Legislative Session Reflections
"Anyone who works in advocacy knows that it is often a two steps forward, one step back proposition. While this is difficult to accept when we are talking about the lives of our youngest children, we need the persistence to come back again next year, and the next, until the glass is truly full."
Ann McCully, Executive Director of Child Care Aware of Minnesota, shares this observation and other reflections in a
new blog post about the 2019 Minnesota Legislative session.
Child Care Headlines
Summer is often a quieter time for policy news, but the discussion around child care is buzzing right now! State and national publications recently featured opinion and news pieces about the importance of child care.
Abigail Wozniak, Director of the Opportunity and Inclusive Growth Institute at the Minneapolis Federal Reserve Bank, wrote about
the importance of high-quality child care
as part of an article for the Guardian.
State early learning advocates
penned their frustration
with the Minnesota Senate's lack of action on the Child Care Assistance Program (CCAP) this session.
"Why don’t we talk about child care? Because we take for granted the (mostly) women who are underpaid and overworked who care for our children — but not so we can march off to work in search of fulfillment. Nope. So we can keep a roof over our heads and save for college and participate in an economy that needs us." Michele Norris, former host of NPR’s “All Things Considered” and the founding director of the Race Card Project,
reflects on the ways we do and don't talk about child care
, both in the democratic debates and other public conversations.
Keeping child care in the headlines is one important way to highlight the need for policy changes.
You can contribute to the momentum by sharing articles on your social media platforms like Facebook and Twitter.
Do you see something missing from the conversation? Write your own letter to the editor to your local paper.
Child Care Roundtable Discussion
Governor Walz and Lieutenant Governor Flanagan met with elected officials, early childhood professionals, and employers at a roundtable discussion in Little Falls on July 10 to discuss child care. You can
watch back the conversation on Facebook
.
CCDBG State Snapshots
Check out a
new resource
from Child Care Aware about how states are using the Child Care Development Block Grant (CCDBG).
CARE Fellowship--Apply Today!
Looking for a challenging leadership opportunity? Interested in having your voice heard in policy discussions? Want to meet people who are as passionate about early childhood and school-age care as you? This opportunity is for you!
The CARE Collaborative is pleased to offer another year of the CARE (Child Care Advocates Ready to Emerge) Public Policy Fellowship (Year 14!) and continue working with professionals in the fields of early childhood and school-age care on how they can be effective advocates for themselves and the profession when engaging and educating policymakers at all levels of government.
This is an excellent leadership development opportunity for those who are interested in learning how to make an impact on public policies affecting the early childhood and school-age care fields.
The program begins in October 2019 and will include nine, once a month, face-to-face, all day Friday training sessions and one Wednesday event at the State Capitol, and will include networking, mentoring, and hands-on projects to develop advocacy skills. The program is offered at no cost to participants.
NEW THIS YEAR - The CARE Fellowship is approved in Develop! Participants can add 4 hours to their learning record for each session attended.
