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EEC Board meeting today – tune in and catch up!

Posted in Child care, COVID-19, Dept. of Early Education and Care, Early educators, Federal, Funding, Pre-kindergarten on September 14, 2021| Leave a Comment »

Tune in today at 1 p.m. to watch this school year’s first meeting of the Board of the Department of Early Education and Care (EEC).

The meeting will cover a number of topics, including an update on EEC’s distribution of federal ARPA Child Care Stabilization Grants.

Now is a great time to catch up with the Board’s discussion of these important policy issues.

Last week at an emergency meeting, the Board voted to give Commissioner Samantha Aigner-Treworgy the authority to modify workforce regulations to help alleviate the ongoing workforce shortage.

Today the Board will hear EEC’s initial plan for these workforce modifications – a hot topic for the early childhood field. (more…)

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In quotes: Senator Elizabeth Warren on universal child care

Posted in Child care, Federal, Funding, National on September 10, 2021| Leave a Comment »

The @DeptofDefense understands that high-quality, affordable child care is essential to military readiness. I'm fighting for #UniversalChildCare in the reconciliation package to ensure all families have access to child care.https://t.co/SPAf7uoQlc
— Elizabeth Warren (@SenWarren) September 4, 2021

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Apply for Covid relief funding now!

Posted in Child care, COVID-19, Dept. of Early Education and Care, Federal, Funding, Massachusetts Cities and Towns, Strategies for Children on August 4, 2021| 1 Comment »

Act now! It’s time for early education and care providers in Massachusetts to apply for federal COVID-19 relief funds.

The Department of Early Education and Care (EEC) has just released the application. Licensed providers can use their LEAD login information to apply here.

As we’ve blogged, the funds — $314 million in federal American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA) Child Care Stabilization money – will be distributed through an accessible process.

Your program can receive up to six monthly payments to support operating costs.

In an email, EEC Commissioner Samantha Aigner-Treworgy adds, “This unprecedented influx of federal funds is aimed at providing short-term financing for child care providers to help sustain program operations despite enrollment fluctuations and ensure the continued availability of care in under-resourced communities.”

Who is eligible? (more…)

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Resources for learning all about Covid relief grants for early education

Posted in Child care, COVID-19, Dept. of Early Education and Care, Early educators, Family child care, Federal, Funding, Massachusetts Cities and Towns, National, Pre-kindergarten, Strategies for Children on July 20, 2021| 3 Comments »

Photo: mentatdgt from Pexels

Massachusetts child care providers – get ready to apply for a federal COVID-19 relief fund grant!

The funds are coming soon, and they will help providers emerge from the pandemic and rebuild.

Based on feedback from the field, the Department of Early Education and Care (EEC) is committed to creating an “accessible application process.”

Strategies for Children

There are a number of ways that you can learn more about these grants before the application is released. (more…)

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In quotes: “child care is a workforce issue” — with innovative solutions

Posted in Business and economy, Child care, COVID-19, Early educators, Family engagement, Federal, Funding, National, Pre-kindergarten, Quotes on July 16, 2021| 1 Comment »

“Child care is a workforce issue, and prioritizing investment in the following ways will help to overcome this barrier:

• Investments in the child care workforce. In the short term, states can offer incentives such as signing bonuses for child care workers to return to work, and retention bonuses for established early childhood educators. In the long term, continued education grants and apprenticeship programs to support early childhood educators can meet the incredible demand for quality child care.

• Supporting working parents. States can and should invest in their data infrastructure. By creating databases that monitor the type and supply of child care available to communities, families and child care providers both benefit.

• Investing in the business side of child care. Stabilizing and growing the child care industry is a must. Grant and loan programs to stabilize existing child care programs and launch new, quality options will prevent child care deserts from growing, promote innovation from providers, and increase options for families.

“Many states are already leading by example.

“Arizona channeled $300 million in federal resources into return-to-work incentive programs that include $2,000 bonuses for those who return to the workforce, three months of child care assistance for people with children who return to work after collecting unemployment benefits, and housing assistance.”

— “States taking the boldest actions on child care should be national models,” by Cheryl Oldham, Opinion Contributor, The Hill, July 15, 2021

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The pandemic highlights gender inequality in the workplace

Posted in Business and economy, Child care, COVID-19, Federal, Funding, National, Pre-kindergarten on May 20, 2021| Leave a Comment »

Photo: Ketut Subiyanto from Pexels

The COVID-19 pandemic has forced the United States to acknowledge how weak its child care system is – and how child care’s struggles can quickly create chaos for working mothers.

Abigail Usherwood, a Strategies for Children intern, explores this issue in the newly released policy brief, “COVID-19 and Gender Inequality in the Workforce.”

Even before the pandemic, Underwood writes, women establishing their careers faced more challenges than men. There is still a stubborn wage gap: nationally, for every dollar men earn, women earn $0.81.

Factor race in, Usherwood explains, and the problem grows worse.

“In the United States, Black women lag even further behind in terms of the gender wage gap. On average, for every $1.00 a white, non-Latino man makes, a Black woman will only earn $0.63.”

Factor in the pandemic, and it’s clear that women are under intense pressure from the expectation that they will “balance household duties, like child care, with career responsibilities, and, during the pandemic, remote schooling. All of these responsibilities compound, creating barriers for women to progress in the workforce.”

One economically devastating outcome is a gender-based workforce participation gap:

(more…)

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In quotes: universal preschool plan is “a game-changer”

Posted in Child care, Cost and affordability, Federal, National, Pre-kindergarten, Quotes, Strategies for Children on May 7, 2021| Leave a Comment »

“President Biden’s proposal for free, high-quality preschoolfor all 3- and 4-year-olds would create powerful change in Massachusetts, one of the nation’s most expensive child care markets, educators and parents said.

“In a state where, despite its relative wealth and strong public school system, nearly half of children don’t attend preschool, mostly because they can’t afford it, universal preschool could help reduce the educational inequities that start long before kindergarten, they said.

“ ‘I honestly think it’s a game-changer,’ said Amy O’Leary, campaign director of Strategies for Children, an advocacy group. ‘The research tells us that for families who need more support, we see better outcomes in the short and long-term.’ ”

“In an address to Congress last week, Biden said his $1.8 trillion American Families Plan would add four years of free public education — two years of preschool and two years of community college — to the 12 years guaranteed to all children.”

— “Biden’s universal preschool plan a ‘game-changer’ for Mass., but final version could look very different,” by Naomi Martin, The Boston Globe, May 2, 2021

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In quotes: U.S. Secretary of the Interior Deb Haaland

Posted in Child care, Federal, National, Pre-kindergarten, Quotes on April 30, 2021| Leave a Comment »

Every family deserves access to quality childcare. As a single mom, paying for childcare was a struggle and I had to clean my child's preschool in order to afford it. No family should have to struggle like that. @POTUS' American Families Plan puts children and parents first. https://t.co/zCgXjG1SRy
— Secretary Deb Haaland (@SecDebHaaland) April 29, 2021

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In quotes: President Biden’s child care proposal

Posted in Child care, Federal, National, Quotes on April 23, 2021| Leave a Comment »

“President Biden will use his address to a joint session of Congress next week to lay out his next legislative proposal focusing on child care and education, the White House said Thursday.”

“Biden’s plan is expected to propose a families package totaling some $1 trillion that would cover child care, universal prekindergarten and community college, but The New York Times reported Thursday that the plan will not include an expansion of health care coverage or reduction to prescription drug prices.

“Biden is expected to propose to pay for the plan by raising taxes on the wealthy.”

— “Biden to use address to Congress to lay out plans for child care, police reform,” by Morgan Chalfant, The Hill, April 22, 2021