Zero to Five Montana

Montana Child Care Business Connect's Tiny Training series is back! Starting Jan. 16, please join us for our weekly micro-learning webinars for the busy business owner. Offered 1:30-2 p.m. every other Thursday. Are you looking for business solutions to help your child care business run smoothly? Montana Child Care Business Connect offers Shared Services to help. Enroll in this Tiny Training Series to learn how Telehealth, Substitute Services, and using Child Care Management Software can support your 2025 business goals. Tiny Trainings are 30-minute webinars and attendance at four of the five trainings in this series will give the participant 2 hours ECP credit. Tiny Trainings are for anyone working in child care in Montana. 🔵 Jan. 16: What are Shared Services? 🟢 Jan. 30: Telehealth 🔵 Feb. 13: Substitute Services 🟢 Feb. 27: The Power of Using a Child Care Management Software 🔵 March 13: Using Shared Services to Attract & Retain Employees Register by Jan. 16 to participate 👉 bit.ly/TinyTraining #tinytraining #supportedchildcarebusinesses #forourkids #forourfuture #Montana

Stay in the know and get the scoop on how to engage in early childhood legislative issues – starting Jan. 9 (today!) join Zero to Five Montana over the lunch hour for our weekly early childhood legislative update calls. Get real-time state policy updates and build relationships with fellow advocates. Let's make a difference for Montana’s kids! Register now 👉 https://lnkd.in/g8wW7zNY Can’t join the call? Sign up for our advocacy email list and we’ll send you a summary. https://lnkd.in/g5E5adyP We’ve got some other resources on our website for you as well: 🏛️ Check out our 2025 Legislative Session page for our early childhood bill tracker https://lnkd.in/g6xrKDrm 🗣️ See our Advocacy page to access a recording of our Advocacy 101 webinar, along with other helpful toolkits and resources. https://lnkd.in/gvPz3E4D ❤️ AND don’t forget to sign up for our February advocacy event including an early childhood summit and a day of action at the state capitol. Register on our website by Jan. 21 to be entered to win some fun goodies. https://lnkd.in/gcpR-f2f #advocacy #getinvolved #earlychildhood #supportedfamilies #goodpolicy #forourchildren #forourfuture #Montana

Do you want state elected officials to prioritize Montana children and families? Join Zero to Five Montana and other concerned Montanans in urging state lawmakers to take meaningful action on early childhood issues during the 2025 legislative session. Add your name (or your organization) to our letter to Montana’s 69th Legislature! Together, we can work to ensure Montana's kids are at the center of policy decisions. Sign on here by Jan. 10 at https://bit.ly/ZtFSignOn #MTLeg #prioritizekids #goodpolicy #takeaction #supportedfamilies #earlycare #earlyeducation #forourchildren #forourfuture #Montana

Are you a child care provider interested in improving overall program quality, as well as administrative and business knowledge? Consider this your invitation to sign up for Montana Child Care Business Connect’s Program Excellence and Administration Knowledge (PEAK) business technical assistance program! The goal of this small group business technical assistance program is to support licensed and registered child care centers and family/group programs in Montana to increase overall program quality, as well as administrative and business knowledge. These quality business practices use research-backed recommendations from the McCormick Center for Early Childhood Leadership. Every month, participants will conduct self-assessments and create action plans to increase quality business practices in their program. Center participants will receive 18 hours ECP credit upon successful completion, Family/Group participants will receive 8 hours ECP credit upon successful completion. Each cohort will have 3 participants, and we will run as many cohorts as needed dependent on interest. Click here to learn more. The PEAK for Family/Groups coaching program uses the Business Administration Scale (BAS-2) Second Edition to review, design, and implement quality business practices. Programs will learn the BAS-2 scale and its 10 subscales. The PEAK for Centers coaching program uses the Program Administration Scale (PAS) Third Edition to review, design, and implement quality business practices. Programs will learn the PAS-3 scale and 25 subscales. Enroll here: PEAK for Centers https://lnkd.in/gVi7VsDk PEAK for Family/Group programs https://lnkd.in/g9BX8y4u #childcarebusiness #technicalassistance #forourchildren #forourfuture #montana

Zero to Five Montana is excited to announce a new opportunity to support communities in Montana with early childhood advocacy efforts. The Community Early Childhood Advocacy Opportunity will help communities design and implement an action plan informed by local needs to increase awareness and drive action on early childhood issues. We are seeking to partner with community-based teams or parent groups passionate about early childhood and ready to address key issues through advocacy. Zero to Five Montana staff will provide guidance and support to help participants achieve their goals using a collaborative, community-centered approach. Mini-grants of $1,000-$5,000 will be available to approved groups to help cover coordination, planning, and related expenses. Applicants must identify a coordinating entity, such as an existing 501(c)(3) organization, community action agency, business, or other suitable entity, to receive the funding. Click the link below to fill out the application survey. Applications are due by Jan. 8, 2025, at 5 p.m. https://lnkd.in/g9mBcARH *Paper or phone interview applications are available if needed. #advocacy #supportedcommunities #forourchildren #forourfuture #montana

Announcing the Employer-Sponsored Child Care Grant Program! Zero to Five Montana, in partnership with the Montana Department of Public Health and Human Services Bright Futures Birth to Five program, is offering a one-time grant opportunity for Montana employers through the Family Forward Montana initiative to develop an employer-sponsored child care program. The goal of the program is to implement a child care strategy reflective of the goals of the employer that is sustainable and creates cost sharing between the employee, employer, and the State of Montana. Grants will range from $10,000 to $100,000 depending on the size and scope of the employer’s project plan. Grant funding will total $2 million to be awarded in two cohorts over 2024 and 2025. Data collected from this pilot will help inform future public private partnerships. This initiative aims to: ▶️ Build awareness of Montana’s growing child care needs and the critical role employers play in helping to address it. ▶️ Educate employers and community organizations on employer-supported child care models, including those that apply to individual employers, groups of employers and/or nonprofit community-based organizations acting on behalf of a group of employers. ▶️ Create and advance locally driven solutions that increase child care access and support working Montana families. Interested employers can apply at familyforwardmt.org! The application deadline is Feb. 7. #employersponsoredchildcare #earlycare #supportedfamilies #forourchildren #forourfuture #montana

As we kick off a new year, we’d like to take the opportunity to (re)introduce ourselves! Zero to Five Montana is a nonpartisan, statewide early childhood organization focused on increasing access to early care and education, supporting and strengthening families as well as the stability, viability, and expansion of high-quality child care businesses in Montana. We are engaged in early childhood systems-building in Montana through organizational initiatives, coalitions & workgroups, and by collecting data & stories from communities across the state. We offer individual services and supports for child care providers, employers, parents and policymakers through: ▫️Child care business technical assistance ▫️Interactive workshops & trainings ▫️Child care business mentorship ▫️Child care workforce recruitment & retention support ▫️Web-based child care business resources ▫️Shared services for child care programs including telehealth and a substitute pool ▫️Employer-sponsored child care technical assistance ▫️Community capacity building for child care, early learning, policy & advocacy ▫️Tribal partnership & engagement ▫️Public policy analysis & strategy ▫️Parent advocacy support Learn more at zerotofive.org. #happynewyear2025 #earlychildhoodpolicy #childcarebusinesssupport #forourchildren #montana

Are you a family or group child care owner? Have you wanted to strengthen your business skills? This class is for you! The All Our Kin 10-week Business Series is designed specifically for family and group child care providers who love what they do and also want a sustainable business. Upon completing this class, you will receive certification in the All Our Kin Business Series. You will also become a member of the Montana Child Care Business Series Alumni. This community will always be available to you with easy-to-understand and use resources, support, and business best practice knowledge. Alumni will be invited to join quarterly community of practice meetings and other great networking opportunities. You will need to participate in all 10 classes and 34 ECP hours will be given for this series. Classes will be offered via Zoom on Tuesdays from 6-9 p.m. There will be a short video to watch before each class as well as a reflection assignment to discuss at the beginning of each class. Registration closes Jan. 11, 2025. This course is limited to 20 participants, so register today! Course details --> https://bit.ly/mccbc-aok Register --> https://bit.ly/mccbc-ecp #AllOurKin #childcareprofessionaldevelopment #childcarebusiness #earlylearning #earlyeducation #earlychildhood #childcare #earlycare #supportedfamilies #supportedbusinesses #economicdevelopment #zerotofive #forourchildren #forourfuture #montana

🚨Register for our Have a Heart for Kids event by Jan. 21 and be entered to win a very cute, limited edition Miir kids bottle and some other awesome goodies from Zero to Five Montana! Register here: zerotofive.org/events This event is a great opportunity to share your story with policymakers and advocate for the early childhood system in Montana. We will provide advocacy training and host discussions on early childhood issues for families and child care providers during our Early Childhood Summit on Feb. 5. The next day, we'll head to the state capitol for a day of connection with lawmakers, families, child care providers and other early childhood champions. Together, we can elevate awareness and action around early childhood issues in our state! #haveaheartforkids #advocacy #forourchildren #forourfuture #montana

All of us at Zero to Five Montana wish you peace, comfort and joy as the calendar year comes to a close. We continue to be so honored to be engaged in this work for Montana’s children and families with all of you, and we look forward to what’s ahead in 2025. Don’t forget to take care of yourselves this holiday season! With gratitude, Caitlin, Rhonda, Lina, Richard, Alex, Jason, Karen, Shelby, Callie, Kendra, Sarah, Beth and Jacklynn