On February 19, Secretary Hunter spoke at the Washington State Association of Head Start & ECEAP (Early Childhood Education and Assistance Program) Winter Meeting in Olympia. The meeting was attended by ECEAP programs, parents and advocates from across the state ahead of the 2020 Early Learning Advocacy Day on February 20.
Secretary Hunter spoke about what the future of early learning looks like and what DCYF is doing to build a system that connects families to the services and resources they need to be successful. He spoke about the impact ECEAP has on educational gains for children and what we’re working on for the future of the program.
“I’m excited about all of our kids being prepared for school,” he said. “We want to make sure we’re offering high-quality programs everywhere.”
Secretary Hunter spoke to the work underway for ECEAP – Early ECEAP, 2022 entitlement, coordinating monitoring work, evaluating the cost of high-quality ECEAP, trying to get rate increases for challenging children and more – and said that it’s important to think about what the next several years look like. A large part of that is advocacy – he encouraged everyone in the room to speak to their legislators to help them make decisions that ultimately help the children and families in their communities.
“They really do want to hear from you,” he said.
For more information about this event, visit www.wsaheadstarteceap.com.