N.Y. Social Services Law § 483-g: Early childhood advisory council

§ 483-g. Early childhood advisory council. 1. There is hereby

established within the council an early childhood advisory council to

promote a comprehensive and high quality early childhood system. Members

of the early childhood advisory council shall be appointed by the

governor and shall include, but not be limited to, to the maximum extent

possible:

(a) a representative of the office of children and family services;

(b) a representative of the state education department;

(c) a representative of local educational agencies;

(d) a representative of institutions of higher education in the state;

(e) a representative of local providers of early childhood education

and development services;

(f) a representative of head start agencies, including migrant and

seasonal head start programs and Indian head start programs;

(g) the director of the head start collaboration office;

(h) a representative from the department of health;

(i) a representative of the office of temporary and disability

assistance;

(j) a representative of the office of mental health;

(k) a representative of the office for people with developmental

disabilities;

(l) a representative of the empire state development corporation;

(m) a representative of the division of the budget;

(n) at least five representatives of the business community; and

(o) representatives of other entities determined to be relevant by the

governor.

2. The governor shall also designate the two chairpersons to the early

childhood advisory council.

3. The early childhood advisory council shall, in addition to any

responsibilities assigned by the governor:

(a) conduct a periodic statewide needs assessment concerning the

quality and availability of early childhood education and development

programs and services for children from birth to school entry, including

an assessment of the availability of high-quality pre-kindergarten

services for low-income children in the state;

(b) identify opportunities for, and barriers to, collaboration and

coordination among federally funded and state funded child development,

child care, and early childhood education programs and services,

including collaboration and coordination among state agencies

responsible for administering such programs;

(c) develop recommendations for increasing the overall participation

of children in existing federal, state, and local child care and early

childhood education programs, including outreach to underrepresented and

special populations;

(d) develop recommendations regarding the establishment of a unified

data collection system for public early childhood education and

development programs and services throughout the state;

(e) develop recommendations regarding statewide professional

development and career advancement plans for early childhood educators

in the state;

(f) assess the capacity and effectiveness of two-year and four-year

public and private institutions of higher education in the state toward

supporting the development of early childhood educators, including the

extent to which such institutions have in place articulation agreements,

professional development and career advancement plans, and practice or

internships for students to spend time in a head start or

pre-kindergarten program;

(g) develop and implement strategies to engage business and civic

leaders and organizations in early learning planning and advocacy at the

state and local level;

(h) increase business, civic and public awareness of the importance of

early childhood education, including, but not limited to, the

distribution of literature through mail or online, organizing of

meetings and events to promote the cost benefit of investments in

learning and the hosting of an annual economic summit on early childhood

investment;

(i) develop recommendations for increasing public-private investments

in early childhood and strategies for maximizing resources; and

(j) make recommendations for improvements in state early learning

standards and undertake efforts to develop high-quality comprehensive

early learning standards, as appropriate.

4. Members of the early childhood advisory council shall serve on

workgroups tasked with implementing the duties required pursuant to

subdivision three of this section. Such workgroups may be established as

needed, provided however that there shall be a permanent early learning

investment workgroup focused on implementation of, at a minimum, the

duties described in paragraphs (g), (h) and (i) of subdivision three of

this section. Membership of the early learning investment workgroup

shall include, but not be limited to, representatives of the business

community appointed to the council in accordance with paragraph (n) of

subdivision one of this section.

5. The early childhood advisory council shall hold public hearings and

provide an opportunity for public comment on the activities described in

subdivision three of this section.

6. The early childhood advisory council shall submit a statewide

strategic report addressing the activities described in subdivision

three of this section to the director of the head start collaboration

office, the governor, the speaker of the assembly and the temporary

president of the senate. After submission of a statewide strategic

report, the early childhood advisory council shall meet periodically to

review any implementation of the recommendations in such report and any

changes in state and local needs.