MOAEYC PUBLIC POLICY PLATFORM & AGENDA
Approved June 2019
A. Early Education Programs and Services: (Quality, Availability, Accessibility, and Affordability)
MOAEYC supports:
1. Screening, assessment, and curriculum that is designed to address the needs and strengths of each child, including children with special needs and children from diverse cultural and linguistic backgrounds, and is founded on knowledge of development, birth through age eight, as outlined by NAEYC.
2. Quality rating and improvement systems focused on ensuring that children attend high- quality early childhood education .
3. A well-educated, well-compensated, socially and culturally diverse pool of early childhood educators included in every early childhood setting.
4. Increased government and business investment in early childhood education so that every family has access to affordable high quality early childhood services.
5. Inclusion of children with special needs in integrated settings, with appropriate training, support, and resources available to staff.
6. Efforts to inform families, as well as the general public, about the necessity and importance of child development and developmentally appropriate programs as defined by NAEYC.
7. Provision of a mixed delivery system, using a variety of facilities (including public schools, homes, and centers ) for early childhood services, including before and after school care, and infant, toddler, and family home visitation and support programs
8. Efforts to strengthen leadership and advocacy skills and actions related to increasing access to high-quality developmentally appropriate early childhood education for all children.
9. Accountability structures, resources, and support systems that reduce the impact of structural barriers such as institutional racism, sexism, classism, elitism, and bias on services provided to families and children.
B. Health, Safety, and Nutrition: (Prevention, Protection, Preservation of Children)
MOAEYC supports:
1. Sufficient funding for programs to implement the requirements for health, safety, and quality, with support for the improvement of lower quality programs.
2. Accessible and affordable Maternal and Child Health services for all mothers and children, including proper prenatal and postnatal care essential to the healthy development of children.
3. Accessible and affordable health and wellness services for all families.
4. Laws, policies, and programs that reduce the incidence of child abuse and neglect, assure victims have access to adequate care, protection, and treatment; and provide children with a permanent, nurturing family in which to grow.
5. Policies that promote children’s social and emotional and behavioral health, with the goal of eliminating the use of suspension and expulsion in early childhood education.
C. Staff Recruitment and Retention:(Incentives for Recruiting and Retaining Personnel)
MOAEYC supports:
1. The use of state funds to support training and professional development, alongside methods such as wage supplements and tax credits, to address compensation parity and keep educators in the field once they have received additional training and education.
2. The provision of economic incentives such as grants, low interest student loans, forgiveness of loans, increased compensation, and personnel benefits for professionals working in early childhood settings.
3. Accountability structures, resources, and support systems that reduce the impact of structural barriers such as institutional racism, sexism, classism, elitism, and bias in order to increase diversity, equity, and inclusion in the early childhood workforce.
D. Staff Higher Education
MOAEYC supports:
1. The development of integrated, coordinated, and articulated early childhood professional development systems, according to NAEYC’s standards for professional preparation.
2. The use of the Missouri Early Childhood Director’s Credential as part of the coordinated professional preparation pathway.
Revised June 2019