If you’re looking for bright spots today, here’s  one .  
Quotable and Notable
“The child care crunch triggered by the pandemic has rapidly become a crisis for many workers and companies that is hindering the economic recovery, disproportionately harming women and threatening to leave deep scars for years to come.... While big companies might be able to provide white-collar workers with generous work-at-home flexibility, blue-collar and “essential” industries, from grocery store, fast-food and sanitation workers to nurses, often can’t. Low-income and working-class women — who have  already been hardest hit by the crisis  — as well as smaller businesses are disproportionately impacted by the child care crunch. Some who would turn to grandparents for extra help now see that option as less safe and other possibilities can be unaffordable.”

-Heather Long, economics correspondent for The Washington Post , in " The big factor holding back the U.S. economic recovery: child care "
Fact of the Week
The drop in mothers' labor force participation in child care deserts (where there aren’t enough child care spots for kids), according to Center for American Progress research . Additionally, Labor Department data show more women have lost their jobs than men during the pandemic.
Policy Radar
Early childhood advisory council meeting  
Ohio’s Early Childhood Advisory Council met (virtually) this week and discussed several early childhood policy issues. Gongwer News had a recap of that meeting, with several notable items for anyone interested in what’s ahead for the Ohio early childhood field. These included:  
  • An update from members of Ohio Department of Health and Department of Job and Family Services, to expect home visiting guidance to be released soon (home visiting providers should not resume in-person visits prior to July 31); this guidance will likely reflect the state’s new county-by-county color-coded ratings system for COVID. 
  • Updates from Ohio Department of Education officials, including a head’s up that forthcoming department guidance will touch on social-emotional learning and other specific topics, like guidance of English language learners. The department also signaled its hopes to pursue legislation to “modify the timeline” for the state’s kindergarten readiness assessment (KRA). 
 
State Board of Education resolution  
Ohio’s SBoE  passed a resolution this week  to condemn hate speech, and require that Department of Education employees receive implicit bias training as well as review state-recommended curriculum to examine bias. The Board also recommended that K-12 districts “begin a reflection and internal examination of their own involving teachers, parents, students and community to review curriculum; hiring practices; discipline strategies; suspension and expulsions; classroom resources including text books; and professional development.” (Districts hold the authority on much of this, with the Board’s power to make recommendations only.)  
 
Two additional facts about the meeting that perhaps demonstrate that we need every voice possible speaking about the need for White people to commit themselves to the work of anti-racism and in every corner of governance (and elsewhere!): The measure passed 12-5 and at the close of a 14-hour meeting.  
 
Children and youth in foster care  
Cleveland.com  covers  an important federal report – released by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services – that shows Ohio is not doing enough to track prescriptions for youth in the foster care system (specifically psychotropics and opioid prescriptions).  

Schools  
More federal money is coming schools’ way, as  Dayton Daily News  explains . Schools can use the newly approved $100 million for PPE, cleaning products, or tech support. Meanwhile, the  Dispatch  interviews Ohio teachers  on their thoughts about reopening. On the topic of reopening, here’s a fascinating read about how coronavirus prevention measures taken now may impact  classroom design  in the long term. And if you’re not burned out on reading about this yet, the Hechinger Report outlines  three priorities  for reopening schools safely, as well as making sure students get what they need.
Beyond the Buckeye State
Coronavirus cases in child care centers are spiking, most notably in  Texas  in recent weeks. This Early Learning Nation piece dissects why we’re asking the  wrong questions  when it comes to coronavirus cases in child care centers.   
FYI
OSU’s College of Education and Human Ecology has a new webpage dedicated to racial justice. It includes updates on initiatives by the college; resources such as journal articles and white papers written by faculty; opportunities for training; compelling messages written by leading thinkers and activists; and stories of resolve about students who are diligently paving a better future for us and our community.  Check it out .  
What We're Reading
National Institute for Early Education Research (NIEER) released a  special report on access to high-quality early education and racial equity . This  short article  captures important findings from the report, including that Black children are on average nearly nine months behind in math and almost seven months behind in reading compared to their White, non-Hispanic peers. 
 
There’s been an abundance of coverage on the dire straits we’re all in when it comes to child care. We hope folks won’t grow weary, and will keep reading, writing, and talking (screaming) about this as parents, especially women, struggle to re-enter the workforce fully. The issues at play will only be exacerbated as schools across the nation plan for  remote learning - in full or part. Some estimates say up to 50% of the country's child care centers could close permanently, and questions abound as to whether (and how long) workplaces will be flexible as parents struggle with child care arrangements. (Recently  Florida State University  drew public ire after it announced that employees could no longer care for children while working remotely, which they later walked back.) Some important reads on this topic are below. 
  • FiveThirtyEight theorizes on “Why It Took So Long For Politicians To Treat The Child Care Crisis As A Crisis” 
  • The New York Times emphasizes just how bad this pandemic has been for working mothers
  • Economic experts agree that getting children back to child care and school will be key to economic recovery, says the Washington Post. And yet.... 
  • Hechinger Report looks at the new norm facing child care and how these challenges threaten the whole industry. An op-ed published by the Washington Post has a similar take: the new business model has “basically become impossible.” 
Research Round Up
OSU School of Communication professors  William Eveland  and  Amy Nathanson  published a new study on  contexts for family talk about racism . By merging geographic data with national survey data from White, Black, and Hispanic parents of children 6-17, they found that characteristics of parents and children, as well as characteristics of the parent–child relationship (general talk frequency and campaign-related talk, for example) and the geographic context (county racial composition) affect the frequency of parent–child racism talk. 
This edition written by: Jamie Davies O'Leary, Associate Director of Policy and Caitlin Lennon, Communications & Policy Specialist
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