Early Childhood Iowa
Area Board Newsletter

Volume 42

January 2023

Greetings and Happy New Year!

Wow what a year! Russia invaded Ukraine, Queen Elizabeth II died, Hurricane Fiona and Ian made landfall, the winter Olympics took place in Beijing and of course the pandemic with its long lasting effects. With 2022 behind us, we can focus on the new 2023 year! 


The 90th Legislative Session begins January 9, 2023 and should conclude

in 110 days on April 28, 2023; for a complete legislative timetable go here.

 

The 4 R Kids ECI Area Board is supporting the Association of Early

Childhood Iowa Area Boards and Advocates legislative priorities. You can

also access a printed copy by going here.

· Maintain the local control and unique nature of the ECI system if housed in the new Iowa Department of Health and Human Services;

· Develop systemic solutions to the shildcare crisis;

· Support a comprehensive and integrated early care, health and education system for the youngest Iowans through funding for ECI.


Stay healthy and safe!

Debra Schrader

4 R Kids Executive Director

Board Membership

The Iowa 4 R Kids Early Childhood Area Board is seeking applicants who

want to help children age 0-5 grow, learn and prepare for Kindergarten. With

the state financial resources, our twelve member board awards Early

Childhood grants to ensure young children will be healthy and successful.

Board membership is available to anyone who work or live in Adair, Dallas,

Madison, or Warren County, and do not directly or indirectly receive funds

from the Board. For more information download the 4 R Kids Board membersip application or contact the ECI Director, Debra Schrader.

How the Child Care Crunch Is Driving

Nursing and Teacher Shortages

The COVID-19 pandemic severely disrupted the U.S. labor market and the most persistent shortages have been in industries that mostly employ mostly women. Survey data from the U.S. Census Bureau and the University of Southern California indicate that significant challenges remain for women, particularly those employed in nursing and teaching. Data released by Child Care Aware of America found that, during the height of the pandemic nearly 9,000 child care centers and 7,000 home-based programs shut their doors. To learn more go to The Century Foundation.

Five Numbers to Remember About Early Childhood Development

Below are great reasons to invest in early childhood services.

1. More than 1 million new neural connections per second.

2. 18 Months: Age at which disparities in vocabulary begin to appear.

3. 90 - 100% Chance of developmental delays when children experience

6 - 7 risk factors.

4. 3:1 Odds of adult heart disease after 7- 8 adverse childhood experiences.

5. $4 - $9 in returns for every dollar invested in early childhood programs.

Say Thank You to 4 R Kids ECI Board Members

They donate their time to make a difference in lives of families with children under the age of 6. Give a shout out to the following board members the next time you see them!

Deb Blazek- Adair County             Brittany Shinn - Adair County

Bryce Smith - Dallas County Colleen Strohmaier - Dallas County

Rita Martens - Madison County    Jacob Al-Mazora - Madison County

Wendy Sawyer - Madison County  Justin Terry - Warren County

Nancy Hopkins - Warren County        Nikki Gunn - Warren County

 R Kids ECI Board Meetings

February 16, 2023

April 20,2023

May 18, 2023

All meetings are open to the public, agendas and minutes are located at www.4rkids-eci.org.

Thats Nuts!

Babies stomachs are the size of a walnut. No wonder they require constant feedings.

Cost of Living In Iowa

What does it take to get by these days? Depending what county you live in it is around $5,000 a month. For more information check out

Common Good Iowa.

All Smiles

Human babies are the only primates who smile at their parents.

EMBRACE Iowa

EMBRACE is a financial assistance program funded by the Des Moines Register that can provide funding towards the purchase of appliances, car repairs, dental service, medication, eyeglasses, furniture, home repairs, household items, beds, and other misc. needs.

Formore information

contact your respective

Community Action Agency.

Did You Know?

In the United States, more babies are born on Wednesday than on other days of the week.

Sunday is the slowest day.

Cereal

A baby will eat an estimated 15 pounds of cereal per year.

Did You Know? 

Utah has the highest birthrate in the U.S., at about 21 babies per 1,000 people. Vermont has the lowest birth rate, with slightly more than 10 babies born per 1,000 people.

SALT

A baby cannot taste salt until it is 4 months old. The delay may be related to the development of kidneys,

which start to process sodium

at about that age.

Google Folders

Google folders have been implemented for anyone to drop documents into. They are organized by fiscal year, county and community meeting dates. Feel free to view or drop information into the respective folders.

Adair County

Dallas County

Madison County

Warren County

Child Abuse Prevention Conference

The Iowa Child Abuse Prevention Conferene is May 9th -10th 2023 and will be held in the Des Moines area.

More information to come.

1011 Pear Avenue
Prescott, Iowa 50859
Phone: 641-344-2250
www.4rkids-eci.org


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