President's Letter

          It's that time again to start our new year for the Wisconsin Family Child Care Association's board meetings. We have some new board members that are joining us this year, along with many seasoned ones. This is an exciting time for the board to hear new outlooks and suggestions from the new people joining us which always tends to inspire the rest of us. Did you know that as a member of WFCCA, you are also welcomed to join our meetings? Our meeting locations, dates and times are all listed on our website, www.wisconsinfamilychildcare.org . Please consider joining us...and bring a friend!

        What exciting things are you doing in your childcare? Are you revisiting things that you've done for years and making changes that could now work better for you?   I am personally working on implementing a new menu system and improving my budget. It's all about numbers for me.... may not be the most enjoyable part of my job, but definitely could use some updating.

        The board has already been busy with preparing several mini conferences and had one board meeting completed. We had a guest visitor, Mandy Reeve from the Department of Children and Families, along with the rest of the agenda. WFCCA feels that it is important to connect to the Wisconsin Partnerships to give input that will support improvement and change in the Early Childhood Field. If you as a provider have something that you would like to see change, feel free to email us at [email protected]. Let's connect.

       Speaking of Advocacy efforts, I have been working with SCAN (Save the Children Action Network) out of Washington DC on a larger scale to request that the Presidential Candidates discuss the important issues of the childcare deserts and funding early childhood programs that support families and child care businesses. We will have postcards to fill out at the Oct. 5th mini conference if you are interested in helping in this cause as well.

       I hope to see you in the near future. Enjoy this great fall weather and the beautiful colors of the outdoors. Thank you for being a member of WFCCA!

Leah Zastoupil, WFCCA President

                              

 

WEESSN, the Wisconsin Early Education Shared Services Network, launched in Vernon and Monroe Counties in January of 2019. We're excited to share that we've launched a cohort in Dane County and are working with child care programs in Milwaukee to be ready for more Shared Services work there too!

What is Shared Services?

Shared Services Networks connect: small, large, for and non-profit group and family child care and out-of-school time programs together and allow them to capitalize on economies of scale and expertise.

Allowing programs to be BIG where being BIG is important (purchasing and resources) and staying small where small is everything (meeting the needs of children and families where they are at).

Through this collaboration, programs can increase revenues and reduce administrative burdens so that time and money can be reinvested into staff and quality.

The core activities of WEESSN include:

 

If you are interested in learning more about WEESSN or WISER, please email us at [email protected]

Gov. Evers Directs DNR to Address PFAS Contamination in Drinking, Ground and Surface Waters

MADISON - Gov. Tony Evers today announced he is directing the Department of Natural Resources (DNR) to take additional efforts to address perfluoroalkyl and polyfluoroalkyl substances, commonly referred to as PFAS, in drinking, ground and surface waters.

"I am committed to protecting our state's natural resources and ensuring every Wisconsinite has access to clean drinking water," said Gov. Evers. "In the Year of Clean Drinking Water, I'm proud that my cabinet is working with communities, citizens, and businesses to address PFAS contamination across our state."

PFAS are a group of human-made chemicals used for decades in numerous products including non-stick cookware, fast food wrappers, stain-resistant sprays, and certain types of firefighting foam.

These legacy contaminants have made their way into the environment through accidental spills of PFAS-containing materials, discharges of PFAS-containing wastewater to treatment plants, and certain types of firefighting foams.

As part of the announcement, Gov. Evers directed the DNR to pursue rulemaking using science-based recommendations from the Department of Health Services (DHS). Today's announcement is the first step in the process for DNR amending the following administrative codes to create enforceable standards to protect public health:

Gov. Evers also directed DHS to work closely with DNR by continuing to develop the standards needed to address PFAS contamination. Members of the public and interested parties will have opportunities to provide input throughout this process. 

"We cannot live without clean drinking water. It is too important for the human existence," said DNR Secretary-designee Preston Cole. "We are fortunate to be working with DHS and will be in collaboration with them for this most important crisis. There is no substitute for clean drinking water."