May the 4th be with you! The Columbus Metropolitan Library is celebrating May 4 tomorrow with all things Star Wars.

QUOTABLE & NOTABLE

“At the end of February, President Joe Biden’s administration announced it was going to require every state to cap its co-payments so that families that receive subsidies pay no more than seven percent of their income towards child care. That’ll make a big difference in places like New Hampshire, West Virginia and Ohio, where those costs are eating up 18 to 27 percent of families’ budgets. Though the new rule doesn’t apply to the thousands of other families whose incomes are too high for a subsidy but are also paying exorbitant costs, it does address the acute need among the lowest-income families, most of whom are families of color. More than 100,000 families are expected to benefit.”

Who:

Chabeli Carrazana

Where:

“For families that need the most help, child care costs are about to drop” published by The 19th

FACT OF THE WEEK

According to a recent report by School House Connection, only 1 in 9 infants and toddlers experiencing homelessness are enrolled in early childhood programs.

EVENTS & HAPPENINGS

The Hunt Institute is hosting a conversation with NIEER about the State of Preschool Yearbook 2023 Report on Tuesday, May 7.

BEYOND THE BUCKEYE STATE

Rhode Island is following Kentucky’s model for subsidizing child care costs for its child care workforce. EdSurge describes how other states are following suit.

New Orleans passed a property tax increase in 2022 that is being used to fund child care slots for children ages 0-3. The program — called City Seats — is being cited by families as a life-changing opportunity.

WHAT WE'RE READING

The Center for the Study of Child Care Employment recently published an analysis on the growth of child care sector jobs since the release of American Rescue Plan Act dollars in April 2021. Overall, there has been a 21% increase in child care sector jobs since the funding began.

The tough career decisions that mothers are facing due to the high costs of child care are described in a story from The Hechinger Report. The need to leave a job due to child care costs — yet not qualifying for public assistance — especially affects women without a four-year college degree. According to one researcher, “The stay-at-home moms in this country are disproportionately mothers who’ve been pushed out of the workforce because they don’t make enough to make it work financially to pay for child care.”

The Hechinger Report also offers a tool identifying which colleges and universities offer child care for students who are parents, along with the number of enrolled students over age 24.

RESEARCH ROUND-UP

This study from researchers at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln examined maternal empowerment (e.g., confidence in making decisions or feeling in control of one’s life) during pregnancy and how it may be related to the infant’s social-emotional understanding, parental stress, and the mother-child relationship. Researchers followed 38 mothers from their third trimester of pregnancy through the first few months of their infant’s life. They found that women with who felt more empowered during pregnancy felt less stressed when their child was born. Additionally, lower stress in mothers was related to them feeling closer to their baby. The authors suggest that home visiting programs place a focus on supporting maternal empowerment and reducing parental stress.

This edition was written by Jamie O’Leary and Janelle Williamson.

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