Senate Confirms New Head of Administration of Children and Families

From the National Head Start Association:

U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) Secretary Kathleen Sebelius announced yesterday that the United States Senate unanimously confirmed Carmen Nazario as Assistant Secretary for Children and Families. In that role, she will oversee the Administration for Children and Families within HHS.

"Carmen Nazario has a distinguished record of more than 40 years working in human services at every level of government, as well as in the private and non-profit sectors," said Secretary Sebelius. "She has devoted her career to developing and implementing programs that promote the well-being of children and families, and she will build on that important work as Assistant Secretary for Children and Families."

National Head Start Association Mourns Passing of Eunice Shriver

Here's is what NHSA Executive Director Yasmina Vinci had to say a few weeks ago about the life of first-sister Eunice Kennedy Shriver, the founder of the Special Olympics and mother of California first lady Maria Shriver:

"We send our condolences to the Shriver and Kennedy families. Throughout her life Eunice Kennedy Shriver impacted the lives of millions of Americans through her advocacy, promotion of research, and non-profit entrepreneurial skills. Influenced by the mental retardation of her late sister Rosemary, she was a pioneer in advocating for the rights of disabled, shaping the research agenda of the Joseph P. Kennedy Jr. Foundation to fund mental retardation research, helping to establish the National Institute of Child Health and Human Development to conduct research on child and adult health issues, and founding the Special Olympics. Millions of people with mental disabilities in 170 nations have participated in the Special Olympics. Also, I have just learned from reading a tribute by her brother, Senator Edward M. Kennedy that the Americans with Disabilities Act would not have happened without her."