Tribes and States Working Together: A Guide to Tribal-State Child Care Coordination
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Good Start, Grow Smart: A Catalyst for Coordination
| "We're all working for the children. Many of our children go off-reservation to the public schools and it's important that we collaborate with the State more and more as they develop their guidelines for early learning. We're not just separate anymore." |
Since the Bush Administration introduced the Good Start, Grow Smart (GSGS) Early Learning Initiative in 2002, the number of Tribal and State Child Care Administrators who have begun to dialogue about early learning and literacy has grown significantly. The GSGS Early Learning Initiative, which supports the school readiness of young children, focuses on strengthening Head Start, partnering with the States to improve early learning, and providing parents, teachers and caregivers with information on early learning. It focuses on strengthening Head Start, partnering with the States to improve early learning, and providing parents, teachers and caregivers with information on early learning. From the time GSGS was first introduced, the Child Care Bureau has been working with the States to address three key areas:
- Development of voluntary Early Learning Guidelines;
- Creation of statewide professional development plans; and
- Coordination of State early childhood programs and funding streams.
The Child Care Bureau has intentionally worked closely with the Tribes in a variety of venues to ensure there is optimal Tribal input on how the Good Start, Grow Smart Early Learning Initiative can support Tribal early childhood goals—especially in the areas of culture and language. At annual conferences, cluster trainings, and focus sessions the overriding recommendation of Tribal CCDF Administrators is that States should be encouraged to invite the involvement of Tribes in the development and revisions of Early Learning Guidelines and professional development plans.
The Child Care Bureau has communicated the collaboration message in a number of ways to the State CCDF Administrators. Most importantly, States received a copy of the booklet A Tribal Guide to the Good Start, Grow Smart Early Learning Initiative with an accompanying message from the Child Care Bureau encouraging State-Tribal collaboration. This booklet—which encourages Tribal and State coordination around the development of State Early Learning Guidelines—was designed to assist Tribal CCDF grantees in gaining a better understanding of President Bush’s plan to strengthen early care and education and provide Tribes with the knowledge needed to become active participants in this process.
Although Tribes are not required to address the GSGS priorities in their CCDF plans at this time, many are deciding to use the States’ voluntary early learning guidelines as a resource to improve their own literacy and early childhood programs. And, some States have enhanced their guidelines to include Native culture and language considerations because they have listened to the voices of the Tribal early childhood experts. States have further learned from Tribes around how to integrate and coordinate early care and education programs, since many Tribal communities are far ahead of the States in addressing community-wide collaboration.
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