News

04 Dec

Posted at 19:50h in News by

WTNH.com
By Tina Detelj
December 4, 2023
HARTFORD, Conn. (WTNH) — A new state program hopes to get more people involved in Connecticut’s child care industry. Green World Family Child Care in Hartford was the backdrop for Gov. Ned Lamont’s announcement of a new registered apprenticeship program. The program is being hailed as one of the first in the nation for family child care. “Today, I feel that we are no longer alone,” Maria Amado, who owns Green World Family Child Care, said through a...

01 Dec

Posted at 21:42h in News by

Early Learning Nation
By Mark Swartz
November 29, 2023
Vanderbilt University’s Prenatal-to-3 Policy Impact Center (PN-3) just issued its annual State Policy Roadmap, exploring ways that the states (and D.C.) can improve conditions so infants and toddlers can thrive. The Roadmap focuses on 12 solutions (see sidebar) shown to enhance well-being and to reduce the stubborn disparities in access to evidence-based programs. “We are constantly trying to figure out how to make the Roadmap more useful and more used,” says executive director Cynthia Osborne,...

27 Nov

Posted at 23:30h in News by

ParentData
By Emily Oster
November 27, 2023
The other day, my friend Jon asked to have coffee. He and his wife were expecting their first child and he had some questions. Or, really, he had one question, which went something like this. I’ve read your books, and you’ve convinced me that most of the individual behaviors people obsess about — breastfeeding, sleep training, stuff like that — do not matter for how kids turn out. I believe you that many of the data findings...

21 Nov

Posted at 23:27h in News by

Diverse Education
By Marcus Bright
November 21, 2023
The early learning sector plays a crucial role in shaping the foundation of children's education and future success. However, the shortage of qualified professionals poses significant challenges, hindering access to quality early learning programs and impeding economic growth. To address these issues, it is imperative to focus on building a thriving workforce through higher education. By equipping individuals with the necessary knowledge and skills, we can transform early learning into a vibrant industry that offers...

21 Nov

Posted at 23:15h in News by

Nursery World
By Caroline Vollans
November 21, 2023
How many of us feel upset when we see a parent responding aggressively to their child? Or sad when a child is desperately trying to please their parent to no avail? Parents are only human, so not all interactions with their children are going to be understanding and considered. Indeed, it could be worrying if they were. Having said that, parent-child interactions are highly significant: they impact the child more than any others. The National Association for...

17 Nov

Posted at 23:09h in News by

The Journal
By Tom Joyce The Center Square
November 17, 2023
U.S. Sens. Martin Heinrich and Ben Ray Luján and U.S. Representatives Teresa Leger Fernández, Melanie Stansbury, and Gabe Vasquez, all Democrats from New Mexico, recently announced that the state will receive $10 million in federal funds from the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services to improve early childhood education. The state will get the funding via the Preschool Development Grant Birth through Five program. The program “empowers state governments to better leverage...

14 Nov

Posted at 03:38h in News by

Delaware Online
By Kelly Powers
November 13, 2023
Delaware families are still struggling to find child care. Middle income families face the brunt of inaccessibility, according to the results of a new parents survey, as many struggle to afford care but earn too much to qualify for any state-funded programs. In brighter news, a Wilmington student is among 27 nationwide to receive a Sallie Mae’s Bridging the Dream Scholarship for High School Seniors this year. And, Delaware State is prepping technology for the moon. In this...

09 Nov

Posted at 23:07h in News by

WBUR.ORG
By Nik DeCosta-Klipa
November 9, 2023
While all of us in New England look longingly at the weather the rest of the East Coast is getting, here’s what we have ahead today: Head Start headaches: For decades, Head Start has provided thousands of low-income families in Massachusetts an escape hatch from the state’s notoriously expensive child care costs. However, as WBUR’s Emily Piper-Vallillo reports, recent staffing shortages have forced Head Start leaders across the state to permanently cut slots for children — putting...

06 Nov

Posted at 21:32h in News by

MPR
By Angela Davis and Maja Beckstrom
November 6, 2023
The cost of child care takes a huge chunk out of parents’ paychecks. But at the same time, many child care workers make barely enough to support themselves. And, now the costs are rising. Families across the U.S. today spend 30 percent more on their average child care payments than they did in 2019, according to new data from Bank of America. In Minnesota, child care centers are having trouble paying competitive wages...

06 Nov

Posted at 20:59h in News by

NPR
By John Daley
November 6, 2023
At the Isabella Bird Community School in Denver, preschoolers rumble around a playground as John Opp arrives to pick up his 4-year-old daughter, Giuliana, who's been diagnosed with autism. Opp's family relies on Colorado's new universal pre-K program to help cover her tuition. "It's kind of scary to think how much farther behind she would be if she didn't have this," he said, noting the support teachers and therapists provide. "I got a full enough plate as it is,"...

02 Nov

Posted at 22:28h in News by

By Khristopher J. Brooks
November 1, 2023
The cost of child care has risen so high in recent years that some parents can't afford to work. As of September, the average household spent more than $700 a month on child care, up 32% from 2019, according to a recent report from the Bank of America Institute. The sharply higher costs are driving some parents to leave the workforce in order to look after their children. At the same time, many families laying out for child care...

02 Nov

Posted at 22:27h in News by

Axios
By Emily Peck
November 1, 2023
The average child care payment is up 32% from 2019, according to new data from the Bank of America Institute. The price surge outpaced overall inflation; the Consumer Price Index was up 20% over the same period. Why it matters: Rising costs pose a threat to the remarkable progress that women, particularly mothers, have made in the U.S. labor force. The report found that cost increases might be driving some parents out of the workforce to look after...

26 Oct

Posted at 20:24h in News by

Forbes
By Christine Michel Carter
October 25, 2023
In their first-ever survey associated with their One Million Black Women initiative, Goldman Sachs investigated the economic mobility journey of Black women. Most findings mirrored insights from other annual reports on Black women in corporate America. However, two data points could impact employers looking to hire or retain diverse female talent: 24% of Black women with children at home spend more than 20% of their income on child care (compared to 17% of U.S. adults). 19% of...

26 Oct

Posted at 20:20h in News by

Chalkbeat Newark
By Samantha Lauten
October 25, 2023
At Clinton Hill Early Learning Center in the South Ward, everything is designed with the city’s youngest children in mind: Many of the wall decorations are just 2 feet off the ground — the perfect view for infants and toddlers. The lobby overflows with plants and sunlight, the classrooms are filled with color, and the courtyard has climbing structures, toys, and, most importantly, padded flooring. Clinton Hill Early Learning Center offers one solution for closing gaps...

24 Oct

Posted at 20:57h in News by

USA Today
By Alia Wong
October 24, 2023
BriAnne Moline has been “seriously considering” shutting down the early-childhood education program she runs out of her home near Missoula, Montana. The 38-year-old single mom of four has sacrificed a lot to get where she is today – from moonlighting at McDonald's and Michael's to owning a business in a profession she loves. Housing policies forced Moline to move her business and family twice over six months in 2019, while she was pregnant with her...

24 Oct

Posted at 20:33h in News by

Time
By Katherine Goldstein
October 24, 2023
Erica Gallegos, who worked as an organizer in New Mexico a decade ago, at one point had “stepped foot in every single childcare center in the state,” she told me, sometimes spending a week in small towns five hours from her home, getting to know people, hearing their concerns and building trust. While you may have heard the good news about New Mexico’s constitutional amendment guaranteeing a right to early childhood education that passed with 70%...

18 Oct

Posted at 23:03h in News by

Early Learning Nation
By Mark Swartz
December 19, 2023
Imagine you work for an advocacy organization in one state and you want to find out how other states are raising revenue to support early education and care. If you Google child care tax revenue or daycare tax payments, almost all the results pertain to the tax credits that individuals can apply for when they file their taxes. Refining your search terms might give you better results, but it might take hours to track...

04 Oct

Posted at 16:38h in News by

The New York Times
By Amelia Nierenberg
September 30, 2023
Kristen Calderon was making about $37,000 a year as an early childhood educator in New Haven, Conn. It was more than the state’s average salary for the job but given the high cost of housing, it was barely enough. “Every month, I had to decide on a rotating basis which bill I wasn’t going to pay,” she said. But recently, all that changed. In 2021, she moved into free housing provided by her employer, the Friends...

29 Sep

Posted at 22:44h in News by

Fatherly
By Devan McGuinness
September 29, 2023
While parents have years to save up for their kid’s college tuition — by opening a 529 plan, for example — they have much less time to save for child care. That doesn’t mean that the cost of child care is any more affordable. In fact, according to a new analysis, the cost of child care is currently more expensive than in-state college tuition in 28 out of 50 states, and it’s only getting more expensive...

26 Sep

Posted at 19:41h in News by

Greater Good Magazine
By Rebecca de Leeuw, Sophie H. Janicke
September 26, 2023
Most children love stories. Stories are entertaining and fun, but can they be more than just fun? Findings from a new study led by one of us (Rebecca de Leeuw) indicate that stories in movies can also be meaningful for children. This study interviewed children between 4 and 15 years old after they watched the Disney • Pixar film Inside Out. This film takes place predominantly in the head of an...