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Administration for Children and Families US Department of Health and Human Services
 HHS News

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE:
July 28, 2004
Contact: Chris Downing
ACF Press Office (202) 401-9215

State Leaders Gather at 13th Annual Child Care Meeting

State child care officials from around the country are gathered in Washington to discuss their progress on President Bush's early childhood education initiative: Good Start, Grow Smart. These state policy-makers are reporting on their successes in furthering their own early learning agendas within the context of an ambitious, national initiative.  States have worked hard to define and implement early learning standards that cover what their state’s children need to know, understand and be able to do to succeed in kindergarten.  Those who are furthest along are helping peers newer to the process.  Early childhood partners in each state are eager to share their experiences about what works and what doesn’t work to improve policies, incentives and staff development training for child care providers in all settings, including family, friends and neighbors who provide care for children.  And they are describing their efforts to make early learning more accessible for the children of low-income working parents.

All of this is taking place at the annual State Child Care Administrators Meeting July 28-29, at the Grand Hyatt Washington Hotel. The event, entitled “Leading the Way to Quality Early Care and Education,” brings together child care policy makers, academics and private sector experts who are all key to strengthening child care and early education programs nationwide.

The event is sponsored by the Child Care Bureau of HHS’ Administration for Children and Families (ACF).  It began with a keynote address by U.S. Surgeon General Vice Admiral Richard H. Carmona, a staunch proponent of fitness for the next generation.   “Children need exercise, good nutrition and health care to help them grow up to be successful, healthy adults, and they need early childhood education that is grounded in scientific research in order to develop to their full potential as citizens,” said Surgeon General Carmona.  “President Bush, through his initiatives to improve the lives of kids, is committed to strengthening the health and well-being of youngsters around the country.  This meeting is an important tool to help achieve that goal.”

Participants in this national meeting influence the direction of child care services for more than 8.7 million children nationwide.  State child care administrators, in conjunction with TANF administrators, manage more than $11.8 billion in child care funding a year, including $945 million in flexible federal funds which can be used to develop programming focused on early literacy and other activities.

“The Bush Administration is working to empower states to provide better, more effective services to children,” said Dr. Wade F. Horn, HHS assistant secretary for children and families. “When we emphasize the educational aspect of child care, we are serving two important public purposes: early childhood education and child care for low-income working families. Through this event and the President's initiatives, we can improve the lives of children and families in every city, state and local community.”

For more information about the event, please go to: http://www.masimax.com/sam2004.  To link to the White House Web site to learn more about Good Start, Grow Smart (GSGS) or explore other GSGS topics, visit the Child Care Bureau’s information clearinghouse at http://nccic.acf.hhs.gov/pubs/goodstart/gsgs-intro.html.  Resources on literacy and early learning guidelines can be found at http://nccic.acf.hhs.gov/pubs/goodstart/selected-res-guide.pdf. Another resource is the U.S. Department of Education’s guide for preschool teachers, entitled Teaching our Youngest. Copies of the guide and other information are available at http://www.ed.gov/teachers/how/early/edpicks.jhtml?src=qc.

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Note: All HHS press releases, fact sheets and other press materials are available at www.hhs.gov/news

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Last Updated: July 29, 2004