Dolly Parton is headed to Ohio State next week to meet with Ohio First Lady Fran DeWine for a luncheon to raise funds and awareness for Ohio’s Imagination Library program.
Quotable & Notable
“In spite of their crucial role in the lives of children and families, early childhood educators are paid abysmally. Real wages have not kept pace with inflation, meaning that early childhood educators’ purchasing power has decreased over the past several years. Already low wages are even lower for Black and Hispanic female teachers, who trail behind their white female counterparts. Professions that are seen as feminine—those that involve caring for others—are historically undercompensated and are viewed as less valuable economic contributions. However, research on both the complexity and importance of early learning environments and the macroeconomic necessity of accessible child care make clear that child care workers are extremely valuable to the U.S. economy.”
who:
Maureen Coffey, Policy Analyst, The Center for American Progress

where:
Fact of the Week
$705 million in coronavirus relief grant money is still available to Ohio licensed child care providers to help with operational costs, workforce recruitment, expanding access to care, and supporting the mental health of children and staff. While $230 million has already been distributed, this third round of child care provider grants offers additional incentives to home-based providers who operate during non-traditional hours.
Policy Radar
Pre-K across Ohio 
Preschool Promise, a locally funded collaborative in Dayton and surrounding communities that funds high-quality pre-K, is expanding next year to Huber Heights. 
 
In other city-based pre-K efforts, Pre4Cle released its latest annual report, and Zanesville City Schools announced plans to expand space for more preschool classes. 
 
On a somewhat related note, this Dispatch op-ed points to shortcomings in data tracking for Ohio kindergarteners and says it is problematic that Ohio does not fund full-day kindergarten.
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Child care funds 
Ohio is using federal COVID and American Rescue Plan dollars to offer grants to child care providers. Among priorities for this grant cycle will be grants to providers who offer care during non-traditional hours. Home based providers can learn more here; centers, day camps, and in-home aides should go here. More information can also be found through OCCRRA.
FYI
The U.S. Department of Education is revising the Public Service Loan Forgiveness program, including deciding whether to include employees of for-profit early childhood settings as a group eligible for PSLF. Inclusion of these employees could mean improved retention of the early childhood workforce, increased early educator degree and credential attainment, and improved access to quality early childhood education for children and families. The public comment period is open until August 12.
Events & Happenings
Join Groundwork Ohio on August 11 at 10 am for a webinar on the importance communication and language for infants and toddlers. A. Sophie Rogers School for Early Learning teacher Amber Fridley will discuss the importance of language development in supporting children’s ability to communicate, express and understand emotions, begin to think critically, and build relationships. Register here.
Beyond the Buckeye State
Congressional inaction on child care has led states and localities to increase spending. This AP article names efforts made by New York, New Mexico, and Rhode Island. 
 
California’s recent wins on family policy have included an expansion of paid family leave, a plan to fund universal pre-K for four-years, and tax credits for families.
What We're Reading
A policy brief published by OECD using data from 30 countries on students’ book and internet access. Researchers reported a reduction in book access across 18 years (from 2000 to 2018) and a correlation between reading print books (rather than digital) and achieving better scores on the PISA. However, this should not be interpreted causally. As the Hechinger Report explains, there could be various reasons that stronger readers prefer print to digital reading. Overall the policy brief provides an interesting trove of data on student reading habits. 
 
The First Five Years Fund provides state-by-state fact sheets on the Maternal, Infant, and Early Childhood Home Visiting Program. Ohio’s is here. 
 
Here’s an important read from New America about the child care needs facing student parents, with a notable recommendation that the federal government should increase its investment in CCAMPIS. Check out the Crane Center's work on CCAMPIS.
Research Round Up
A working paper published in the National Bureau of Economic Research (NBER) estimates the impact of various federal policy investments into child care on a range of variables including the cost burden posed to families, decisions made about early childhood education settings, teacher wages, and maternal employment. The researchers found that a more robust federal investment in child care like what was initially proposed under the Build Back Better Act (wherein subsidies would be available to families up to 250% of the national median income and capped at 7% of income) would lead to higher employment among mothers, higher full-time employment especially for families with low incomes, and a shift away from informal care networks to centers and home providers. Early Learning Nation describes the paper’s findings and implications.
This edition written by: Jamie O'Leary and Caitlin Lennon
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