One Voice

Do you know how a bill becomes a law? I sure didn't. Besides the School House Rock video, I never paid much attention. Until recently, I never really cared.

I never thought that I could make a difference in anything. I was one of those people who thought, it wasn't even important to vote, because my one vote wouldn't make a difference. Because of this ignorance, I missed out on a lot of education, a lot of opportunities, and so many different times, I could have made a difference. In September, I had an eye opening experience, and I have learned so much in the last few months. I do have a voice, my thoughts and ideas DO matter, and I CAN make a difference. I just didn't know how. Until now.

During one of the first Family Nights at my daughters' Head Start program, they elected a Policy Council Representative. Before going to the meeting, I had thought about volunteering to do it. I have spent the last 3 years being involved in my oldest daughter's school activities. She's now in 2nd grade, I'm the Secretary of our version of the PTA, I've been a room parent for her class, coached her basketball team and just have been very active. So I thought, this might be a new adventure, to be more involved in my middle child's education. My significant other, kind of knew I was just itching to get involved, so when they asked for nominations at the meeting, he quickly nominated me. I had NO idea what I was getting myself in to, nor did I know the effect it would have on my life over the next couple of months. About a month later, I went to my very first Policy Council meeting. It was a full day session, a lot of training, good food, and so much information. I became excited about the things to come for the year, and a little overwhelmed. During that session, we learned of a program called the Parent Ambassadors.

The WSA Parent Ambassador Program was made possible from a generous grant from the Peppercorn foundation. The parents selected for this program will participate in a yearlong parent advocacy program. They receive training on legislative advocacy and grassroots organizing, and are responsible for training parents in their local programs and participating in organizing WSA advocacy campaigns.

I thought this might even be more exciting and interesting, so just for kicks, I went home, filled out the application, wrote my cover letter, and applied to the program. I soon learned that I was one of only 20 parents from the state of Washington, to be selected to be a Parent Ambassador. Once again, I had no idea what I was getting myself into, but it was something new, and a way to be involved, and make a difference somehow. I had no idea, the things these two programs would bring me. The knowledge, and information I've learned already, only a month in to the program, has been overwhelming, but in a completely positive way. I have learned that my ONE voice can make a difference.

Right now, our state is in a short session of the Legislature. They are reviewing and passing or failing, over 2000 bills for our state. Two of these bills are extremely close to home for me, and as part of the Parent Ambassador Program, I have learned how to take it to the next level, and actually have my voice be heard on these subjects. House Bill 3141 is extremely important to me. It is changing the way the state's Working Connections Program works. Working Connections is the childcare subsidy program offered to our states' low income and working poor to help offset the costs of childcare. Without this program, I would not be able to afford daycare, so I can go to work.

When I learned of the Governors budget proposal, and the massive cuts to this program, I immediately wanted to know how to get involved. One day, I got an email from the Ambassador program leaders telling us that they needed someone to testify on behalf of this bill. I responded saying that I was interested. I spent about 3 days preparing my testimony. Never knowing that such a thing was possible, I really had no idea what I was getting myself in to. I decided to go early, to see how other people were doing it, and watch and learn. Before even attending the first Parent Ambassador training, I was scheduled to testify to the House Ways & Means Committee on why this bill was important to me. This was a huge step for me. After attending two other committee hearings that day, the day was closing in, and it was getting closer to my turn. I was nervous, I had butterflies in my stomach, my palms were sweaty, and I just kept reading my testimony over and over to myself. The more we sat and waited for the hearing to start, the room was filling up. There were no seats by the time it started, it was standing room only, and there was virtually no room for standing either! Because this bill fell in to the Health and Human Services category, there were MANY people who wanted to testify. There were other bills being heard about home health care, and youth at risk programs, just to name a few. These programs all have supporters who wanted to be heard, and no cuts made to their programs. They are all very important programs. Because of the overwhelming amount of people, the Madam Chairman, made an announcement that all testimony would have to be under a minute.

I immediately started freaking out internally. A minute? What could I say in a minute? I started reading my written testimony over and over, trying to memorize it, and pick out the most important pieces to be heard. Soon it came my turn, and I sat in the chair in front of about 15 Representatives to share a story about myself. I did it. I told why the program was important to me, how I strive to be a good example to my children, to get up and go to work, but if I didn't have that subsidy, I would be forced out of the workforce. This is not something I want. I shared some details in that 60 seconds that felt like a lifetime, and more than likely, I could have read my testimony in close to that minute, but such is life, and at least I did it! Afterwards, Representative Kagi, one of the leaders in Early Education Bills and Laws, came out in to the hall way to ask me more about my story!! She wanted to know how this proposed cut would affect MY LIFE! It was amazing! I shared some more details with her, and with the help of Katy Warren, was able to give her statistics and numbers, but yet, a more "real person" approach by hearing how it would affect a real person. Not just a number!

Before getting involved in Policy Council and Parent Ambassadors, I never in a million years would have thought, that I would be asked to go the state capital to have my voice be heard. Never would I have made time to meet with my legislators, to tell MY story! A story, that is like so many others across the nation. I am not a statistic, but I am a number. And a number with a voice makes a powerful difference!

Posted by April Ritter, Guest Blogger

Updated by Katy - April did a great job in her testimony, and it's available online to listen to - Click here and move the time bar to 1:15:48.

Success Story

My name is April, and this is one of my success stories.

My oldest daughter went through the Head Start program 5 years ago. Being my first child, I wasn't really sure how the program worked, other than my daughter got on the bus 4 days a week, went to school for a few hours and came home. We would attend the family nights, the parent meetings, and some parenting classes, but other than that, I wasn't aware of the other many ways I could be involved. We moved away halfway through the year, out of state, and was unable to find preschool for my daughter. Our financial situation had changed drastically, and we were overqualified for other Head Start programs, but we still didn't have the money to afford to pay for private pay preschool. So she stayed home where I worked with her. Luckily, my oldest daughter doesn't have a problem with learning, is very naturally smart, and things come easy to her. So when she started kindergarten, she was pretty much ready. There is a very different story for my 2^nd daughter Lauryn.

When Lauryn reached about a year old, she still wasn't talking much. She was not saying many words, but she talked a great deal. NO ONE could understand her but me. Half the time her own dad couldn't understand her. We spent many hours trying to decipher and translate what she was saying to family members. She mumbled a lot, and her words were garbled. My oldest daughter was speaking in full sentences by the time she was 1, so this was a big difference for me. I know people always tell you not to compare your children, but this was very hard to do. It was such a drastic difference, that I started to wonder if something was wrong. I took Lauryn to the doctor, and during her well child exams, I always brought up to her provider that I was concerned about her speech. Many times, my oldest daughter was with me, and when the provider would ask Lauryn a question, Ashley (the oldest) would always answer for her. The provider kept chalking it up to the oldest talking for her, and assured me it was just a normal part of sibling interaction. Because Ashley spoke for her, the provider just assured me this is why Lauryn wasn't talking. Two years went by, and this was ALWAYS a concern for me. I always brought it up, and was always given the same answer - it was because her sister spoke for her. Around this time, I enrolled Lauryn in the ECEAP program at our local school. She had turned 3 and was eligible. She went through the preschool screening, and during part of that, was interviewed by the Speech Therapist. The Therapist noticed a delay in her, and noticed that she had a hard time pronouncing certain syllables. This was put in her file, and Lauryn started school in the fall of 2007.

This video was taken of Lauryn around the time she started preschool for the first time at age 3. She is singing a song, and out of all the words, I can only identify a few.

Her teachers paid attention to the mumbling and the inattention she had. Because I had other people observing her besides family, they were noticing a delay in speech as well. Her sister wasn't around during preschool time, so it was much easier to see there was a problem. Lauryn talked A LOT but nobody could understand her. I could, but it was because I was at home with her, and learned her language. The teachers brought to my attention their concerns, and I told them I had thought something wasn't right for a long time. The ECEAP program provided a meeting with a Speech Therapist and we proceeded with an evaluation and an IEP. Lauryn was referred to a hearing specialist as a precautionary step. My doctor had NEVER ordered a referral or an evaluation. I was laughed at when I brought my concerns to them.

Through the referral from the ECEAP speech therapist, we discovered at a hearing test, that Lauryn was 75% deaf in one ear, and 25% in the other!! My daughter was almost 4 years old by the time this was discovered! The specialist explained that the reason Lauryn wasn't speaking correctly was because she had a massive amount of fluid on her ears, and suffered from Estachian Tube Dysfunction, a genetic problem that causes the tubes to not grow properly and drain fluid from the ears. She was not speaking correctly because to her, everyone sounded like they were underwater. She was just relaying it back the way she heard it. Mumbled. The doctors assured me it was an easy fix. Lauryn underwent surgery, and had tubes placed in her ears. She returned back to school, I informed the ECEAP staff what we had discovered and they re-evaluated Lauryn's IEP to include Speech Therapy for at least 20 minutes a week, if not more. She continued with her Speech Therapy, and we saw great strides in her speech, and her education.

In the Fall of 2009, our situation changed once again. I was no longer working, and this made a huge difference in where my child would attend preschool. During the summer of 2009, I walked in to our local Head Start to apply for a position. This was the same Head Start my oldest daughter attended, so I was familiar with the staff. Many of the same teachers and faces, I had dealt with 3 years prior. I inquired about the waiting list, because of missing the registration deadlines I knew there had to be one. I was told that I could put Lauryn on the waiting list, but through a conversation, I learned that were completely full except for one spot they were holding for a student with a disability, or IEP. When I let the staff know that my child already had an IEP in place, she was placed in the last spot for that classroom. This was about 2 weeks before classes were to start. It was a complete godsend, and a perfect example of being in the right place at the right time that she was blessed with this slot in the Elma Head Start program. I was so excited for her to attend! Lauryn continued with her Speech Therapy, and the combination of that therapy, and getting her hearing finally under control, today, you could probably not even tell that she once had a Speech Delay. She can write her name, knows all of her ABC's and 123's, and is completely ready for Kindergarten this Fall. Lauryn's IEP was re-evaluated and with assistance from our home school Speech Therapist, it was determined that an IEP was no longer a necessity for her, and that she is right on target for her benchmarks.

If it were not for the help I received in diagnosing my daughter with a disability, I fear she would have started school unable to hear, afraid of learning, with people not being able to understand her. It would have probably taken another 3 years longer than it did, and that was already 3 years too long. Instead of starting Kindergarten with a disability or a delay, we were able to fix the problem before she became another statistic. We were able to save her school district the financial commitment it would have taken from their Special Ed department after she started school this fall.

Lauryn is now a completely well adjusted, smart, TALKATIVE, little girl, who is ready to start Kindergarten in the fall of 2010 with no barriers to her education. She can hear and now she can speak, and is ready to start learning even more.

This is Lauryn singing a song today, at age 5.

I have learned that with the right tools in hand, I could be the voice for my daughter, I had known all along that something wasn't right with her. The staff at all of the centers Lauryn attended, listened to me, and helped me figure out how to take action. With the tools I received from being a parent in the Head Start program, I learned to not doubt myself and my instincts. The education and information I have received as a parent in this program, have increased my knowledge tenfold, of simple everyday life things. I have learned how to be a better mother, a more knowledgeable adult, and most importantly an involved parent in my children's lives.

This is just one of the success stories from Washington State Head Start and ECEAP programs.

What's yours?