United Way for Greater Austin’s Post

What can we do right now about the childcare crisis affecting Sioux Falls and our state? This info from South Dakota Afterschool Network outlines some steps you can take today to have your voice be heard. #childcarecrisis #sodakkidsmatter #workforcebehindtheworkforce

I’m chewing on so many things from Jackie Mader's September 23rd article that was featured in The Hechinger Report and The Washington Post.     ❗ 1) Above all, I finished the article feeling even more hopeful that every family can soon access affordable, high-quality childcare. ❗ 2) Moreover, this article served as one more example that expanding access to childcare can help businesses, communities, and entire countries thrive economically. ❗ 3) The article was also a reminder that some of the most innovative policy solutions to our most wicked policy problems may already exist outside of America’s borders, which is why international collaboration on whole-child equity is key. ❗ 4) Finally, one thing we must learn from Canada is that childcare is a supply and demand issue, which means the United States must simultaneously invest in workers, in parents, and in the childcare industry specifically. Raising early childhood education wages and providing childcare providers with federal & state funding for operations will be just as important as expanding the child tax credit and lowering childcare costs through subsidies & controls.     Jackie Mader wrote, “This idea — that parents should pay an average of $10 a day for childcare and that public funds should underwrite childcare programs — is now a cornerstone of a new national childcare system rolling out across the country (Canada).”     Jackie continued, “Canada’s national system is nowhere near finished and is hardly perfect; there are staffing shortages in many parts of the country and still far too few seats available for children. But the new national initiative, known as “Canada-wide,” will bring Canada closer to joining the ranks of countries like Finland, Sweden and Iceland, long lauded for providing robust federal support for childcare.”     I loved seeing fellow Teach For America and Charles and Lynn Schusterman Family Philanthropies' REALITY alum Elliot Haspel quoted in this article too! I 100% agreed with what Elliot said, which was that “Canada shows that transformative childcare reform is possible. I don’t think we can copy and paste what the advocates up there did. But I think there’s some real lessons in thinking about messaging of childcare and what’s the actual policy.” Onwards and upwards! #educationalequity #optimablue #earlychildhood #childcare

The Childcare Crisis has continued to plague communities across South Dakota, and we are approaching a pivotal point...the time for action is now! Sioux Falls alone has 12,260 licensed slots for approximately 12,904 children (2023 Community Childcare Initiative Final Report by Sioux Falls Thrive). The recent announcement of the Apple Tree Childcare Centers closing, and the earlier closing of Good Shepherd, brings availability to 11,222 licensed slots, leaving parents of over 1,000 children without childcare in Sioux Falls. A loss of this magnitude has been felt in just two months' time, propelling an already dire situation deeper into crisis. Not only is this a childcare crisis, but it is a workforce crisis. In South Dakota,  76% of school-age youth and 73% of children under 5 have both adults who live in the home in the workforce. Many parents are now faced with the impossible choice between working and caring for their children. These workforce and childcare crises require support and action from critical decision-makers in communities across the state. Early Learner South Dakota and South Dakota Afterschool Network are taking action, working collaboratively with communities in crisis, advocating at the state level, and supporting the programs our families desperately need. The time for action is now! Will you join us to: RALLY behind the six pieces of legislation proposed by Early Learner South Dakota in the upcoming 2024 session. SHARE your story with us by visiting https://lnkd.in/eHA_nZMe CALL and email your legislators (find them here https://lnkd.in/esmrYyzv) and tell them that childcare is important, and it affects all of us. Need help writing to your legislator? Use this convenient link to get your message right where it needs to be by visiting https://lnkd.in/eVAPTDt6 (For best results access the link using desktop view.)

In Surrey, BC, there are a few different childcare grants and subsidies available to help families with the cost of childcare: 1. Child Care Operating Funding - This grant is available to licensed childcare providers in Surrey to help cover the costs of running their programs. This funding is then used to lower the cost of childcare for families. 2. Affordable Child Care Benefit (ACCB) - The ACCB is a provincial program that provides financial assistance to eligible low-income families to help cover the cost of child care. The amount of the benefit varies based on family size, income, and the age of the child. 3. Child Care Fee Reduction Initiative (CCFRI) - The CCFRI is another provincial program that provides funding to licensed childcare providers to reduce the cost of child care for families. The amount of the reduction varies based on the type of care and the age of the child. 4. Community Gaming Grants - Community gaming grants are available to non-profit organizations in Surrey that provide childcare services. These grants can help cover the cost of equipment, staff training, and other expenses related to providing high-quality childcare. 5. City of Surrey Child Care Grants - The City of Surrey also offers a number of grants and funding opportunities for licensed childcare providers, including capital grants to help with facility upgrades, and wage enhancement grants to help attract and retain qualified staff. It's important to note that eligibility requirements and application processes may vary for each of these grants and subsidies. Families and providers interested in learning more about these programs should contact their local childcare resource and referral center or visit the City of Surrey's website for more information. #surreybc #vancouver #Canada #HarsshSiingh #NewcomersCanada #newimmigrantsincanada #childcare #grants

Our community's childcare cost has risen by 32% since 2019. Families in Summit County are currently paying anywhere from $400 to $2800 monthly for quality childcare. In September of 2023, Summit County lost federal funding that kept childcare in our community afloat – $2.8 million a year, to be exact. This will eventually lead to tuition hikes, reduced class sizes, teacher and caretaker pay cuts and/or layoffs, and more. On November 29, our Early Childhood Alliance Director, Kristen Schulz, asked the Summit County Council to allocate $330,000 to support families who need assistance paying for childcare services as part of a proposal to support residents making less than 65% of the area median income ($90,000 for a family of four). “If the County Council allocates some funding in next year’s budget, this allows Summit County staff to work alongside local employers, families, and early care and education providers to address community needs. Absent any budget allocation, this issue will likely be more expensive and difficult to address during next year’s budgeting process given the loss of federal funds,” Schulz said. The Park Record wrote a great article regarding the issue and the day's discussion at Summit County Council. Please read the full story to learn more >> https://lnkd.in/eAnX93kY For ways to support the Early Childhood Alliance, visit https://lnkd.in/eDMB_bfk.

Week in Review On September 30, a $24 billion investment in childcare finding from the 2021 American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA) will come to an end, putting affordable childcare at risk for millions of parents and caretakers. With a childcare cliff looming within the next two weeks, Democratic lawmakers in Congress have proposed legislation that would provide continued funding for childcare, "It has been a lifeline for our struggling childcare system and the parents who depend on it. We invest in roads to make sure people can get to work. We have to invest in childcare, too," said Sen. Patty Murray of Washington, Chair of the Senate Appropriations Committee. The Child Care Stabilization Act would allocate $16 billion to childcare annually for five years to aid providers. The Century Foundation, a nonprofit think tank, has estimated that the end of federal childcare funding could lead to the closure of over 70,000 childcare programs and 3.2 million children losing their care. They have also estimated that American families will lose out on a staggering $9 billion in annual earnings due to having to cut back on hours at work or leave their jobs completely. The end of federal funding will deal another blow to parents who are already facing severely high costs and shortages of childcare throughout the United States. The Department of Labor found that families across the country pay between 8% and 19% of their median family income per child on care, meaning that childcare is already unaffordable almost everywhere in the country.

2024 Childcare Costs forcing Moms to Make Tough Choices! Parents, especially Moms, are struggling to balance the need to work with the ever-rising cost of childcare! Even if parents can afford to pay the higher costs, many childcare centers and babysitters did not re-open post-pandemic, leaving families struggling to find available, quality care! States with the highest annual childcare expenses, as ranked by the Economic Policy Institute (epi.org), include: #1. Washington, D.C. ($24,243) #2. Massachusetts ($20,913) #3. California ($16,945) #4. Minnesota ($16,087) #5. Connecticut ($15,501) #6. New York ($15,394) #7. Maryland ($15,335) #8. Colorado ($15,325) #9. Washington ($14,554) #10. Virginia ($14,063) As companies and agencies are starting to put pressure on employees to return to the office full-time, they must consider the aftershocks of the pandemic that continue to impact millions of families across the U.S. As noted in a U.S. Census post from November 29, 2023, “The COVID-19 pandemic disrupted the lives of the nation’s estimated 62.7 million parents with children under age 18, as access to paid, unpaid or subsidized child care and school supervision ended for many. The recent end of pandemic relief funds may continue the disruptions for some households, potentially affecting availability of child care for years to come.” (ref: Most Parents Don’t Have Any Formal Child Care Arrangements (census.gov). In conclusion, parents continue to face tough choices, juggling work and childcare responsibilities, as the nation is transitioning to the post-pandemic work environment. It is going to take a collective effort from businesses, policymakers, and communities to address this crisis. Employers must find creative ways to support families by continuing to allow flexible/split work hours, additional telework days, financial subsidies, and/or salary increases. By doing so, they will retain valuable talent, while contributing to a more compassionate and sustainable future for working parents.

The cost of childcare is increasing faster than the rate of inflation, with a 4.4% climb in March 2024, contributing to a total increase of 36% over the past decade. Many families are struggling to afford these rising costs and are being forced to leave the workforce as a result. However, solutions to this problem are available. Christina N. Taylor, MPH, CEO of the Early Childhood Council of Larimer County, discusses actionable steps we can take today to address the childcare affordability and accessibility gap. Read more from BizWest below. #larimerthrivebyfive #larimercounty #childcarecrisis #childcaresolutions

“So much can shift when we do better for our kids, and a big piece of that is childcare. We're in the middle of a childcare crisis—it's impossible to find. We've lost over half of our childcare businesses and most of the places throughout the district that are still open, have wait lists over two years. We have families that are paying 40 to 50% of their take home pay towards childcare! At the same time, the childcare business is impossible to run in a way that pays livable wages for the staff. We're asking people to dedicate their lives to our kids at an age where the brain is at a stage of critical development, but most childcare providers don't make more than $16 an hour and we know that one in every five childcare professionals lives in poverty. 40% of them are eligible for at least one public benefit. If we are keeping professionals in a state of poverty in order to do this job, we have to fix it. The business model is broken and fixing the issue will require so much investment, so I’m advocating for that. I've got a package of bills that we're going to introduce in the fall to help with that, but we're going to have to invest some considerable state resources to make it happen. Quite frankly, we've been asking our community organizations like the United Way to pick up the slack on this for too long, and thank God we have those organizations. But that's not the solution and it can't be the way the whole system works. There's simply no way to do this without some public investment into childcare to make it easier. We need to be able to get folks back in the workforce, but we're not going to do that until we fix childcare. It’ll be tough, but it's just a matter of priorities. If this is important, then we can figure out a way to fund it.” – Kristen McDonald Rivet, State Senator for Michigan Senate District 35 Listen to our full conversation with Senator Rivet on the Hey, Bay City! Podcast, available wherever you listen to podcasts and the Hey, Bay City! website. Catch our interview with Representative Timmy Beson next week!