Patricia E. Persell

This strategic plan outlines the New York State Early Childhood Advisory Council's roadmap to build a comprehensive and sustainable early childhood system for all young children. It focuses on six core areas: Racial Equity, Family & Community Resources, Workforce Development, Policy, the Function and Structure of the ECAC, and Early Childhood Data. The plan aims to foster an anti-racist, holistic, family and community-centered care continuum, ensuring equitable access to services and resources to support children's health, learning, and overall thriving.

The Council meeting included updates on vaccine guidance for young children, specifically focusing on school immunization requirements and the consistency of New York State policies despite federal changes. The Strong Starts Court Initiative, a specialized problem-solving court approach for families with young children, was reviewed, highlighting its expansion and impact over the last ten years. Additionally, presenters discussed the 2026 Executive Budget investments in universal child care and Pre-K services, P-3 literacy attestation, and attendance resources. The meeting also included a recap of child care provider survey results, the launch of a new technical assistance resource center for school-age programs, and reports on committee work regarding policy recommendations.

The document outlines recommendations for Governor Hochul for State Fiscal Year 2026-2027 planning, aiming to advance the ECAC's vision that every child in New York State will be healthy, learning, and thriving in a supported family. Key priorities include developing infrastructure for the early care and education workforce, expanding family-centered early childhood developmental screening initiatives, and strengthening New York's Early Intervention Program for children aged birth to three years.

The meeting included several key updates and discussions across various initiatives. Topics covered the Preschool Development Grant Birth-5 updates, including the CCF and Cornell Unique Child Identifier Feasibility Study, which explores implementing a statewide unique identifier for children ages 0-5 to enable better data linkage and coordination of services. Updates were also provided on the NYS County Data Book 2026, focusing on its key areas like birth-to-five outcomes and family engagement. Furthermore, there were updates on the Child Care Assistance Program (CCAP) Gateway RFP, progress on the Impact Project defining quality child care, the Empire State Child Care Share Pilot Program, and the Child Care Construction Capital Funding Program (4CFP). Federal updates were also presented, detailing ECAC law highlights and recent actions impacting children regarding affordability, healthcare, and census readiness. Finally, the Office of Early Learning provided updates on UPK initiatives, regulations, and the State Performance Plan/Annual Performance Report for IDEA, including specific indicator results for Preschool Inclusion and Timely Evaluations.

This document presents the 2023 Needs Assessment for the New York State Head Start Collaboration Project, conducted in accordance with the Head Start Act. It gathers insights from Head Start and Early Head Start programs across ten national priority areas: Health care, Early childhood systems development & education, School transitions & alignment with K-12, Services for children with disabilities, Professional development, Child care, Services for children experiencing homelessness, Welfare/child welfare, Family literacy, and Community services. The assessment identifies program strengths and challenges, which then inform a Strategic Plan outlining action steps for the Head Start Collaboration Office to support programs and address identified areas for improvement over the next three years.