The Early Care and Education Consortium is a non-profit alliance of America’s leading national, regional, and independent providers of quality early learning programs. Consortium members operate more than 7,600 licensed centers caring for and educating nearly 800,000 children every day in 49 states and the District of Columbia. Our members include private non-profit organizations and for-profit companies who offer full day and full year programs for children birth through age 12, before and after school programs, extended day, and summer programs with enrollments that reflect the rich diversity of our communities and nation.
Latest ECEC Newsletter Now Available!
The Early Care and Education Consortium is a voice for providers. View the newsletter online, and sign up here to receive future issues. This month's newsletter includes an update on the federal front, a quick look at budget news in the states, and the role of advocates for child care. Be sure to also look through the section of new resources and events. For past issues of the newsletter, please click here.
New Child Care Legislation Introduced in Congress
In May, Senator Robert Casey (D-PA) introduced a new federal child care bill. The Starting Early, Starting Right Act (S. 2980) is a much-needed step forward for child care, addressing the need for quality programs for children birth to age five. For more information about the bill, please visit the Federal Action Center.
Child Care Centers and State-funded Pre-K Programs: Report and National Audioconference Series
A new report documents the benefits and outlines some of the barriers for child care centers participating in state-funded pre-K. Read A Center Piece of the PreK Puzzle: Providing State Prekindergarten in Child Care Centers at the National Women's Law Center website.
ECEC is partnering with NWLC to produce a series of national audio conferences. The second in the series of calls focused on workforce issues child care centers face in operating state preKindergarten programs, and took place on May 22. To read a transcript and listen to a recording of the call, visit http://action.nwlc.org/site/PageServer?pagename=PreK_Call_Series#052208
ECEC Co-Hosting Working Forum on Multi-Site Early Childhood Organizations
The Early Care and Education Consortium, in conjunction with the World Forum on Early Care and Education, is co-hosting the “Growing with Integrity: Working Forum on Managing Performance in Multi-Site Early Childhood Organizations.”
The Forum, which will take place October 22-24, 2008 in Lihue, Hawaii, is expected to bring more than 200 leaders from early childhood organizations together to share ideas on how to grow an organization with integrity. Topics that will be addressed include sustaining quality, workforce development, maintaining organizational culture in changing times, and consistently meeting customer needs and expectations.
Click here to find out more information on the Working Forum, including how to register.
New 50-State Child Care Report Released
State Child Care Assistance Policies 2007: Some Steps Forward, More Progress Needed
The National Women’s Law Center’s annual analysis of state child care policies reveals that in general states made modest progress in regards to income eligibility limits and waiting lists; however many states continue to fall short in the areas of parent co-payments and “virtually no progress” was made in reimbursement rates for child care providers. Only 9 states set child care assistance reimbursement rates at the federally-recommended level in 2007.
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