing a coordinated, interrelated Great Start system of programs, resources and services in at least two local Michigan communities.
- Creating an early childhood alliance that speaks with one voice.
- Losing no ground in the fiscal year 2011 state budget.
The agenda, created with input from conference attendees, was presented by Judy Samelson, chief executive officer of ECIC.
"By doing these things and working passionately together, we can make sure that at the very least early childhood loses no ground in next year's budget," she said following the Challenge. "Our advocacy is key if Michigan's youngest learners are going to continue to see the benefit of all the reforms and efforts we've worked so hard to put in place in recent years."