[Congressional Record Volume 147, Number 35 (Thursday, March 15, 2001)]
[Senate]
[Pages S2408-S2409]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]

      By Mr. WELLSTONE:
  S. 553. A bill to help establish and enhance early childhood family 
education programs, and for other purposes; to the Committee on Health, 
Education, Labor, and Pensions.
  Mr. WELLSTONE. Mr. President, today I am introducing legislation that 
creates a competitive grant program modeled on one of Minnesota's 
greatest successes in education, the Early Childhood and Family 
Education program. Let me first mention my gratitude to some of the 
finest educators my home state has to offer--Betty Cooke, Lois 
Engstrom, Jackie Anderson, and Don Kramlinger. I would like to also 
thank Ernie Pines for his vision and spirit and former Minnesota State 
Senator Jerry Hughes, whose vision for early childhood education in the 
sixties has led to stronger families today. Of course, I must also 
thank the many early childhood education coordinators, parent 
educators, teachers and paraprofessionals in our small rural 
communities for reaching from within to give parents and their children 
every opportunity to succeed.
  The ECFE program, which has broad bipartisan support in Minnesota, is 
based on the idea that the family provides a child's first and most 
important learning environment, and parents are a child's first and 
most significant teachers. ECFE is a voluntary, center-based, parent-
child education program that is open to all families in a school 
district or locality with children under the age of 5 regardless of 
cost. It provides concurrent or joint classes for parents and children 
that include training in parenting skills and children's social, 
emotional, cognitive and physical development. The classes teach ways 
for parents to foster strong learning environments for their children 
and ways to help prepare children for kindergarten. They provide 
activities geared toward enhancing children's social, emotional, 
cognitive and physical development and school readiness.
  ECFE is not a child care program, but rather offers parents a few 
hours a week to get the support they need to be better parents and 
teachers for their children through discussion groups, play activities 
for kids, parent-child interactive activities, home visits, early 
screening for health and developmental problems and community resource 
referrals.

  The program addresses the need of all communities and has been 
successful in all communities and with all types of families, whether 
it is dealing with the unique needs of immigrant communities, 
communities of color, suburban communities, first time families, single 
parent families, families with members with disabilities, families with 
a history of abuse and families that for whatever reason, want some 
extra help and support as they try to be the best parents that they 
can.
  The program in Minnesota has been extraordinarily successful. It is 
the largest early childhood program in Minnesota and is now offered in 
districts that together encompass 99 percent of the population of 
infants and toddlers in the state. 44 percent of all young children and 
their families participate in the program.
  Four different studies of outcomes of the ECFE program have all 
concluded that ECFE is effective with all types of families. Benefits 
for children include improved social interactions and relationships, 
improved social skills, increased self confidence and self-esteem, and 
improvement in language and communication skills. For parents, ECFE 
increases the ability to know what is important for children's healthy 
growth and development over time, improves their confidence and leads 
to far higher participation in parental involvement activities in 
elementary school.
  A recent study by the Office of Educational Research and Improvement 
at the United States Department of Education has described the 
Minnesota ECFE program as an example of the type of program that can 
provide children and families with ``continuity and [can] ease the 
critical transition to school.''
  The words of parents probably tell the story the best. One parent 
said, ``when my son throws things, I try to keep it in perspective. I 
no longer yell and slap. I relax and do not push him all the time. I've 
learned different ways to discipline.'' Another said, ``Raising a child 
is a wonderful, awesome and sometimes overwhelming experience. It is a 
shame that a job so important is generally without adequate 
preparation. ECFE provides some of that preparation, knowledge and 
support that is vital to being a good parent. It is not a frill, it is 
a necessity.''

  Recently, I had the opportunity to spend a morning at the South 
Washington County School's ECFE program. There I met with a group of 
parents who were committed to being the best parents they could be. I 
met a father who was learning English, a single mother who was learning 
child raising skills from other mothers in the class, and a new 
immigrant from Korea who talked of the isolation she felt before 
meeting other parents in her community. This program was a model as it 
combined Early Childhood Family Education with Adult Basic Education 
giving parents the tools to not only be great parents, but to learn 
English and obtain their GED as well. These parents told me that ECFE 
was teaching them to better parent their children.
  Last year, the Minnesota Early Care and Education Finance Commission, 
a non-partisan Commission dedicated to improving the lives of young 
children in Minnesota, issued a report called ``The Action Plan for 
Early Care and Education in Minnesota.'' That non-partisan Commission, 
led by Don Fraser, the former Mayor of Minneapolis, and Bob Caddy 
issued a challenge to the people of my state when they unequivocally 
concluded that ``without question, the importance of the parent child 
relationship must be asserted as a

[[Page S2409]]

fundamental moral value of our state.'' They asked for a ``new covenant 
between parents and Minnesota.''
  Today I ask for the same between parents and the United States. The 
need is so clearly established. 40 percent of all American children 
enter kindergarten unprepared for school. This is unacceptable. We know 
that children need to be in a stimulating environment to spur the brain 
development that is critical to intelligence. We know the role that 
parents can play in creating that environment. ECFE will help with 
this.
  We have an obligation to do more for children. The whole debate 
around the elementary and secondary education act and our desire to 
close the achievement gap between poor and more affluent students will 
be moot if we do not intervene early. The achievement gap is greatest 
when children start school. If we want children to have an equal start, 
we have to start with our youngest children. ECFE is not the only 
answer, but it is one way to meet this covenant so aptly called for in 
Minnesota, that we have with our parents and our children.
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