National Head Start Association’s Post

🌟 Advocating for Head Start: Empowering Voices, Creating Change 🌟 One of the most powerful ways to support Head Start is by ensuring that the people it serves—families, staff, and community members—have the tools and confidence to advocate for it. Over the years, I’ve had the privilege of training Head Start staff and families to engage with legislators, share their stories, and advocate for the critical funding and policies that sustain this life-changing program. When parents and staff speak directly to policymakers about how Head Start has impacted their lives, it makes a difference. Advocacy isn’t just about numbers—it’s about voices, real experiences, and the undeniable power of personal testimony. 📢 Through training and coaching, I’ve helped equip Head Start champions with the skills to: ✅ Understand the legislative process and policy landscape ✅ Share their Head Start success stories effectively ✅ Engage in meaningful conversations with lawmakers ✅ Build relationships that sustain long-term support for early childhood programs As we continue to see challenges and opportunities for early childhood education funding and policy, we must keep advocating for the future of Head Start. When we lift our voices together, we ensure that more children and families receive the support they need to thrive. 💡 If you're interested in advocacy training for your Head Start program, let’s connect! Together, we can amplify the impact of Head Start and secure its future for generations to come. #HeadStart #Advocacy #EarlyChildhoodEducation #HeadStartWorks #PolicyMatters #InvestInChildren #nhsa

Yesterday’s decision to freeze funding for federal programs is a stark reminder of how quickly critical resources can be put at risk. Programs like National Head Start Association, provide essential early childhood education and family support, need strong advocates to ensure they remain available to those who rely on them. Policies that affect these programs are shaped by those who raise their voices. If you want to stay informed and support early learning programs, signing up for updates and action alerts is an easy way to get involved. #AdvocateForKids #EarlyEducationMatters #ProtectHeadStart

🧒🏼 𝐓𝐡𝐞 𝐑𝐢𝐠𝐡𝐭𝐬 𝐨𝐟 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐂𝐡𝐢𝐥𝐝 - 𝐛𝐮𝐭 𝐚𝐜𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧𝐚𝐛𝐥𝐞!💪🏻 🗣️ The Ombudsman for Children's Office are asking the government to incorporate the UNCRC into national law. This would be similar to the approach in Scotland where children can seek legal redress through the courts if public authorities don’t act within the UNCRC requirements set down in the Act. 🌟 It is hoped that all children will benefit, but particularly those whose rights are most at risk – disabled children, care experienced children, children impacted by poverty. It will ensure more is done on initiatives like supporting mental health. ❓𝐁𝐮𝐭 𝐰𝐡𝐚𝐭 𝐰𝐨𝐮𝐥𝐝 𝐭𝐡𝐢𝐬 𝐦𝐞𝐚𝐧 𝐟𝐨𝐫 𝐈𝐫𝐢𝐬𝐡 𝐜𝐡𝐢𝐥𝐝𝐫𝐞𝐧 𝐢𝐧 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐜𝐨𝐧𝐭𝐞𝐱𝐭 𝐨𝐟 𝐚𝐧 𝐢𝐧𝐭𝐞𝐫𝐧𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧𝐚𝐥 𝐥𝐞𝐠𝐚𝐥 𝐢𝐧𝐬𝐭𝐫𝐮𝐦𝐞𝐧𝐭 𝐞𝐧𝐟𝐨𝐫𝐜𝐞𝐚𝐛𝐥𝐞 𝐭𝐡𝐫𝐨𝐮𝐠𝐡 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐂𝐨𝐮𝐫𝐭𝐬? ⚖️ By analogy the European Convention of Hunan Rights (ECHR) was incorporated into Irish law in 2003 and its significance was outlined in this article 👉🏻 https://lnkd.in/eEM5c8Xe by Hon Justice O’Malley which states “The enactment of the 2003 Act has, of course, meant a great expansion of the significance of Convention jurisprudence in disputes in the Irish domestic courts and there are now few cases concerning human rights where Strasbourg case law is not cited. However, it should perhaps be emphasised that the tendency on the part of some practitioners to plead and argue cases as if the Convention applied directly, rather than as mediated through the Act, is not only to ignore the most important feature of the Irish legal landscape but is to under-appreciate the reach of the Act itself. For example, the matters listed in s. 4 (judicial notice obligation on the courts) go beyond the provisions of the Convention itself, and the judgments of the ECtHR – they extend to declarations, decisions and advisory opinions of the Court, decisions and opinions of the Commission, and decisions of the Committee of Ministers. The conversation is not always just between lawyers. ⬇️ See more here ⬇️

👀 Essential reading for children's care home providers/operators The children's social care sector has seen a raft of new reports and a government policy statement on the state of the sector. This latest research from the team at the County Councils Network (CCN) and IMPOWER Consulting finds that care placements represent a severe and present financial threat to not only children’s services but all local public services and society. Read Jill Mason's blog 👇 #ChildrensSocialCare #ChildrensCareProviders #Commissioners

Our first briefing paper describes the current state of children's social care for looked after children in the South East, based on available local and national statistics and our own interpretation. Click on the link to read the full paper

We have responded to the Scottish Government Children’s Hearings redesign consultation. Our response is framed around the core principles of the UNCRC and calls for children as rights holders to be at the centre of any redesigned Children’s Hearings system. Specifically, the four general principles of the UNCRC; Non-discrimination (Article 2), Best interests of the child (Article 3), Right to life, survival and development (Article 6) and Right to be heard (Article 12) require to be built into the Children’s Hearings System in order for children, as rights holders, to fully engage and ensure that their rights are upheld. Article 12, in particular, requires to be embedded and fully implemented across all aspects of the new system. At the heart of the Children’s Hearings System are extremely vulnerable, and often traumatised, children. If we do not properly and sensitively implement Article 12 then the children who come into contact with the Hearings System will face negative consequences – in complete contradiction to the ethos of Kilbrandon. Read the full response at our website:

HELP Virginia Partnership for Out of School Time (VPOST) SAVE AFTERSCHOOL FROM GOVERNOR YOUNGKIN'S FUNDING CUTS! Despite our advocacy, Gov. Youngkin cut funding to many important programs in the budget, including the $5 million allocated to out-of-school time (OST) programs. We need your help to let the legislators know that it is essential to REJECT the Governor's amendment to remove this funding from the budget. You can email your Delegate and Senator to ask them to support this funding and reject the Governor's amendment. The General Assembly will reconvene on Wednesday, April 17th for “Veto Session.” This is when the legislature accepts or rejects Governor Youngkin’s amendments and vetoes. It is critical that your legislators hear that you want them to reject this amendment as soon as possible! Please take a few minutes to e-mail both your Delegate and Senator and ask them to support this funding and reject the Governor’s amendment. https://lnkd.in/eBmHcDCf

Advocacy Alert | Source of Income Advocacy In Under Five Minutes Source of Income Protections (House Bills 4062 and 4063 as well as Senate Bills 205, 206, and 207) are one step away from reaching the Governor’s desk and becoming law. Both the Michigan House and Senate have passed their bills; however, the bills must receive one more vote on the Senate floor to approve small language changes. Please call or email Senate Majority Leader Brinks TODAY to express your support for SOI protections. Email: senwbrinks@senate.michigan.gov Call: (517) 373-1801 or (855) 347-8029 Once the SOI Protection Bills are signed into law, they will prevent landlords from discriminating against tenants based on their legal source of income. These bills will prevent landlords with 5+ units from rejecting potential tenants based on Housing Choice Vouchers, SSI/SSDI, Veterans benefits, child support, alimony, disability benefits, and/or any other legal forms of income.

Advocacy Alert | Source of Income Advocacy In Under Five Minutes Source of Income Protections (House Bills 4062 and 4063 as well as Senate Bills 205, 206, and 207) are one step away from reaching the Governor’s desk and becoming law. Both the Michigan House and Senate have passed their bills; however, the bills must receive one more vote on the Senate floor to approve small language changes. Please call or email Senate Majority Leader Brinks TODAY to express your support for SOI protections. Email: senwbrinks@senate.michigan.gov Call: (517) 373-1801 or (855) 347-8029 Once the SOI Protection Bills are signed into law, they will prevent landlords from discriminating against tenants based on their legal source of income. These bills will prevent landlords with 5+ units from rejecting potential tenants based on Housing Choice Vouchers, SSI/SSDI, Veterans benefits, child support, alimony, disability benefits, and/or any other legal forms of income.

The central focus of housing affordability in the presidential campaign is historic, reflecting both the severity of the housing affordability crisis, *and* the effective organizing and advocacy by impacted people and their allies who have together pushed for comprehensive solutions. Onward!