Governor Doyle Announces Creation of Advisory Council on Early Childhood Education and Care

MADISON – Governor Jim Doyle this week announced the creation of the Governor’s State Advisory Council on Early Childhood Education and Care. The Council will strive to ensure that all families have access to quality early childhood programs and services.

“I want this state to be a place where our kids can grow up knowing that their highest ambitions are never out of reach,” Governor Doyle said. “As I’ve said many times, the single most important thing we can do today to ensure a strong, successful future for Wisconsin is to invest in our kids early – because what we do now will determine exactly what kind of state Wisconsin will be 10, 20, even 50 years from now.”

The Head Start Reauthorization Act of 2007 requires the creation of a State Early Childhood Advisory Council. The Council will be chaired by Department of Children and Families Secretary Reggie Bicha and State Superintendent of Public Instruction Libby Burmaster. The council will build on the work of the Wisconsin Early Childhood Collaborating Partners (WECCP), the Children’s Trust Fund Board, the Partners for Wisconsin’s Economic Success, and the Governor’s Birth to Three Interagency Coordinating Council.

The Council’s responsibilities include:

• Conduct a periodic statewide needs assessment concerning the quality and availability of early childhood education and development programs;
• 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;
• 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; and
• Develop recommendations regarding statewide professional development and career advancement plans for early childhood educators in the state.

Council members include:

• Therese Ahlers, Wisconsin Alliance for Infant Mental Health
• John Ashley, Wisconsin Association of School Boards
• Mary Bell, WEAC
• Mike Burke, Buffett Early Childhood Foundation
• Dan Burkhalter, WEAC
• Daniel Clancy, Wisconsin Technical College System
• Shelley Cousin, Head Start Agencies
• Linda Davis, Milwaukee School Readiness Philanthropy Group
• Dave Edie, Wisconsin Council on Children and Families
• Delores Gokee-Rindal, Red Cliff Head Start
• Rick Grobschmidt, Department of Public Instruction
• Dan Harris, Department of Children and Families
• Peter Kelly, United Way of Wisconsin
• Laura Klingelhoets, Wisconsin Child Care Administrators Assoc.
• Viluck Kue, Wisconsin United Coalition of Mutual Assistance Associations
• Kia La Bracke, American Academy of Pediatrics
• Linda Leonhart, Head Start State Collaboration Office
• Genniene Lovelace-Michel, Wisconsin Child Care Providers Together/AFSCME
• Lupe Martinez UMOS
• Rick Raemisch, Department of Corrections Secretary
• Kevin Reilly, UW System
• Brooke Roettger, Comprehensive Family Services, Inc.
• Richard Schlimm, Wisconsin Community Action Program Assoc.
• Ruth Schmidt, Wisconsin Early Childhood Association (WECA)
• Mary Ann Snyder, Children’s Trust Fund
• Carolyn Standford Taylor, Department of Public Instruction
• Jon Stellmacher, Thrivent Financial
• Ann Terrell, Milwaukee Public Schools
• KarenTimberlake, Department of Health Services Secretary
• Phong Vang, Hmong American Association of Portage County
• Judge Wall, Juvenile Justice- Milwaukee