WeVision EarlyEd’s Post

Every child, regardless of background, deserves access to affordable, high-quality early childhood education. This means taking action to improve the existing child care system by advocating for new state and federal legislation. We must transform our ideal policies into real, sustainable change that is tangible and universal.   Where do we start? WeVision EarlyEd, an initiative of our sister organization, the Bainum Family Foundation, highlights four ways we can shift our messaging to align our advocacy with what families want in a reimagined child care system. Find it here: https://lnkd.in/evgipnrQ

Empowering Providers. Advocating for Change and Enriching Futures! There has been a tremendous need over the last several years to bring together and connect the 500+* licensed family child care providers in San Mateo County with each other and with the broader systems infrastructure. Oftentimes family child care educators work individually with very little outside guidance or support. When Covid 19 hit, it became abundantly clear that the lack of CONNECTION, infrastructure, information, the fragmented funding streams, poor compensation and the challenges of running a home-based business needed to be addressed and tackled, and that those individuals best suited to finding solutions to these challenges are the family child care educators themselves. Current research indicates that family child care educators who engage with their local family child care organization have been shown to have more confidence in their ability to provide quality care and support to the children and families they serve. The San Mateo County Family Child Care Organization is critical to stabilizing and expanding family child care programs by providing the connection that joins individual family child care educators to each other and the broader systems infrastructure, such as funding, policy making, resources and community programs.

How do we ensure families have access to child care that is accessible and meets their needs? First, consider where there is misalignment between families' child care priorities and preferences and their child care experiences. New research from my brilliant colleagues, including lead author Ashley Hirilall, share a new method for exploring this misalignment. For example, findings from their research highlight that many families receiving subsidized child care in Minnesota, do not have access to care that aligns with their needs and preferences. From the report: "...nearly half of families who receive financial assistance experienced misalignment between their preferences for inclusive child care practices that support their child’s development and the child care they actually received." (authors: Ashley Hirilall, Holly Keaton, Kathryn Tout, Jennifer Cleveland, Mallory Warner, and Elizabeth Villegas, Ph.D.)

Today is Child Care UnAffordability Day in Minnesota! Today marks the day when a Minnesota family of four earning the median income has already paid 7% of their annual income towards child care, when started to calculate on Jan 1st. Paying no more than 7% is what’s considered affordable by both State and Federal standards. Think Small® , along with our partners in advocacy, want to raise awareness of the critical need to FULLY fund child care in the United States. On a personal note, as a family of five earning well below the median income at the time my children attended a child care program, my husband and I paid upwards of 50% of our income for child care! That was with a staff discount (I worked where my children attended) and an in-house scholarship! Make it make sense. Even today, with significant increases in our income over the past 18 years, when using the Child Care Calculator linked below to determine what we should pay today, the recommendation is only 5% of our current income. That amount is HALF of what we actually paid 18 years ago. This is why we must advocate for affordable child care and pay equity for early childhood educators. https://lnkd.in/gYAsVY-J https://lnkd.in/guP7BnX2.

Today is #WorthyWageDay2024, a national day of advocacy held annually since 1992. Worthy Wage Day is designed to raise public awareness of: • The low wages earned by early childhood educators—teachers and staff that work in child care and pre-kindergarten programs; • The impact the educator retention crisis has on young children; and • The chronic public underfunding for child care, pre-k, and early childhood education. In addition to raising awareness, Worthy Wage Day calls on lawmakers, advocates and communities to commit to finding solutions to address the chronic underfunding of child care, pre-k and early childhood education programs. Research continues to tell us that the most important component of high quality child care and pre-K is the quality and consistency of the educator. How can you help? Contact your legislators and ask them to support funding for sustainable programs that help child care providers and child care centers remain in business.

120+ Texas groups endorsed this child care package for next session! Here are the policy proposals: 1. Strengthen the Child Care Services (CCS) program to better serve Texas parents and the providers who serve them. ✔Address the long waitlist (about 78,000 children in fiscal year 2024) by funding more scholarships for eligible families. ✔Ensure reimbursement rates to CCS programs are at the state’s established reimbursement rate for the provider's quality and not limited by published tuition costs. 2. Build up the supply of child care programs that meet urgent needs. ✔ Provide competitive grants through a pilot program that empowers communities to expand affordable care in high-need areas, (e.g., infant & toddler care, alternative hour care, care for children with disabilities, child care deserts, proximity to major employers). ✔ Address unintended zoning barriers to expand the supply of licensed child care homes. 3. Ensure programs can recruit and retain qualified and effective staff. ✔ Help low-income educators access high-quality care for their own children through the Child Care Services program. 4. Increase access to public pre-k by expanding opportunities for partnerships with community-based child care settings. ✔ Streamline processes and build supports to enable the creation and expansion of pre-k partnerships that deliver high-quality pre-k in a full working-day setting to meet the needs of families. We're thankful to have so many Texas organization signed on, including chambers of commerce from around the state, faith-based groups like Texas Impact/Texas Impact Foundation, children's advocacy partners like CHILDREN AT RISK and United Ways of Texas, and so many others.

This article gives a great explanation as to why we’ve launched Together We Grow—to address the urgent child care crisis in Southern West Virginia. Our task force is key to finding sustainable solutions, and we need your voice, your ideas, and your support. The children, parents, and communities are relying on us. Read more in the article below to learn why your involvement matters now more than ever! 🌱 https://lnkd.in/gyK6tyht

Read my latest blog post on the unmet child care demand in Delaware: new analysis conducted by my team at Rodel shows that there are three children for every available seat. 👪 ⭐ Some other highlights: * A new mapping dashboard, updated in real time, visualizes Delaware child care supply by legislative district. * Across the state, demand far outpaces supply, resulting in tens of thousands of children without access to care. * In districts with the greatest gaps, there are ratios of seven children to one seat. 📚 Read the blog post here: https://lnkd.in/e6mw-sYF

“Nurturing the next generation is a societal good...involving a combination of parental care, care provided by family, friends and neighbors, and formal child care and education settings that range from in-home to center-based to faith-based care.” -  Blueprint for Action (a by-partisan plan calling for a new holistic care plan for young children). https://lnkd.in/eGZB_bbt

The decisions you make about early child care and education are pivotal. A great provider will understand children’s needs at each age and stage of development, and will provide an enriching experience for your child and peace of mind for you. 🔍 Explore the Maryland Family Network's tips for choosing child care that meets your family's needs: https://ow.ly/585Z50QFFJz