Boys & Girls Clubs of the Austin Area’s Post

The Center for American Progress (CAP) in its latest report found that more than half of governors are prioritizing investments in childcare and early education in their 2024 state-of-the-state addresses. Now's the time for advocates to seize this momentum and push for more accessible and affordable early care and education for all families! Read more in ACS' Latest News!

Collaboration is indeed inspiring.

Where's Childcare? Canadian families must have accessible, high-quality, inclusive, and affordable child care. "Tell friends, family, colleagues, and elected officials that we need more high-quality, low-fee not-for-profit and public child care spaces. Join the #WHERESCHILDCARECHALLENGE today!" "High-quality child care isn’t possible without the ability to attract and retain qualified early childhood educators and staff. The importance of adequate funding to implement competitive wage grids, enhance benefits, and improve working conditions for early childhood educators and staff to ensure the sustainability of the child care system." Learn more about the project: https://shorturl.at/cjnu8 Sign the open letter: https://shorturl.at/dwHIL Access the toolkit & share: https://shorturl.at/bimB1

Affordable, safe and reliable childcare is so important for families in New Hampshire.

The Louisiana Policy Institute for Children, in partnership with the Child Care Association of Louisiana, For Providers by Providers, Louisiana Association for the Education of Young Children, Louisiana Association of United Ways, and resource and referral agencies including Agenda, is conducting their annual survey of childcare providers in the state. This survey will help with understanding the issues early care and education providers in Louisiana currently face. All early care and education providers that serve children under 5 are encouraged to fill out this survey. You can complete the survey here: https://bit.ly/4bLJaOG

EQUITY ACTION: Make Your Voice Heard for Children and Families! Despite progress, there are still significant childcare needs today in Delaware, leaving families struggling to pay their bills. Use this platform to tell local lawmakers directly to invest in child care to help families and the workforce. TAKE ACTION! -> https://lnkd.in/gQ_M4eKv #Delaware #EquityActionDE #NetDE

Texas has a child care crisis that is impacting families across the state, as well as the Texas economy. The COVID pandemic left Texas with 27% fewer child care programs, and over half our counties are now child care deserts. This shortfall costs the state $11.4 billion annually and forces child care workers, who earn an average of $11 per hour, to spend over 35% of their income on infant care. Improving access to affordable, quality child care is essential for our economic development and community well-being. I'm proud to have worked with Children at Risk to support the Proposition 2 Amendment, which was passed by Texas voters this past November. This initiative allows local governments to implement a tax exemption of at least 50% for child care centers, taking a vital step towards reducing the cost of childcare, increasing wages for childcare teachers, and supporting local small businesses. By easing the financial pressures on both providers and parents, Proposition 2 helps ensure that more families have access to the high-quality child care they need. #AffordableChildcare #ChildcareWorkers #TexasFamilies

On the May 13th #DayWithoutChildCare, Childcare providers, parents, and supporters are walking out of our places of work to illustrate how our economy relies on child care. We are calling on our elected leaders to act quickly to solve America’s child care crisis. At the federal level, the Democrats’ reconciliation package offers us a once in a generation opportunity to acknowledge the incredible value that caregiving and caregivers add to our economy and to help families struggling with their rising child care costs. Please use this toolkit to support parents, child care providers, and Child care Change makers nationwide as they demand living wages and affordable child care. #DayWithoutChildCare Share this website with our elected leaders to call on them to stand with parents & providers on May 13 For more information on the May 13th Day Without Childcare, please see daywithoutchildcare.org **If you have any questions, please contact Jaya Chatterjee (jchatterjee@communitychange.org) and Meredith Loomis Quinlan (mquinlan@communitychange.org) at Community Change.

The City of St. Louis called on residents to prioritize how Rams Settlement dollars should be used, and the people spoke – loudly! The NUMBER ONE priority for Black residents is free or municipally subsidized childcare for residents. We believe the city should listen to the thousands of residents who voted for early childhood education funding and: WE believe childcare is a CIVIL RIGHT.  WE believe every child and family deserves access to a quality and affordable childcare seat.  WE believe it is unacceptable for a workforce made up of so many women and women of color has been historically and still remains to be overworked, underpaid, and undervalued.  WE believe local, state, and federal government each have a fiscal responsibility to our children starting at birth.  WE believe that regardless of where a family chooses to send their child (community-based, home-based, public schools (which only offer pre-k), etc.), their child deserves access to the resources necessary to run a quality program starting at birth.  WE believe the time to act is NOW. Join us:  https://vqr.vc/SL1kc1Qog #morewemorepower #weoutside

Should early childhood education and care be free in Australia? I am divided on this issue: due to my training and formal studies of early childhood education and care, and my own personal thoughts. If early childhood education and care is free in Australia, it means likely means the government aka tax payers aka the people would be paying for these fees. This is likely how early childhood would be cheaper for the families that need to access it. Yet, not all families would be needing early childhood services, only those that have children from zero; a newborn to the age of five or six; a preschooler. If the early childhood fees were paid for then it might be like it is now: families can pay a lot of money per day or per week. Often the CEO of the early childhood provider is the one making the most money, not the early childhood educators or teachers that are directly on the floor, often doing the hard work. They are the ones that have a specific, specialised and accredited qualification to work with children, ranging from a Certificate III to a Bachelor Degree or even higher, such as a Master Degree. Also, I understand now that early childhood fees have gone up a lot due to inflation due to the societal inplications of a world post-covid. It was expensive anyway. But now these fees can be so expensive, depending on which provider I end up sending my future child or children too. If I end up having my own family. They say that the early childhood fees are the most expensive part of raising a young child or children, and I see why. This is why I am anticipating to have a child or children later in life. In my forties or fifties. Some say that is too late. But I do not see myself having children or a child in my twenties (I am twenty-seven right now), mainly because of the exuberant fees that many providers are advertising. A lot of early childhood providers have their marketing on point, but I wonder a lot about the pay, and the professionalism of the profession? I do not mean to be negative, I am not a fully negative person. But I really do not think I am the only young person thinking that having children is just too expensive. I was wondering what others think. What do you think... Do you think early childhood education and care should be free in Australia? Or who do you think should pay?