Spotlight PR brings quality public relations assistance into reach for mission-driven causes as well as socially conscious entrepreneurs, celebrities and executives.

Tag: Early Childhood Education

Child Care Advocates Sound Alarm on Child Care Crisis in Miami County

Posted on

For Immediate Release

Nov. 20, 2023

MIAMI COUNTY, Oh. – Renee Matsunami and Karen Stienecker, child care advocates in Miami County, are pleading with elected leaders to take action to address the child care crisis in the county and state. The duo runs Child Care Choices, a small nonprofit which provides training for child care providers, referrals for families needing care, and sponsors the Child and Adult Care Food Program. They are affiliated with The CEO Project and have been working with other organizations to bring solutions to the child care crisis in Miami County.

“Miami County is facing a shortage of child care that will affect this generation of children for a long time,” Matsunami said. “But this is an issue that impacts families at the county, state and national levels. We have found that the families most impacted by a lack of childcare are the families that need publicly funded childcare, families that have a child with special needs, families that need second, third and weekend shift care, and families with infants and toddlers.” 

“When parents need care and can’t find it, they feel desperate,” Stienecker said. “You can hear them close to tears on the phone and that is heartbreaking. Our system is forcing parents to settle for care that may not be up to their standards. We must face the fact that Ohio’s child care system is not stable or sustainable.”  

“We are a rural county,” Stienecker added. “We have a good percentage of children who need child care spots. Many of our centers don’t accept publicly-funded subsidies because they can fill their spots with private pay families. Today, there are only spots for less than half of the kids who need a publicly funded spot in Miami County. Ohio is one of the lowest in terms of reimbursement rates for publicly funded child care. The reimbursement rate is 25% and the recommendation is 75%.”  

“In Miami County we have no licensed family child care providers, which means a lack of second and third shift care.” Steinecker said. “The number of women who left the workforce has been staggering; many of them have not returned because there is a lack of childcare. In other situations, parents are depending on family, friends and neighbors to take care of their kids.”  

When asked why Ohio’s childcare system is in such a bind, Matsunami and Stienecker noted: 

  1. The licensing process is frustrating and overwhelming. Two providers we’ve been working with for close to a year are still not through the process. It takes a long time to complete the licensure process. The system is broken and we aren’t able to get people licensed. With the exception of one person who is licensed but set to move away from the county, we have zero licensed family child care providers in Miami County.  When we don’t have licensed family child care providers, families that need publicly funded childcare aren’t able to get those services.  
  2. Staffing shortages means fewer child care spots. The wages are so low that centers aren’t able to recruit and retain child care educators. The average wage for child care providers in Ohio is around $11 per hour. “It is hard to draw people into a career in early childhood education when other industries don’t require the same amount of education, and they pay more than $11 per hour. Down the road is a Chewy factory with starting rates of $19 per hour. When you’re looking at your bills, the difference between getting paid $19 or $11 per hour, that changes a family’s income,” Steinecker said. “The rules and regulations seem oppressive. We are crushing child care providers with rules. Our people are breaking under the weight that is put upon them by the system.” 
  3. The importance of high-quality early childhood education is not prioritized. Birth to age five are critical years in terms of brain development, which means that the care children receive during this period is vital to their future. About 60% of Ohio’s children are unprepared for kindergarten. Child care providers are not babysitters; they are educators who are ensuring that our children are ready for school

“Ohio’s child care system is in crisis” Matsunami said. “It’s time elected leaders invest in our future by investing in child care.”

###

Clock is Ticking: Advocates Raise Alarms About the 3.2 Million Children Likely to Lose Child Care with End of Federal Funds

Posted on

For Immediate Release

WASHINGTON – Advocates with the Raising Child Care Fund continue to sound the alarm on the impact of the end of pandemic era investments in early child care funding. They released the following statement:

“It is troublesome to be forced to choose between work and caring for one’s child,” said LaDon Love of SPACEs in Action. “And it is disheartening to care for other people’s kids, knowing you are not earning enough to care for yourself or your children. Yet this is the position of countless families in communities across the country. And things are about to get worse.”

On September 30, pandemic-era investments for child care will cease. When this happens, more than three million children will lose access to child care nationwide. Many early childhood education and care programs will close their doors or decrease availability when they run out of federal funds (The Century Foundation Fund estimates 70,000 child care programs nationwide could end). This will adversely impact countless parents and caregivers who will be unable to work without the federal subsidies for child care.

We know that all parents deserve quality, affordable, and reliable child care, and all children deserve a safe place to be nurtured, educated and stimulated. We know what is possible with investment.

“In Minnesota, advocates won historic funding for childcare, including $600 million to keep and retain childcare teachers with Great Start Workforce Compensation Supports,” said Kelly Martinson with Kids Count On Us, a project of ISAIAH.

“This funding has the deepest meaning for us because we’ve seen it work,” said Karin Swenson of Meadow Park Preschool and Child Care Center and member of Kids Count on Us. “We’ve been able to encourage people to enter the early childhood field and retain them because we can pay them closer to the wages they deserve. We managed to take a pandemic-era grant program from COVID relief funds and turn it into permanent ongoing funding for hiring and retaining childcare teachers.”

“It took extensive organizing, and we made it happen,” Swenson said. “With this funding, we’re setting a foundation. Now we can start building upon that foundation to transform our childcare system into one that is affordable for every family, high quality for every Minnesota child, and a career path for childcare teachers. We won a new Department of Children, Youth, and Families that we’ve been working toward for several years. We also got the Childcare Assistance program reimbursement rates raised to the national standard after being cut 20 years ago.”

Minnesota doesn’t have to be an anomaly, but funding is required. Without an extension of pandemic funding for childcare, many families will be left out in the cold.

“Throughout the Ohio budget process, we have been advocating for adequate funding for early childhood education and care,” said Tami Lunan of the The CEO Project, an initiative of the Ohio Organizing Collaborative. “Unfortunately, the Ohio Senate passed a cruel version of the budget that removes hundreds of millions of dollars in childcare funding from the Ohio budget.  If passed, it would make Ohio one of the worst states in the nation to raise a family. We desperately need federal funding, and for Ohio legislators to do the right thing for kids.”

Advocates also say the pain of cuts will not be evenly felt. “The child care system disproportionately relies on Black, brown, and immigrant women to care for children,” Lunan added. “They are underpaid, under-resourced, and overwhelmed by the sheer amount of physical and emotional inherent in their jobs. It will also harm employers who can only keep their businesses going with child care for their workers.”

“Those with means will get the care that they need and everyone else will suffer,” said Amy Hutchison, Rattle the Windows.

For more information or to speak to a parent, provider or advocate in Alabama, California, the District of Columbia, Georgia, Louisiana, Minnesota, West Virginia, or another state please let us know.

###

The Raising Child Care Fund is an initiative of the Early Childhood Funders Collaborative (ECFC) that pools private foundation dollars to give grants to groups that amplify the voices of families, early educators, and allies.

Early Childhood Education Advocates Celebrate $3 Million Gift from MacKenzie Scott 

Posted on

For Immediate Release

June 28, 2023

WASHINGTON – The Raising Child Care Fund (RCCF) today announced a $3 million gift from MacKenzie Scott. The Raising Child Care Fund is an initiative of the Early Childhood Funders Collaborative (ECFC) that pools private foundation dollars to give grants to groups that amplify the voices of families, early educators, and allies. The Fund works alongside leaders to build powerful coalitions to transform child care and expand equity in states. The one-time gift will support the RCCF’s goal of raising $12 million by 2025 to increase investments in current and future partners. 

“RCCF has been an invaluable partner investing in grassroots groups with multi-year general operating grants and then getting out of the way so we can do the work we were entrusted to do,” said Mary Ignatius, Parent Voices CA. “The funding from MacKenzie Scott will only strengthen and expand this model; adding depth and breadth to RCCF’s current and future partners.  We hope others join in funding grassroots child care organizing led by families and providers of color.” 

“Since launching in 2019, RCCF has become a learning laboratory for centering racial equity and changing funder practices to better support power building in communities,” said Early Childhood Funders Collaborative Executive Director Shannon Rudisill. “This investment will go a long way in supporting our work and mission.”

The gift comes at a critical point as grassroots organizers work to build momentum for greater state and federal investments in child care. Federal pandemic relief funds, due to expire later this year, helped keep 70,000 child care programs open. The Century Foundation estimated that 3 million children will lose child care if the child care funds in the American Rescue Plan Act are not extended. 

“All children and families deserve access to quality and affordable childcare, and all early educators deserve compensation that honors their role in society and the economy,” said Rachel Schumacher, director of the Raising Child Care Fund. “This gift is a testament to their work.”

The RCCF will regrant the bulk of the gift to state partners.   

“RCCF brought us closer to grassroots organizers and local leaders, and has illuminated the important role they play to build power and strategically shift systems so that children,parents, and child care providers can thrive,” said Marie Hocker, a member of the RCCF Executive Committee and a Principal at Imaginable Futures, a venture of the Omidyar Group

“This significant investment in our work reaffirms our shared commitment to empowering families and child care providers through grassroots organizing,” said Erin Clark, organizer with 9to5. “Our work is rooted in the experiences of our members, who lead and shape our campaigns, building communities where all families can thrive. We are deeply grateful to the Raising Child Care Fund for recognizing the impact of grassroots organizations like ours and for their dedication to fostering positive change led by those most impacted.” 

###