Research has shown that the first five years play an enormous role in a child’s ongoing development and future success. Since most kids are in a child care or preschool setting while their parents are at work, it’s critical that we invest in a high-quality early education system that provides the experiences kids need for healthy development.
I was in Green Bay this past summer for the annual meeting of the Community Partnership for Children, coordinated through the Brown County United Way, and focused on school readiness. Here was the shocker for me: last year 86% of families with newborn babies in Brown County received a Welcome Baby home visit. That’s 2,918 visits. They...
The number of regulated child care programs has dropped substantially in the last six years from 10,705 to 5,858, a 45% drop. The greatest decline by far was for family child care programs, both licensed and certified. The number of group child care centers stayed fairly stable. 71% drop for certified family child care providers: The...
from NIEER's Preschool Matters Today by Shannon Riley-Ayers, NIEER/CEELO Assistant Research Professor I remember the anticipation each fall as school was about to begin. So much was going on in my mind. Who was going to be in my class? What kind of year was it going to be? What were we going to learn? I was excited. I was nervous. These...
In the last 10 years two state programs that provide services to children and families have grown rapidly: 4-year-old Kindergarten (4K) and the Wisconsin Shares child care subsidy program. 4K enrollment has nearly tripled, with 93% of school districts now serving over 48,000 children; while Wisconsin Shares enrollment has grown over 50%...
The Wisconsin Shares child care subsidy program underspent by $20 million in the first year of the 2013-2015 biennial budget, according to the Department of Children and Families (DCF) website. The first year’s budget (July 1, 2013 to June 30, 2014) allocated $255 million for direct subsidy payments for child care services, but only...
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