CCDF Plan PTA Comments 2010

November 23, 2010
Mr. Robert Sargis
Reports Clearance Officer
Administration for Children and Families
Department of Health and Human Services
Office of Administration, Office of Information Services
370 L’Enfant Promenade, S.W.
Washington, DC 20447
Docket Number: 2012–2013 (ACF–118), Child Care and Development Fund Plan
Attention: Comments from the National Parent Teacher Association (NPTA)
Dear Mr. Sargis:
As the nation’s largest, volunteer child advocacy association, the National Parent Teacher
Association (National PTA) has had a significant impact on improving the education and wellbeing of America’s children for 114 years. During this time, National PTA championed the
efforts to defeat polio, led the campaign for child immunizations, supported school
desegregation, ensured school children had hot school lunches, and worked to improve the
nation’s juvenile justice system. Currently with over 5 million members and 24,000 local units,
National PTA continues to be a powerful voice for all children by developing meaningful family
engagement programs and policies that will improve student achievement.
The evidence has become increasingly clear-if we want to prepare our nation’s children for
success in the competitive 21st-century economy, education must begin long before they enter
school. Providing effective, targeted supports and interventions to children and parents beginning
at birth will improve a number of outcomes throughout their lives, including: improved
graduation rates, increased employment and earnings, and reduced likelihood of arrest and
incarceration.i Family engagement in education is also cost effective; it can raise student

academic achievement so substantially that schools would need to increase spending by more
than $1000 per pupil to gain the same results.ii
The National PTA appreciates the opportunity to submit comments the Child Care and
Development Fund Plan. NPTA will respectfully address the specific question that specifically
impacts PTA’s mission and public policy work. We offer our recommendations to assist the
Department in leveraging systemic family engagement to achieve positive outcomes.
Response to Question A (Whether the proposed collection of information is necessary for the
proper performance of the functions of the agency, including whether the information shall have
practical utility):
1) Recommendation: The National PTA is in strong support of the Department’s commitment
to reaching out to families to inform them of the availability of grants and assist them with the
application process. In addition, we recommend that families are engaged in the planning process
for grants administration and data collection so they can provide direct input and feedback about
how to best meet the needs of local families.
Rationale: A recent study by the University of Chicago identifies family engagement as one of
the five “key ingredients” of school improvement, as important as teacher capacity and
curriculum alignment.iii Families play a critical role in improving literacy, by supporting learning
at home and reinforcing standards outside of the classroom. Family engagement would facilitate
the development, implementation, and evaluation of best practices in the field and encourage
collaboration between nonprofits and LEAs to take promising practices to scale.
2) Recommendation: Include community based organizations as a way for parents to apply for
CCDF services under 2.1.2.
Rationale: Partnering with community-based organizations to help parents apply for CCDF
and/or related services is a way to reach families in underserved populations, specifically lowincome families or parents with children who are limited-English proficient who may not have
the access, understanding, or trust to apply independently.

Thank you for the opportunity to provide input on the Child Care and Development Fund. Please
contact Elizabeth Rorick, Acting Director of Government Affairs at erorick@pta.org or (703)
518-1200 Ext 3326 if you have any additional questions that may need to be addressed.
Sincerely,

Charles J. “Chuck” Saylors
National PTA President
i

Lawrence J., J.M. Schweinhart, Z. Xiang, W. S. Barnett, C.R. Belfield, and M. Nores. Lifetime effects: The High/Scope Perry Preschool study
through age 40. Ypsilanti: High/Scope Press, 2005.
ii
Houtenville, A. and Conway, K. (2008). Parental Effort, School Resources, and Student Achievement. Journal of Human Resources, XLIII, 2.
Pp-437-53.
iii
Anthony S. Bryk and others, Organizing Schools for Improvement: Lessons from Chicago, (University of Chicago Press: Chicago, 2010), p.p.
46 & 83.