Senator Eliot Shapleigh - El Paso, Texas

Public-school preschoolers should be in full-day programs, and children in private childcare or informal settings need more attention from the city, according to advocacy groups that met Friday to discuss child welfare issues.

“We want language in the city charter than makes children a priority,” said Cam Messina, executive director of Voices for Children of San Antonio, which held the 10th annual Congress on Children Friday. He said the city should invest in its youngest residents, namely preschool students who are cared for outside of public schools or Head Start.

Also at the event, a group of Texas business leaders and an early-childhood advocacy group said they are partnering to push the Legislature to provide full-day public preschool to school districts that agree to class-size limits.

Kara Johnson, executive director of the Texas Early Childhood Education Coalition, said full-day preschool was the group's “No. 1” legislative priority, but she added, “if a school district wants to access the dollars, they'll have to have class-size limits.”

She said the coalition was partnering with Raise Your Hand Texas, a group of business leaders and others, to call for the expansion to full-day preschool.

“There is virtually no responsible disagreement that children who have the advantage of attending full-day pre-kindergarten and full-day kindergarten are better prepared than those who have not,” said Bill Ratliff, chairman of Raise Your Hand and a former lieutenant governor.

Nearly half of Texas' 4-year-olds participate in state-funded preschool, and funding for the state program should increase during the second year of the two-year budget, according to a report released this week by Washington-based advocacy group Pre-K Now.

But Texas' program is open only to specific students — most are from poor families — and it is one of the only states with no limits on class size.

“This is a very dirty secret in the state of Texas,” Johnson said.

Most Texas public preschool programs are half-day. The Congress on Children advocates for full-day, public pre-kindergarten that is open to all students who want to attend.

The event was held by Voices for Children of San Antonio, which claims increased city funding to train early-childhood teachers and the fluoridation of San Antonio's drinking water among its past victories. The group aims to empower citizens to take a more active role in issues that affect children.

“What this is really all about is creating a movement to make children the kind of priority that they need to be,” said Messina.

Also on the agenda during the daylong Congress were child abuse/neglect and children's health care.

Janet Ketcham, executive director of Child Advocates San Antonio, spoke about efforts to offer financial support to relatives who care for children before they are taken into state custody and to raise awareness of post-partum depression.

Toni-Marie Van Buren, of the United Way of San Antonio & Bexar County, talked about the importance of enrolling children the Children's Health Insurance Program.

“Advocacy is a long-term process,” said Voices for Children member Tammy Morales-Bernal. “Sometimes we take two steps forward and one step back, but it's something that we need to work on a continual basis.”