Early Childhood by the Numbers:

Of child care providers responding to their most recent annual Business Information Form: 

• 40% offer after school care 
• 38% are able to serve children with physical, cognitive, sensory, and/or emotional behavioral disabilities 
• 36% offer before school care 
• 20% offer drop-in care 
• 10% offer temporary or emergency care 
• 1% offer care on a 24-hour schedule 

ECERS-3: Identifying Gaps and Equity Challenges Project

SFTA and 4C For Children are engaged in a collaboration with the UNC Frank Porter Graham Child Development Institute to identify gaps and equity challenges in ECERS-3.  The project will explore the Early Childhood Environment Rating Scale-Third Edition (ECERS-3) from a lens of bias and cultural responsivity in order to identify ways the measure can be improved.  UNC will examine associations among scores on ECERS-3 and a more nuanced measure of sociocultural equity and responsiveness—Equity in Early Learning and Assessment (EELA)—to look for possible gaps in the ECERS-3.  They will also explore interactions among lead teacher race and rater race as well as differences in ECERS-3 scores by classroom racial composition to look for possible racial/ethnic biases related to scoring. 

As a project partner, SFTA is responsible for recruiting child care teachers to participate in the study. The dual-agency team of reliable raters-Amanda Austin, Yaret Moreno, Ashley Harrell, and Paola Garcia- performs on-site observations and submits data for the project. The project will continue through the summer and wrap up in August 2023. For more information, visit https://supportingfamiliestogether.org/ecers-3-research-study/. 

Conscious Discipline Parenting Education Curriculum Training

On May 18th, several FRC staff from across the state will be trained in the Conscious Discipline Parenting Education Curriculum Training. Through this full-day training, staff will learn how to train child care staff in Conscious Discipline and help them to make the connection between home and school to strengthen the child’s ability to self-regulate and learn social-emotional skills and to give parents and educators skills in positive behavior management. 

2023 SFTA Statewide Network Programming by the Numbers

• Pre-Licensing: 68 new programs completed Pre-licensing in Quarter 1 2023.

• PartnerUp!: 1,239 child care slots paid for with $3.4 million in true cost of care payments to providers in Quarter 1 2023.

• Training: SFTA and our members hosted 150 training events and trained 1,594 unique participants in Quarter 1 2023.

• FRC: SFTA recently finalized membership renewals for 2023 and had a 100% renewal rate of previous members. 

• CCR&R: 1,123 families received child care referrals in Quarter 1 2023.

Partner Up! Grant Program 

The Partner Up! grant program will provide funding to support partnerships between businesses who purchase slots at existing regulated child care providers. The various Partner Up! cohorts have been funded by the American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA), the Coronavirus Response and Relief Supplemental Act (CRRSA), the Preschool Development Grant (PDG), and Quality Jobs, Equity, Strategy and Training (QUEST).The funding from this program can be used to increase staff compensation, reserve child care slots for local business employees, improve the quality of a child care program, and more. 

The competitive application period for Cohort 3 of the Partner Up! grant program closed May 12, 2023. 

Determination and notification of Cohort 3 awards is anticipated later in May and June. 

Visit projectgrowth.wi.gov 

Look for a new Abusive Head Trauma Prevention Train the Trainer event this fall! The Abusive Head Trauma Prevention – Training of Trainers is for those individuals who have previously completed an Abusive Head Trauma Prevention Training and are interested in training others. After completing the Abusive Head Trauma Prevention – Training of Trainers, your name and contact information will be submitted to the Department of Children and Families. Your information will be listed on the list of DCF-Approved Trainers.

For more information, visit here.

Staff Spotlight: Debi Peterson

Debi Peterson is a Partner Up! Specialist at SFTA, assisting program participants with contracts and changes, payment inquiries, and understanding general program policy. Debi works tirelessly to keep internal program processes moving smoothly. Debi has been with Partner Up! since the rollout and has contributed to key changes and improvements over the last year.  

Number of years in the profession: 33 years 

Favorite thing about working at SFTA: My favorite thing about working at SFTA is knowing the hard work SFTA and our CCRR Agencies do every day makes a huge impact on the lives of children, families, and child care providers around the state of Wisconsin. 

What do you want families/providers to know? I want families and providers to know that SFTA staff and our member agency staff are dedicated to advocating for and providing them what they need to raise their children in the communities where they live.

Staff Spotlight: Jeff Mund

Jeff Mund is a Data Specialist at SFTA, who devotes a substantial portion of his time to ensuring Partner Up! systems run smoothly. Jeff creates all applications and forms, maintains Salesforce records for program participants, and handles all data requests and reporting for the program.  

Number of years in the profession: 1 year 

Favorite thing about working at SFTA: I enjoy the support I receive from all employees, on all levels of the organization. 

What do you want families/providers to know? I am excited to be able to employ data & data visualization methods to support the incredibly important Child Care/ECE field in Wisconsin. 

Staff Spotlight: Jared Hickey

Jared came to Partner Up! as a BCCA at The Parenting Place in La Crosse and has recently transitioned to BCCA services on a statewide scale. Jared focuses his time on outreach, business engagement, and advocacy for child care, bringing awareness of the need for both public and private investment in bringing solutions to the child care crisis. 

Number of years in the profession: 1 year  

Favorite thing about working at SFTA:  The staff and everyone I interact with are very friendly. 

What do you want families/providers to know? To providers: I appreciate your hard work and dedication; it does not go unnoticed. Please don't ever forget how many families and lives you affect in a positive way. To me, that is one of the greatest rewards about child care. My goal, when I advocate and speak with businesses, is to shine a light on families/providers and how we all can work together and advance child care and move forward. If you see me, stop me and say hi, and tell me your story because I want to hear it. Thank you again for everything that you do.