Advocacy
Early Childhood Success: Our Cause, Our Commitment
How Can You Get Involved with the Early Learning Coalition?
Public Policy and Advocacy
As we carry out our mission to lead and support the early learning community, the ELC is the preeminent non-profit organization advocating for high quality early learning in Broward County. The ELC seeks to play a vital role in the development and implementation of well-informed public policy to promote early education that is available and affordable for all the families in our community.
The ELC observes and evaluates the direct impact that public policies have on the families we serve and how institutional changes affect the real problems of the people in our community. We aim to be a vital conduit between policy makers and their constituents through effective public education and advocacy to deliver the best early learning services to our community.
Legislative Changes Impacting Early Learning: House Bill 419
In 2021, there was an early learning bill, House Bill 419, was introduced and signed off by the Governor geared towards strengthening the early learning system and more specifically, VPK”. We're happy to announce this bill has passed. We are still waiting for more information that will come from the State as they start their process to create rules and requirements around these changes. Review a summary of House Bill 419.
How to Get Involved
The ELC engages in public policy and advocacy to raise the awareness of our mission, spotlight the needs and challenges of the child care community, and bring positive attention to the importance of quality in early childhood education.
Our advocacy encompasses a range of activities that inform our child care providers, families being served, as well as state and local leaders on issues impacting the child care community. The ELC also works to increase capacity building, relationship management, forming networks, and leadership development to help further our mission to deliver high quality early learning experiences to young children and their families.
Who does the ELC reach through Policy Advocacy?
- Local City and Town governments: Keeping our 32 municipalities informed of early learning topics and how centers in their areas meet goals and targets.
- State and Local Administrative Agencies: Ensuring that agencies like the Office of Early Learning and Broward County Child Care Licensing hear from our community.
- State Representatives and Senators: Inform our local elected officials as well as statewide leaders on the issues and challenges in early education.
- Federal Representatives and Senators: Help congressional members and leadership understand how their national policy goals will affect Florida's youngest learners.
Your involvement and collaboration with our policy and advocacy will help the ELC of Broward County to ensuring that our all children in our community have access to the best early education initiatives they need to succeed in school and later in life.