Child Care Lasts a Lifetime Forum
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MEMORANDUM
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May 28, 2005
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TO: The Honorable Mayor and City Council Members
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FROM:
Michael C. Van Milligen, City Manager
SUBJECT: Child Care Lasts a Lifetime Campaign
Quality Child Care Forum
Neighborhood Development Specialist Jerelyn O'Connor recommends City Council
approval for the City of Dubuque to be listed as a partner on the Empowerment
proposal being submitted to the Iowa State University for funding and technical
assistance to assist communities in hosting a Quality Child Care Forum.
I concur with the recommendation and respectfully request Mayor and City Council
approval.
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Michael C. Van Milligen
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Attachment
cc: Barry Lindahl, Corporation Counsel
Cindy Steinhauser, Assistant City Manager
Jerelyn O'Connor, Neighborhood Development Specialist
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MEMORANDUM
May 23, 2005
TO:
Michael C. Van Milligen, City Manager
FROM:
Jerelyn O'Connor, Neighborhood Development Spec' _ r
SUBJECT: Child Care Lasts a Lifetime Campaign
Quality Child Care Forum
Iowa State University has funding and technical assistance available to assist
communities in hosting a Quality Child Care Forum. Empowerment is taking the lead
on submitting a proposal which is due June 1. The planning committee met late last
week and is looking for partners to support the Quality Child Care Forum. I have been
asked whether they can list the City of Dubuque as a partner. They are not requesting
financial assistance from the City. Other partners who have committed include
Community Foundation, ISU Extension, Child Care Resource and Referral, VNA, and
Hohnkamp Krueger.
The newly adopted Consolidated Plan for Housing and Community Development
identifies child care services as a high priority need and the City has provided CDBG
funding to support Child Care Resources and Referral (Project Concern) for a number
of years.
I believe it is appropriate that the City of Dubuque partner on this effort. I am requesting
your approval to include the City of Dubuque as a partner.
Background information is attached.
Encl.
Page 1 of 1
Jerelyn O'Connor
From:
To:
Cc:
Sent:
Subject:
"Jane Steele" <janesteele@hotmail.com>
<joconnor@cityofdubuque.org>
<sedward24@aol.com>
Thursday, May 19, 20053:54 PM
Quality Child Care Forum
Today Sherri Edwards called a meeting to discuss a Quality Child Care Forum.
Funds are available from the State for such a Forum. Application is due
by June 1st. This committee is looking for partners to support the Quality
Child Care Forum (not financially). After discussion, we decided that this
is a needed discussion in Dubuque (County) and perhaps the tn-state area.
Whether or not the grant is given, we felt we will go ahead and host such a
meeting. Funds could possibly come from Empowerment's PR budget. Please
advise if the City of Dubuque could be shown as a partner for such a Forum.
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5/2312005
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Child Care Lasts A Lifetime CAMPAIGN
Quality Child Care FORUM
INVITATION TO HOST
We are inviting you, your community, your county, your AAUW branch, your IAFCS
region, and/or your Empowerment Board to consider convening and hosting a forum in
your community sometime in early fall, 2005. We have special grant funding to help
support forums in up to 10 communities.
How can we become involved?
Indicate your interest by completing the RESPONSE FORM and returning it by June 1.
We will provide additional information after that date.
We will be selecting up to 10 communities that meet the following criteria:
a) strong interest in improving the quality of child care in your community/county
b) geographically dispersed across Iowa
c) mix of rural and urban communities
d) willing to invite individuals, representing a diverse set of perspectives,
to a community forum
What is a Forum?
A forum is a "different way oftalking". It is an opportunity to bring together citizens of
the community, to share their own views and listen to diverse perspectives about a
challenging public issue, in this case: quality child care. Through the forum dialogue,
participants seek to increase understanding of a complicated issue and are encouraged to
find areas of common agreement, a process of moving from making individual choices
toward making shared, well informed choices as members of a community ---the kinds of
decision making from which public action results.
The intent of a forum is to present an issue in a nonpartisan way. Forum organizers
present an overview ofthe issue and then several alternative choices for public action. A
moderator invites participants to share their individual stake in the issue, why it is
important to them, and then in a systematic way helps the group identify the
consequences (benefits and drawbacks) of each of the approaches. As participants
deliberate about each of the approaches, the moderator encourages individuals to examine
their basic values and work toward finding common ground as a group. Forums typically
last 2-3 hours.
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For this forum, we have developed a discussion guide that asks the following question,
"What can we do to Ensure Quality Care for all Children?"
Four alternative approaches (draft) are offered for deliberation in this forum:
a) Approach 1: Regulation is Necessary for Quality Care
b) Approach 2: Voluntary Accreditation of Caregivers is Best
c) Approach 3: Parents Provide the Best Care
d) Approach 4: Let Informed Parents Choose Care in a Free Market
What are we expected to do?
1) Identify a site and date for scheduling a forum during the September - October time
frame
2) Convene a small planning/coordinating committee to recruit participants for the forum
(recommend involving Extension, IAFCS, AAUW and/or Empowerment Board
members)
3) Recruit a diverse audience of about 20-25 interested participants (parents,
grandparents, child care providers, business leaders, school personnel, law enforcement,
religious community, city and county government, legislators, etc.)
4) Identify moderator/recorder team (from a list of trained individuals in the state;
Extension staff can help identify)
5) Host forum
6) Summarize discussion/decisions at the forum; Assist with media reporting and follow
up
7) Encourage follow up ACTION
What kind of support is available?
We have funding from the American Association of Family and Consumer Sciences
(AAFCS), and the Helen LeBaron Hilton Fund (from the College of Family and
Consumer Sciences, ISU) to support the carry out of these forums. We will offer $250 to
each of 10 communities to cover expenses such as publicity, mailings for recruitment,
printing, etc. (One ofthe partner groups will need to serve as the coordinating agency-
County Extension, AAUW branch, IAFCS, or Empowerment Board; they will need to
submit receipts for reimbursement up to $250.)
Weare also offering a small honorarium to the moderator/recorder team for each forum.
In addition, we will provide to the ten communities a more detailed timeline, sample
media releases and invitation.