Congressman David Price speaks on early childhood and education issues

From What’s New for Chatham Kids, a blog by the Chatham County Partnership for Children:

Congressman David Price speaks out on early childhood and education issues.

What can be done to make affordable housing for families a priority?

As a member of the Appropriations subcommittee on Transportation Housing and Urban Development, I have supported a broad range of initiatives designed to help families secure affordable housing. In particular the HOPE VI program has been a success in our area, helping develop affordable housing communities that foster civic engagement, safety and in some cases, job training. I would look to continue my long support for these programs in a new Congress.

I also believe more can and should be done to combat the housing foreclosure crisis. Although there are a number of initiatives Congress enacted and the Obama Administration instituted to try and prevent mortgage foreclosures, I supported additional, more aggressive measures to keep people in their homes. For example, during debate of the Wall Street Reform bill, I supported a provision that would have allowed bankruptcy judges to alter the terms of mortgages for homeowners facing foreclosure. Although I believe this measure would have helped stave off many more foreclosures, it was not included in the final bill. I also support strong actions taken by the Justice Department and state Attorneys General to investigate possible malfeasance on the part of lenders who were all too eager to initiate foreclosures.

What should be done to ensure access to food?
I believe we have an obligation to ensure that children in America are well-nourished and do not go hungry. During the height of the economic recession, I voted for the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act. The Recovery Act provided an additional $80 per month to families of four participating in the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program.

I have also supported the Child and Adult Care Food Program, which provides meals to young children in low-income areas enrolled in day care programs. And, I have supported the Department of Agriculture’s National School Lunch Program, which ensures school-age students receive the nourishment the need to learn in the classroom. The Recovery Act included $100 million for school districts to improve their food service equipment allowing them to provide food to children more efficiently.

There are stark differences between my opponent and me on this issue. He favors eliminating the Department of Agriculture and abolishing this important program. I will continue to fight for resources that help combat hunger in America, especially among children.

How can access to and awareness of resources be increased?
My congressional office staff and I are always ready to help constituents access resources that are available to them through federal agencies. Your members and voters should not hesitate to contact any of my district-based offices if they have questions about securing services through a federal agency, or encounter difficulties navigating the application process.

What can be done to ensure access to quality early care and education for children from birth to five?
I believe the Women, Infants and Children (WIC) program plays an important role in ensuring both access to health care and nutrition education. I voted to provide the WIC programs with an additional $99 million in funding as a part of the American Recovery and Reinvestment. This investment will allow the program to serve more women from early pregnancy until their children turn five.

The health insurance reform law takes significant steps to ensure access to early health care for children. Reform legislation has already barred insurance companies from denying access to coverage for children with pre-existing conditions. Those same protections will be phased in over the next few years for adults.

I am also an advocate for Head Start. It is a critical investment in child development and early education for children from low-income families, and it provides health and nutrition services. Members of North Carolina’s model Smart Start program have much to be proud of for their work in this policy area. North Carolina’s program will be a valuable resource as Congress considers legislation to improve Head Start.

I believe these are all appropriate responses to the pressing problem of access to care and proper nutrition for children from low income families. Congress is likely to take up reauthorization of several major pieces of legislation in this policy area in the next session. I would welcome input from activists on legislative solutions that address the needs of communities in the Fourth Congressional District.

How should standards for child care quality be raised?
This is a policy area where I have sponsored legislation that leverages the unique strengths of both the private sector and legislative action. I am a co-sponsor of the Right Start Child Act and Education Act (H.R. 460) which would increase the tax credit for employers establishing workplace childcare facilities, increase the childcare tax credit for parents to encourage greater use of quality childcare services, and provide incentives for students to earn childcare-related degrees. Workplace childcare facilities keep children close to their parents, giving the entire family more piece of mind. And incentives encouraging more students to become qualified childcare providers should lead to more qualified and professional childcare across the board.

I am also a co-sponsor of the Child Care Facilities Financing Act, which would help lower-income communities meet capital needs for early education programs across the country.

In addition, The American Recovery and Reinvestment Act included a $2 billion investment in the Child Care Development Fund, which will help make significant progress toward raising child care quality. I voted to allow states to use this funding to meet health and safety needs, train childcare providers and hire specialists that work with younger children. With other programs the total federal investment in child care programs in North Carolina is more than $67 million, reflecting a renewed commitment to these programs under Democratic leadership.

These votes should indicate that I believe partnership across many levels of government and between many institutions can prove fertile ground for efforts to improve both childcare standards and quality.

 What investments should be made in teachers?
As a former educator, raising teacher quality by increasing standards and implementing programs to retain the best teachers has been a focus of my work in Congress. Good teachers are extremely valuable to our young people, our communities and our country.

I am the author of Keep Teachers Teaching Act (H.R. 1161), which would support innovative ways to improve teacher quality and retain teachers that consistently meet academic targets. Nearly one third of teachers leave the profession within five years, creating high-turnover rates and constant challenges for local school districts in need of qualified teachers. We simply must fix this problem.

I also supported the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act which including funding to help states improve teacher quality and provided competitive grants to provide performance-based pay to teachers and principals who close achievement gaps in underperforming schools. The Recovery Act also created the Race to the Top Grant program. Earlier this year North Carolina was awarded nearly $400 million in Race to The Top funding, which will help the state implement significant education reforms and improve the effectiveness of teachers.

Policy makers have taken steps to advance the goal of securing and retaining the best teachers, but the work is certainly not done.

What support should be offered to new parents and parents of young children?
No child should go to school hungry and unable to focus on learning. No parent should be bereft of information on how to care for a child. And no child care facility should offer low-quality care, or have unqualified individuals caring for children. I suspect we can all agree that none of these things should happen.

I believe that educating our children is a moral imperative. In Congress, I have worked to expand access to education and give children the support they need to learn. I’ve voted to expand school lunch programs that might be the only balanced meal a child receives all day.

In my view, federal policy and state policy can both play a role meeting the needs of parents and young children. Policies that harness the power of incentives often produce win-win situations for children and childcare providers. As a senior member of the Appropriations committee, I will continue to fight for the resources we need to educate our children and ensure they have a chance to live out their dreams.

What should be done to increase knowledge about how children develop?
We are fortunate that our local universities have strong child education and development programs. These research and education programs serve as laboratories in child development studies, and in my position on the Appropriations Committee, I have been a strong supporter of university-based research programs. I believe they can play a role in helping policy makers understand how children develop and form better policies. This is in stark opposition to my opponent who believes there is no role for federal investments in university based research.

As a parent of two children with differing test-taking aptitudes, I share concerns with some of our current testing and result measurement. Tests can be imperfect instruments for measuring learning, and there is a danger that instructors will “teach to the test” in order to show the needed aggregate proficiency rate. While we have made some advances in test design, we need to work closely to ensure that testing does not distort or dominate the approach of teachers, researchers and policymakers. Children, researches and policy makers are best served by an approach that takes a holistic approach to measuring child development.

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