An artist turned early educator uses his love for painting to inspire preschool students, and they inspire him right back.

QUOTABLE & NOTABLE

FACT OF THE WEEK

According to recent data from the Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development, couples in the United States who work full-time jobs and have two young children need to spend 20% of their disposable household income on child care. Forbes compares these rates to other developed countries, and the United States ranks most expensive in child care for both single parents and couples.

Federal 

Congress is looking to reauthorize the CCAMPIS program, which provides federal funding for on-campus child care services for parenting students.

The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services announced $558 million in funding for maternal health programs, including support for home visiting programs.

In a recent hearing of the U.S. Senate Committee on Finance, Sen. Elizabeth Warren of Massachusetts discussed how a 25% minimum income tax on the wealthiest Americans (i.e., billionaires) could be used to fund quality early child care and education programs.

Groundwork Ohio has released the second survey in the Family Voices Project Report. Are you an Ohio parent/caregiver of a child under 6? Complete the survey and earn a $5 gift card. Survey closes September 24.

New America describes vital advocacy efforts in two different locations — Washington, D.C., and Louisiana — to maintain hard-fought funding for early childhood. In D.C., advocates were able to fight against proposed cuts to the program enabling wage supplements for early childhood educators. In Louisiana, advocates pushed against planned state budget cuts that would have resulted in lost child care financial assistance for the families of some 1,200 children.

Minnesota is boosting a child care training grant program to help grow the state’s early childhood workforce. The dual-training pipeline program, which provides grants in a range of industries like health care, manufacturing, agriculture, and child care, gives opportunities to employees in high-growth industries to further their education through both classroom instruction and on the job training.

The Hechinger Report describes several efforts to remodel and repurpose old buildings into child care facilities. The first example is a unique child care network operating in an old elementary school building in Missoula, Montana, where various classrooms within the building operate as unique child care programs with different themes. The building was retrofitted and brought up to code and now offers a possible model for other states. The second example is a similar renovation of an elementary school in small-town Indiana that will reopen as an early learning center.

WHAT WE'RE READING

Chronic absenteeism among students is an ongoing issue at all grade levels. The Associated Press describes how districts across the nation are supporting middle and high school students who consistently attend school (including recess and transportation). The 74 highlights Ohio’s House Bill 318, which trains schools on positive behavior intervention, rather than suspension, in the early grades. Positive behavior intervention has shown to reduce chronic absenteeism. The Crane Center's Dr. Arya Ansari writes extensively on chronic absenteeism and how parents can support getting their young learners to school.

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

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