More than 1,200 researchers agree that quality early care and education produces better education, health, economic, and social outcomes for children, families, and the nation. Despite this, Wisconsin has a long ways to go to ensure that every child in this state is receiving high-quality early care and education. Because of this, the...
A new report, Social-Emotional Skills in Early Childhood Support Workforce Success, has just been released from ReadyNation, a national group of business leaders. ReadyNation is part of the Council for a Strong America. This year the Council has been promoting high-quality child care and evidence-based home visiting in Wisconsin,...
As we in Wisconsin battle to make modest child care policy improvements after a decade of reduction in child care investment, I am sending this Policy Paper by Economic Policy Institute that clearly lays out key issues that need to be addressed: Paid Family Leave: Policies that allow all parents the option to stay home with their...
The Department of Public Instruction (DPI) has announced that, with the addition of four more communities, 97.6% of Wisconsin school districts offer four-year-old kindergarten (4K). Enrollment for 2016-17 is at a high of 48,764 students in 401 school districts throughout the state. For more information, click the link below for the DPI...
A new report by the non-partisan Congressional Budget Office (CBO) confirms most of our worst fears about the House Republican plan to repeal much of the Affordable Care Act (ACA) and radically change Medicaid. The March 13th report released by the Republican-appointed director of the CBO shows the following: Federal Medicaid funding...
Fundamental Change to Structure of Medicaid Would Gradually Yield Deep Cuts A new analysis of the House Republican plan to repeal and replace the Affordable Care Act (ACA) projects that the changes relating to the health insurance Marketplace will cause more than 15 million people to become uninsured. And in my opinion, that’s the...
Today is International Women’s Day. It began as International Working Women’s Day to honor the International Lady Garment Worker’s Union strike and in the 1970’s, the United Nations officially began celebrating International Women’s Day. Across the world, women are going on strike to highlight issues women disproportionately face, such...
WCCF has analyzed Governor Walker’s key budget proposals for early care, described in a two-page summary HERE Below are some highlights: Increase in the Wisconsin Shares Child Care Subsidy budget The proposed child care subsidy budget includes an increase from the 2016-17 base of $8.5 million in year one and $27.5 million in year two. ...
Nobel Laureate Economist James Heckman and venture capitalist J.B. Pritzker agree that solid gains come when quality child care is linked to quality preschool, according to a post from the University of Chicago, Combining Quality Child Care and Preschool. Here’s a paragraph from the post: “Greater access to child care frees parents —...
Soon after very positive findings from North Carolina’s investments in quality early care and education were highlighted in a recent blog, https://kidsforward.org/north-carolina-early-childhood-investment-pays-off/, Michigan is getting major attention with its Great Start Readiness Program (GSRP). The program is particularly focused on...
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