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The future of work… includes child care

Posted in Business and economy, Child care, Cost and affordability, COVID-19, Funding, MA governor, Massachusetts Cities and Towns, Pre-kindergarten, Strategies for Children on July 22, 2021| Leave a Comment »

As they steer Massachusetts through the pandemic, Governor Charlie Baker and Lieutenant Governor Karyn Polito have released a new report on the future of work. It’s an economic blueprint for rebuilding the economy that includes new plans for child care.

Before the pandemic, Massachusetts had a thriving economy with a conventional “look” that included commuters traveling by car or public transportation to offices in busy commercial areas.

But now — in the wake of layoffs, less business travel, and more Zoom meetings – Massachusetts could see less demand for office spaces, shifts in employment, and the worsening of pre-existing social inequities.

To address these challenges, the report explores “what work could look like… in both the near term (to 2025) and the longer term (to 2030),” across the state’s “regions, economic sectors, commercial centers, local downtowns, transportation, and public spaces.”

Among the top eight insights in the report: (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| Leave a Comment »

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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Meet our summer interns

Posted in Child care, COVID-19, Dept. of Early Education and Care, English language learners, Language development, MA Legislature, MA state budget, Massachusetts Cities and Towns, National, Pre-kindergarten, Strategies for Children on July 6, 2021| Leave a Comment »

Melissa Charles

Melissa Charles

I am a student at Bunker Hill Community College pursuing my associate degree. However, this fall I will transfer to Smith College and study economics.

I was born in Geneva Switzerland and left the country at age three. By the time I started kindergarten in the United States, French and Haitian Creole were my first languages. As a child. I was not celebrated for my multilingual abilities. In fact, compared to my peers, I was seen as having a deficit. Fortunately, I learned English quickly, and within a few months, I had completely adapted.

During my internship at Strategies for Children (SFC), I have been carrying my early childhood experience with me. I am interested in early education and care that includes a focus on emerging multi-language learners and on families who rely heavily on assistance programs and would benefit from supportive, grassroots policies.

In my policy and advocacy work, I hope to grow SFC’s social media presence through outreach and campaigns, drawing on my experience as a marketing intern for my hometown of Stoneham, Mass. Through my work with the SFC team, I hope to advance budget and policy ideas that may have not been prioritized in the past. (more…)

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The Senate Ways and Means FY22 Budget Proposal

Posted in Child care, COVID-19, Funding, MA Legislature, MA state budget, Pre-kindergarten, Strategies for Children on May 12, 2021| Leave a Comment »

Photo: Alyssa Haywoode for Strategies for Children

Yesterday, the Massachusetts Senate Committee on Ways and Means released its $47.6 billion budget proposal for fiscal year 2022.

WBUR reports that, “Senate President Karen Spilka said the budget bill ‘seeks to put us on a stable fiscal footing and build a more inclusive and resilient commonwealth for all of us.’

“ ‘If the COVID-19 pandemic and its economic aftershocks have frayed the fabric of our commonwealth, this budget takes on the important but sometimes invisible work of stitching that fabric back together,’ ” Spilka told reporters.

The Senate’s proposal for early education and care includes more funding than Governor Charlie Baker’s FY22 proposal, but less than the House budget.

All three FY22 budgets are well below FY21 state budget appropriations for early education and care.

(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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The House releases its state budget proposal for fiscal year 2022

Posted in Child care, Cost and affordability, Dept. of Early Education and Care, Funding, MA governor, MA Legislature, MA state budget, Pre-kindergarten, Professional development & preparation, Strategies for Children on April 15, 2021| Leave a Comment »

Photo: Alyssa Haywoode for Strategies for Children

The Massachusetts House Ways and Means Committee has released its FY ’22 budget.

It’s a $47.6 billion budget proposal, that’s slightly higher, the Gloucester Daily Times reports, than the $45.6 billion budget that Governor Charlie Baker released in January.

“The House budget proposal calls for a 2.6% spending increase from fiscal 2021 and expects the state to collect $30.1 billion in tax revenue (the revenue drops to $24.3 billion after factoring in payments to the pension fund, MBTA and state reserves),” according to MassLive.com.

For early education and care, the House’s proposed budget specifics include:

• $358.9 million to fund child care for children served by the Department of Children and Families and the Department of Transitional Assistance

• $298.7 million in child care funds to support income-eligible families

• $20 million for a salary reserve to increase rates for center-based early education

• $15 million for Head Start

• $12 million for child care resource and referral agencies

• $5 million for pre-school expansion efforts

• $5 million for professional development opportunities, and

• $2.5 million for the Early Childhood Mental Health Consultation Grant (more…)

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In quotes: Amy O’Leary

Posted in Business and economy, Child care, COVID-19, Early educators, Family engagement, Funding, Infants and toddlers, Pre-kindergarten, Quotes, Strategies for Children on April 2, 2021| Leave a Comment »

“I feel a great responsibility to remember and think of the educators, program directors, family childcare providers, school staff, CEOs, and community leaders who have shown up every day for children and families to start with this pandemic.

“We continue to be inspired by this resilient workforce, but we know that is not enough. We cannot return to the way things were. We cannot call child care essential for the economy and then continue to have 37% of early educators in Massachusetts eligible for public assistance. We cannot make decisions about the K-to-12 side of this system without considering the implications for babies, toddlers, before- and afterschool, summer and school vacations. We cannot give access to consistent testing to people in one part of the system and not continue to think about the children and families, and [about] the [early education] teachers who are there every day with children.”

“We know that families don’t live in funding streams, but many of our decisions have been based on those funding streams.”

[Amy starts speaking at the video’s 1:00 time mark.]

— Amy O’Leary, “Reimagining Early Care and Education: A New American Vision,” A New America webcast, March 30, 2021

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‘Seizing the Moment’ for policy progress in child care

Posted in Child care, Cost and affordability, COVID-19, Pre-kindergarten, Strategies for Children on April 1, 2021| Leave a Comment »

As the world staggers through the pandemic, people are wisely asking how to rebuild in ways that make society better than it was before COVID-19.

To explore this topic, Boston Indicators — the research center at The Boston Foundation – has launched a series of articles called, “Seizing the Moment: Proposals for a Just and Equitable Recovery.”

The articles cover a range of policy issues including transportation, housing, and work and the economy. The articles’ authors will speak at a culminating event on Wednesday, April 14, 2021, from 9:30 to 11:00 a.m. Click here to register.

A newly published article in the series, by Titus Dos Remedios and Marisa Fear of Strategies for Children, covers early education and care.

This article points to the need for new, more ambitious standards for progress:

“Old progressive policy goals like universal, affordable child care that once seemed far out of reach are now part of what’s necessary for an equitable economic recovery for all. If lawmakers don’t seize the current opportunity, the next time the child-care sector is pushed to the brink it may be too late—children, families and providers simply cannot withstand another national emergency.”

(more…)

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The Itsy Bitsy Zoomcast: talking about early education in Western Mass.

Posted in COVID-19, Dept. of Early Education and Care, Early educators, Family child care, Massachusetts Cities and Towns, Pre-kindergarten, Professional development & preparation, Strategies for Children, tagged #theitsybitsyzoomcast on March 25, 2021| Leave a Comment »

Screenshot: The Itsy Bitsy Zoomcast Project

Five months ago, in the middle of the pandemic, Elizabeth Charland-Tait and Sheila Gould launched a Zoomcast series.

They nicknamed it the Itsy Bitsy Zoomcast Project (IBZP), although the formal name is “The More We Get Together: Conversations that Build Bridges in Early Childhood.”

Gould is a Holyoke Community College (HCC) professor and the coordinator of the Early Childhood Programs. Charland-Tait is an early childhood lead coach for Massachusetts’ Western StrongStart Professional Development Centers.

Their goal is to have meaningful conversations that connect early childhood professionals in Western Massachusetts.