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Upcoming Election Highlights Need for Bipartisan Action
Op-ed: Both Parties Need to Commit to Better Policies for Child Care “While Republicans and Democrats agree that child care is lacking in America they remain divided on many specifics of how best to solve the problem. It is time we solve this problem.”
In a new op-ed in The Fulcrum, Demi Siskind, PhD, Senior Research Scientist at Start Early and Public Voices fellow with The OpEd Project in partnership with the National Black Child Development Institute, outlines the bipartisan opportunity to prioritize meaningful legislation supporting early care and education. Read more about why early childhood policy needs to be a focus in the upcoming election. |
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Exploring the Child Care Crisis and Potential Solutions
Two Recent Blogs Discuss Child Care Access and Affordability In a recent blog post, Start Early Washington's Director of Programs, Liv Woodstorm, reflects on the challenges working families face to find affordable, quality child care and shares strategies to improve the current system. Read “The Struggle for Affordable Quality Child Care: A Balancing Act for Working Couples” here.
In a separate blog post, Judy Reidt-Parker, a Director with Start Early Consulting, shares how the recent Child Care Development Fund (CCDF) rule changes will provide an opportunity to improve families’ access to child care. Leaders can leverage the recent rule changes by making eligibility determination and application processes easier and faster for families, leveraging an application guide for best practices, and working at the state level to implement presumptive eligibility. Read more highlights and considerations for state child care leaders and advocates.
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Resources for State Leaders to Build Inclusive Systems
Recent Report and Upcoming Presentations Offer Insights on Inclusion The U.S. Departments of Education (ED) and Health and Human Services (HHS) declared a “renewed commitment and urgency” in supporting young children with disabilities and developmental delays in their recent policy statement on early childhood inclusion. The updated Child Care Development Fund (CCDF) rules reflect the urgent need to increase the supply and quality of inclusive child care and embed strategies to reach this goal. In partnership with the Division of Early Childhood (DEC), Start Early developed a tool to support states to continue driving this type of change: “Building Inclusive State Child Care Systems.”
Learn more about the tool, inclusion in ECE, examples of effective state-level policies, and ideas for further action here.
Interested in learning more? Attendees at the upcoming DEC 2024 Conference can participate in four sessions led by Start Early experts, including a Spotlight Session: “The Five Ws to Promote Equitable and Inclusive Policy and Systems Changes in Your State."
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