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Chalkbeat Colorado
By Ann Schimke
December 5, 2023
Much of the federal relief aid sent to Colorado’s child care providers during the pandemic helped keep doors open and businesses solvent. But one small stream of federal COVID funding — $23 million — was used for innovation in the sector rather than its survival. That money was distributed through the CIRCLE Grant program and helped fund more than 200 projects around the state. The projects included weekly bilingual preschool classes for Armenian-American children, a training...

05 December, 2023 /

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...

04 December, 2023 /

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,...

01 December, 2023 /

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...

27 November, 2023 /

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 November, 2023 /

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...

21 November, 2023 /

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...

17 November, 2023 /

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...

14 November, 2023 /

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...

09 November, 2023 /

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 November, 2023 /

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,"...

06 November, 2023 /

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 November, 2023 /

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...

02 November, 2023 /

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 October, 2023 /

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...

26 October, 2023 /

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 October, 2023 /

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%...

24 October, 2023 /

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...

18 October, 2023 /

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...

04 October, 2023 /

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...

29 September, 2023 /

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...

26 September, 2023 /

Insider
By Eliza Relman
September 26, 2023
Childcare costs are soaring, particularly in major US cities — and zoning regulations are making it worse. Costs aren't just prohibitive for parents, they're also sky-high for providers, who operate on tiny margins and struggle to pay their workers a living wage. The financial situation for providers is about to get worse as the nation nears the end of federal pandemic relief funding for childcare providers, which is predicted to disrupt care for 3 million children. The funding...

26 September, 2023 /

Mass Live
By John L. Micek
September 26, 2023
Tens of thousands of Massachusetts children could lose access to child care coverage by week’s end if Congress, which is already scrambling to avert a government shutdown, fails to take action, a loss that could send ripple effects across the economy as families try to find care. More than 56,000 children could lose care, and more than 1,800 child care centers could close, as pandemic-era funding expires by Jan. 30, according to an analysis by...

26 September, 2023 /

CBS Pittsburgh
By John Shumway
September 25, 2023
Every family with children and working parents know we've got a childcare problem in this country. Pandemic-era funding is coming to an end and thousands of child care facilities are closing -- leaving parents with quite the dilemma. KDKA's John Shumway has been looking into the issue. The Century Foundation estimates that when the federal childcare investment ends this week, up to 70,000 childcare centers could close with 3.2 million children losing care. Up to 200,000 of...

25 September, 2023 /

The Philadelphia Inquirer
By Nate File and Lynette Hazelton
September 23, 2023
The federal government kicked in nearly $40 billion in 2021 as part of the American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA) to keep the nation’s fragile childcare system afloat during the pandemic. Now, that support is set to run out at the end of this month. To Damaris Alvarado-Rodriguez, the director of the Children’s Playhouse early-childhood learning centers, the pandemic should have been a moment when the value of childcare was finally appreciated for...

23 September, 2023 /

KXAN Texas
By Sally Hernandez
September 22, 2023
Millions of kids, including 305,976 in Texas, are at risk of losing childcare by September 30 when the 2021 American Rescue Plan Act expires, according to an analysis by the Century Foundation. “Congress has to act quickly to resolve the immediate funding crisis for childcare,” said Jamie Bussel with the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation, a non-profit that says it’s the Nation’s Largest Health Philanthropy. The Foundation is calling on Congress to extend the federal funds to help...

22 September, 2023 /

CBS News Colorado
By Shaun Boyd
September 21, 2023
State lawmakers grilled administrators of Colorado's Universal Pre-School program at a hearing at the State capitol. The Legislature's Joint Budget Committee called the hearing. It approved $135 million for the program on top of $190 million from nicotine taxes approved by voters. The state promised the money would cover up to 30 hours of free pre-school for all low-income kids but then backtracked at the 11th hour, leaving families scrambling. Sen. Barb Kirkmeyer demanded to know why...

21 September, 2023 /

MPR News
By Kyra Miles
September 20, 2023
The first three years of childrens’ lives are shaped by a wide range of social factors. The Zero to Three LEARN conference held at the Minneapolis Convention this week tackled a number of those factors, including racial disparities in postpartum depression to climate change. Over the last two days, thousands of early childhood professionals gathered to discuss how to best serve children and families. And this year’s big themes are focused on the impact COVID-19...

20 September, 2023 /

Time Magazine
By Nik Popli
September 15, 2023
The emergency childcare funding Congress allocated during the pandemic is set to expire at the end of the month, raising concerns for the millions of families and childcare providers who relied on it over the last two years. The funding, part of the American Rescue Plan Act that congressional Democrats passed in 2021, included $24 billion in childcare stabilization grants, offering a financial reprieve to providers grappling with the multifaceted challenges presented by the COVID-19 pandemic....

15 September, 2023 /

Boston Globe
By Nancy Shohet West
September 15, 2023
Parents might gauge their child’s progress in preschool by how many letters they recognize, which shapes they can draw, or how comfortably they play with peers. But when Corey Marcotte of Littleton looks back at daughter Evie’s first year of preschool at Good Pickin' Farm in Westford, success is all about the chickens....

15 September, 2023 /

Forbes
By Allison Robinson
September 14, 2023
For working parents, this September doesn’t just spell the start of the new school year — it also marks the end of childcare funding via the American Rescue Plan. Known as the “childcare cliff,” this act’s expiration means the withdrawal of $24 billion in federal funding for childcare. Without those funds, over 3 million American children may lose access to care. This is problematic for millions of families who depend on that care and the caregivers for...

14 September, 2023 /

Baltimore Fishbowl
By Sponsored Staff
September 11, 2023
Since 2016, the Saul Zaentz Innovation Fund in Film and Media at Johns Hopkins University has run a fellowship program supporting Maryland’s early-career artists in filmmaking and technology-based media. These fellows represent the vibrancy and urgency of Baltimore-grown storytelling, leading the charge in the creative renaissance of the city, and contributing to economic renewal. The recent commitment of $3.1 million dollars by the Saul Zaentz Foundation, disbursed across the next three years, ensures funding for...

11 September, 2023 /

The New York Times
By Eliza Shapiro and Asmaa Elkeurti
September 11, 2023
Not long after Crystal Springs started her new job at a large insurance company in Midtown Manhattan earlier this year, she realized that a much bigger chunk of her paycheck than she expected was going directly to child care for her 5-year-old daughter. Ms. Springs had dreamed that the job, which allowed her and her husband to make about $200,000 a year combined, would help provide a comfortable middle-class life for...

11 September, 2023 /

The New York Times
By Camilo Ortiz and Lenore Skenazy
September 4, 2023
A colleague in suburban Kentucky let his 12-year-old daughter walk two houses down to her friend’s place. At the end of the play date, the other girl’s mom walked her home, just to be safe. Such excessive caution is hardly unusual — over the past several decades, children have become less and less independent. Instead of running outside to play after school or riding their bikes around “Stranger Things”-style, they’re more...

05 September, 2023 /

WDRB.com
By Katrina Nickell
September 1, 2023
Louisville, KY – Parents with preschoolers in Jefferson County Public Schools' Early Childhood Education program are still working to find child care. The program's first day was set for Aug. 23. But the day before, the district announced the start would be delayed for "at least" two weeks. But no new start date has been announced yet, as the district works to figure out logistical issues. JCPS initially postponed the program's start as it worked on fixes for...

01 September, 2023 /

CBS 21
By Maxine Rose
September 1, 2023
York County, PA – Back to school can be stressful. Just ask Tori Allison, a former early childhood education teacher. “The education field is always changing. We’re learning new things, like, years ago, we didn’t know how important social and emotional development was," said Tori Allison, who has a background in early childhood education. Struggling to build her life, while also achieving her career goals, Allison says she found herself stuck between a rock and a hard...

01 September, 2023 /

Wilmington Biz
By Jenny Callison
September 1, 2023
It’s not news that the demand for high-quality, affordable child care exceeds the supply. In July of this year, the White House released data showing that nearly 60% of children under age 6 in the United States spend time in nonparental care on a regular basis. The same report stated that, in 2019, almost 75% of center-based providers had more requests than capacity, and more than 75% of households that searched for care had a...

01 September, 2023 /

News Channel Nebraska Central
Michael Shively
September 1, 2023
A Nebraska nonprofit is set up at one of the biggest stages in the state to raise awareness for its cause. We Care for Kids is operating an informational booth and display inside the Nebraska Building at the Nebraska State Fair. The Nebraska Early Childhood Collaborative is helping out with the campaign. Program manager Ilissa Talkington says one of its goals is to share the importance of early childhood education. “It’s a huge opportunity to really...

01 September, 2023 /

WCAX 3 Vermont
By Melissa Cooney
August 31, 2023
BURLINGTON, VT – Vermont’s groundbreaking Childcare and Early Childhood Education law, or Act 76, is now in place for Vermont families and providers, doubling the amount of financial assistance for families. The act makes a major investment in child care with the goal of increasing access, quality, and financial stability for child care programs and families. DCF Deputy Commissioner Janet McLaughlin says imminent changes will impact child care programs directly and parents indirectly. In July, most programs...

31 August, 2023 /

Cision PR Newswire
Provided by the Saul Zaentz Early Education Initiative
August 22, 2023
The Saul Zaentz Early Education Initiative at the Harvard Graduate School of Education today launched the Zaentz Navigator, an innovative, user-friendly, and interactive digital tool to help policymakers and leaders learn how cities and states across the country are working to structure, finance, expand, and advance early education and care. The Navigator is appearing at a time when it is needed most. Record spending on early education as part of...

22 August, 2023 /

Axios Indianapolis
By Arika Herron
August 16, 2023
Lt. Gov. Suzanne Crouch is all in on universal pre-K. Driving the news: Crouch told Axios on Tuesday that if she is elected governor next year she would push lawmakers to move Indiana's state-funded pre-K program, On My Way Pre-K, toward universal access more quickly. "We can't get there overnight because, quite honestly, we don't have the infrastructure or the people to be able to do that," she said. "But I think, because of the importance of...

16 August, 2023 /

Center on Child and Family Policy
Early Matters Podcast
With Katharine B. Stevens, James Heckman and Jorge Garcia
August 11, 2023
In this inaugural episode of the Center on Child and Family Policy's new podcast, Katharine Stevens interviews renowned economists James Heckman and Jorge Luis Garcia about their collaborative research on the transformational power of early childhood interventions to build human capital, and their new paper, "Parenting Promotes Social Mobility Within and Across Generations." They discuss what's essential to conducting rigorous research in social science;...

11 August, 2023 /

The Wall Street Journal
By Dana Suskind
August 11, 2023
Imagine being the parent of an infant or toddler a decade from now. Most aspects of child rearing won’t have changed, but others may well be transformed by the use of artificial intelligence. AI devices are likely to become electronic babysitters, just as previous generations of parents adopted television and video games as tools for lightening their caregiving duties....

11 August, 2023 /

The Boston Globe
By Samantha J. Gross
July 31, 2023
Less than 24 hours after negotiators inked a compromise on a $56.2 billion annual spending plan, House and Senate lawmakers, with little debate, voted Monday to send the fiscal year 2024 package to Governor Maura Healey. The chambers’ action on the budget legislation, representing a record level of spending, came nearly a month after the July 1 deadline for the start of the new fiscal year. The budget is now in Healey’s hands for the...

02 August, 2023 /

CPR News
By Jennifer Brundin
July 29, 2023
With the new school year just a couple of weeks away – and thousands of 4-year-olds taking part in universal preschool – there are still frayed nerves among some school districts and private child care providers. While thousands of families are happy to receive 15 hours a week of free education for their young child, behind the scenes a provider described it as a “debacle.” “There's just a big hesitancy to trust right now because...

29 July, 2023 /

Fox 13 Tampa Bay
By Allie Corie
July 27, 2023
When the bell rings on a new school year in just a few weeks, half the kindergartners in our area won't be ready. That's according to a recent study by United Way Suncoast, which covers Hillsborough, Pinellas, Sarasota, Manatee, and DeSoto counties. Families not having access to early childhood education has become a childcare crisis. The first few years of a child’s life are crucial to their development. "Ninety percent of the brain...

27 July, 2023 /

HR Brew
By Courtney Vinopal
July 26, 2023
Chobani is the latest company to add childcare to its suite of benefits to better support working parents. The yogurt maker, which has manufacturing facilities in South Edmeston, New York, and Twin Falls, Idaho, announced on June 21 it will partner with WeeCare, a childcare network focused on affordable options. Full-time, regular employees will be eligible to receive up to 10 days of prepaid childcare within the WeeCare network, as well as an annual stipend of...

26 July, 2023 /

The Colorado Sun
By Erica Breunlin
July 26, 2023
A preschool in Greeley that has shepherded countless kids through the first years of their education over the past 21 years may welcome its last class of 4-year-olds next month, eyeing an uncertain future as it dives into the state’s newly expanded preschool program. Nearby, a different preschool that caters to mostly children of low-income families has only been able to fill a quarter of its classrooms for the start of the school year and...

26 July, 2023 /

CBS Colorado
By Tori Mason
July 26, 2023
Preschool providers around the state are learning they won't get as much funding as they planned. The Department of Early Childhood is changing how they'll fund Universal Preschool. Previously, the state planned to fund preschools based on their capacity. Now, the department will fund preschools based on the number of students enrolled. Restoration Christian Academy in Aurora has space for 24 children, but currently, only 11 are enrolled. Director Shirley Harris has been hard at...

26 July, 2023 /

Center on Child and Family Policy
By Katharine B. Stevens
July 24, 2023
Key Points
While proponents widely characterized BBB’s early care and education legislation as building on the core strengths of the existing federal childcare program — the Child Care and Development Block Grant (CCDBG) — BBB actually mapped out a striking departure from it.
BBB would have greatly increased government regulation of early care and education, substantially reduced state flexibility and parental choice, institutionalized a federally defined concept of quality that has no...

25 July, 2023 /
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