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1
HOUSE RESOLUTION

 
2    WHEREAS, The members of the House of Representatives of the
3State of Illinois wish to honor Nancy Shier on the occasion of
4her retirement as vice-president of Illinois Policy for the
5Ounce of Prevention Fund; and
 
6    WHEREAS, The Ounce of Prevention Fund was established in
71982 to champion the healthy development of low-income young
8children and their families; Nancy Shier has been a part of the
9Ounce of Prevention Fund's policy division since 1987 and its
10leader since 1989; she is the principal strategist in the areas
11of Illinois policy and governmental relations and spearheads
12the agency's legislative and administrative advocacy
13activities; and
 
14    WHEREAS, Nancy Shier previously worked with the Illinois
15General Assembly to champion workers and women's rights; and
 
16    WHEREAS, Over the years Nancy Shier has been a leading
17advocate for programs that strengthen the growth and
18development of very young children, including education,
19health care, child care, mental health, child abuse prevention,
20welfare reform, and professional development of the early
21childhood workforce; and
 

 

 

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1    WHEREAS, Nancy Shier has been a leader in efforts to expand
2access to healthcare for low-income and undocumented pregnant
3women, to improve access to and the quality of early childhood
4educational programs, and child care services for low-income
5children; and
 
6    WHEREAS, In Nancy's years of service, due to her effort and
7those of her allies, policies and funding to support the
8healthy development of young children and families have
9improved dramatically; and
 
10    WHEREAS, Nancy Shier has been the leading voice on behalf
11of at-risk infants and toddlers; she was instrumental in the
12creation of innovative services for those children, including
13the Healthy Families home visiting program and the creation of
14the landmark Birth-to-Three set-aside in the Early Childhood
15Block grant; she has made Illinois the first state in the
16country to invest in and grow services for infants and toddlers
17parallel with the growth of services and investments for
18preschool children; and
 
19    WHEREAS, Nancy Shier has served on countless boards and
20advisory bodies, including the State's Human Services
21Commission, the Child Care Advisory Board, and the board of the
22Midwest Academy; and
 

 

 

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1    WHEREAS, Nancy Shier's reach and influence will continue to
2inspire for years to come as she has mentored numerous early
3childhood professionals who themselves will continue to
4inspire; and
 
5    WHEREAS, That Nancy Shier is a tenacious advocate for young
6children; her influence has improved the lot of young children
7in Illinois and across the country; therefore, be it
 
8    RESOLVED, BY THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES OF THE
9NINETY-EIGHTH GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF ILLINOIS, that
10we congratulate Nancy Shier on her retirement and thank her for
11the years of service to the citizens of Illinois and the
12country; and be it further
 
13    RESOLVED, That a suitable copy of this resolution be
14presented to Nancy Shier as an expression of our esteem and
15gratitude for over a quarter century's work on behalf of women,
16children, and families.