2013 Child Care Aware® of America Policy Symposium

Register Now!

Policy Symposium

April 10-13, 2013

Hyatt Regency Washington on Capitol Hill
Washington, D.C.

CLICK HERE for the Complete 2013 Program

Learn more about our presenters here.

Child Care Aware® of America’s Policy Symposium is the nation’s premiere conference addressing issues affecting local, state and federal public policy for children in child care.

Highlights include:

WEDNESDAY

Opening Plenary Session: Parents Driving Policy Changes from State Capitols to Congress. Parents, as consumers of child care, are the experts who can lead campaigns for change, connecting what they experience with policies that need reform. Join Parents Magazine Deputy Editor Diane Debrovner as she discusses reader response to the publication’s feature article on the need for affordable, quality child care. Child Care Aware® of America’s Executive Director, Lynette M. Fraga, Ph.D., will introduce parent leaders who will tell their child care stories and connect them with our public policy agenda.

Dive Deeper into Child Care Aware® of America's Public Policy Agenda (concurrent sessions)

• Connecting Families with Services and Building Parent Leaders through Family Engagement. The Child Care and Development Block Grant (CCDBG) requires consumer education and parent choice. There’s discussion on Capitol Hill about improving access to quality child care. How do you reach families to engage their voices in your advocacy? What are the best ways to organize, motivate and grow parent networks to strengthen the quality of care? This elite panel will share their successful family engagement models. Go home with new ideas and strategies that will let staff on Capitol Hill know that consumer education is critical to ensure that children are in quality child care settings.

• Equipping a Quality Child Care Workforce. The quality of the child care workforce is directly related to the quality of child care. Both the Administration and Congress are calling for accountability for quality initiatives and the expenditure of Child Care and Development Block Grant (CCDBG) quality dollars. What challenges does the CCR&R field face? What are the trends throughout the country? Where do we go next? Join this panel to hear from experts about models at work to improve professional development and technical assistance in support of continuous quality improvement.

• Preparing for Emergencies and Disasters. Children should not be an afterthought during emergencies. This session will explore which policies need to be strengthened as part of the Child Care and Development Block Grant (CCDBG) or FEMA disaster assistance to help ensure child care programs are prepared for all types of disasters. Officials from the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) and the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) will discuss available resources for planning and recovery. Hear lessons learned from those who have experienced disasters in their community and gain a better understanding of the policies in place, and those that are needed.  

JUST ADDED!   Luncheon Keynote

George Sheldon, Acting Assistant Secretary for the Administration for Children and Families, U.S. Department of Health and Human Services

Afternoon Sessions

Congressional Panel. House and Senate staff and members of the Administration will discuss the budget, issues on the agenda for reauthorization and take questions from participants.

Public Policy Agenda. Child Care Aware® of America’s Public Policy Committee will present the 2013-2014 Public Policy Agenda. Members will talk about the work of the committee, the process in drafting the policy agenda, and highlight key areas of interest.

State Caucuses. State delegations will meet to strategize for Day on the Hill.

THURSDAY

Fact vs. Fiction: State Pre-K and Head Start -- Challenges Ahead. This session will engage participants in reviewing findings from state pre-k and Head Start evaluations, what both opponents and proponents are saying about those studies, and offer an opportunity to ask questions of the experts.
Engage with the experts to better differentiate fact from fiction and help shape the discussion on the Hill.

Day on the Hill provides an opportunity for attendees to schedule appointments and meet with U.S. Senators, Representatives and staff to help inform them of the importance of quality, safe, affordable child care. In addition, we will offer action steps for follow up throughout the year

NEW! Health Aware, part of the 2013 Child Care Aware® of America Policy Symposium, will bring regional child care professionals and wellness experts together to  develop high-quality nutrition and physical activity programs for young children. Health Aware features two trainings led by Dr. Linda Carson, founder and CEO of Choosy Kids, LLC, a company devoted to developing healthy preferences early in life. Learn more and register here.

Q&A with the Office of Child Care. This is a unique opportunity to have a dialog with Shannon Rudisill, Director, Office of Child Care, U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, Administration for Children and Families (ACF). Bring your thought-provoking questions to stimulate discussions regarding child care across the country.

Head Start Recompetition – Opportunities for CCR&Rs. Join the discussion with Yvette Sanchez Fuentes, Director, Office of Head Start, U.S. Department of Health and Human Services.

FRIDAY

Effectively Advocating for Quality Child Care Outside the ECE Community. Bill Millett, President of Scope View Strategic Advantage, will lead a plenary session to get participants thinking creatively about reaching target audiences. Millett’s session will be followed by breakout groups, each taking what was learned in the plenary and applying it to a real-life solution. The morning will conclude with your very own “make and take” strategies you will use to promote your child care message(s) when you go home.

Thought Forum moved from Saturday! This year’s Thought Forum will challenge participants to examine alternative options to better finance an affordable, quality child care system.  As long as families depend on annual appropriations from Congress and the states to finance child care, progress toward safe, quality child care will remain an elusive goal. Be part of a new paradigm of thinking – a Thought Forum to challenge us all. Panelists include Louise Stoney (Alliance for Early Childhood Finance), Geoff Nagle (Tulane University), Jennifer Landrum (Colorado Children's Campaign) and Brittany Birken (CEO of Florida Children’s Services Council).

SATURDAY

BONUS! Fund Development Seminar: Taking the Fear Out of Fundraising. Fundraising is more than dialing for dollars. Successful fundraising requires preparation, perseverance and skill. Join Child Care Aware® of America and The Foundation Center, the leading source of information about philanthropy worldwide, for a half-day workshop on the basics of fund development. Learn how to develop a fundraising strategy, determine which foundations, corporations and other types of funders to consider, and perfect your initial approach and follow-up. Each participant will receive a 24-hour access pass to the Foundation Directory Online Professional after the workshop, as well as a sample proposal and intro script, resource list, talking points outline, presentation slides and other support materials. The seminar is FREE for Symposium registrants. ..    ..     

To register for Symposium 2013, click here