Community forum aims to link families with child care programs – The Vacaville Reporter

The Solano County Office of Education, with other partners, will host the annual Child Care Planning Council community forum Saturday in the Fairfield Civic Center Library.

The event, 10 a.m. to noon in the 1150 Kentucky St. library, seeks to link Solano families and educators with information about high-quality child care opportunities in Solano County, according to organizers of the gathering, who issued a press statement.

Child care providers, parents, guardians, educators and community members are invited to learn about child care options throughout Solano County, including paid and assisted programs.

Source: Community forum aims to link families with child care programs – The Vacaville Reporter

Solano Child Care Planning Council to host virtual community forum – Daily Republic

The Solano County Office of Education and the Solano Child Care Planning Council invite families, caregivers, child care providers and the community to virtually attend the Child Care Community Forum from 10 to 11:30 a.m. March 12 via Zoom.

Presentations and a panel discussion will include Solano Family and Children’s Services (child care resource and referral services), Help Me Grow Solano, Solano Family Resource Centers and Vallejo First 5 Center.

A Better Way’s training on mental health first aid will be offered, and participants can learn about local resources and organizations that provide support to children and families.

Source: Solano Child Care Planning Council to host virtual community forum

Public invited to Child Care Community Forum – The Vacaville Reporter

By Kimberly K. Fu

The Solano County Office of Education (SCOE) and the Solano Child Care Planning Council invites families, caregivers, child care providers and the community to attend the Child Care Community Forum, set for 10-11:30 a.m. March 12, 2022 via Zoom.

Presentations and a panel discussion will include Solano Family & Children’s Services (childcare resource and referral services), Help Me Grow Solano, Solano Family Resource Centers and Vallejo First 5 Center.

A Better Way’s training on mental health first aid will be offered, and participants can learn about local resources and organizations that provide support to children and families.

The panel discussion will also address the impacts, responses and outcomes of the COVID-19 pandemic for the child care system, providers and the clients these organizations serve.

Source: Public invited to Child Care Community Forum – The Vacaville Reporter

After-school programs return to Suisun campuses as Covid restrictions ease – Daily Republic

After-school programs will return this fall to Dan O. Root, Crescent Elementary and Suisun Elementary schools.

Priority registration opens at 9 a.m. Wednesday. This is for students who were enrolled in their respective programs at the time of the initial Covid-19 school closures in March 2020.

Those who were not in the program can utilize the open registration period, which begins at 9 a.m. Aug. 9.

Source: After-school programs return to Suisun campuses as Covid restrictions ease

First 5 Solano becomes emergency services agency for child care – Daily Republic

By Todd R. Hansen

First 5 Solano has become a kind of emergency services agency since the Covid-19 pandemic created a need for child care for essential workers.

As the pandemic forced the closure of schools, preschools and other child care programs, the need for “pop-up care sites” where essential workers could take their children while they were working became more and more pressing.

So the Solano County Office of Emergency Services turned to First 5 Solano, starting in March, to find child care options, particularly in Vallejo.

Source: First 5 Solano becomes emergency services agency for child care

First 5 Solano offering childcare for essential employees in Vallejo – Times-Herald

By Thomas Gase

Thanks in large part to First 5 Solano and the Solano County Office of Emergency Services, the Solano County Emergency PopUp Childcare Program is now available in Vallejo.

The free program, created on April 2 as the coronavirus pandemic continued to spread, supports health care workers, first responders, disaster services workers and essential employees working in Vallejo. It is not available to the general public.

All childcare centers will follow social distancing, sanitation, and hygiene practices described in the March 18 COVID-19 guidelines for childcare providers, Solano County Public Health.

Source: Coronavirus: First 5 Solano offering childcare for essential employees in Vallejo – Times-Herald

Addressing Early Learning and Child Care Disparity – Year 2018 (CA Dept of Education)

State Superintendent of Public Instruction Tom Torlakson today congratulated the California Department of Education and the Tribal Child Care Association of California for securing funds to address early learning disparities in tribal populations. Their Project HOPE grant provides the State of California the opportunity to strengthen its partnership with the Tribal Child Care Association of California to engage and continue work with tribes to support early learning and child care.

The association is made up of child care professionals specializing in working with tribal families, children, and communities. It focuses on the needs of tribally regulated child care and education settings both on and off tribal lands. The grant will be funded by the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation via the BUILD Initiative.

“The State of California has never partnered with California tribes at such a deep level to support early learning,” said Torlakson. “The work funded by the Project HOPE grant builds on California’s groundbreaking memorandum of understanding with the Tribal Child Care Association of California, which was signed in November 2017 and formalized the CDE’s partnership with a group of tribal sovereign nations in California.”

Source: Addressing Early Learning and Child Care Disparity – Year 2018 (CA Dept of Education)

Dollars for Child Care and Preschool in 2018-19 Near Pre-Recession Levels With Boost From One-Time Funding – California Budget & Policy Center

By Kristin Schumacher

For the fifth year in a row, funding for California’s subsidized child care and development system has increased. This system provides critical child care and early learning opportunities for a limited number of children from low- and moderate-income families, but state funding was cut dramatically during and after the Great Recession, while federal funding for subsidized child care remained relatively flat.[1] This meant that fewer children and families received subsidized care than prior to the onset of the Great Recession. However, state policymakers have incrementally reinvested in these programs and services beginning with the 2014-15 state fiscal year, and bipartisan support for subsidized child care at the federal level has resulted in newly available federal funds, as well. Due to these investments, after adjusting for inflation, overall funding for California’s subsidized child care and development system in the 2018-19 fiscal year is $3.887 billion, 15% greater than in 2017-18 ($3.375 billion), and nearly even with funding levels in 2007-08, prior to the onset of the Great Recession (see chart).

Source: Dollars for Child Care and Preschool in 2018-19 Near Pre-Recession Levels With Boost From One-Time Funding – California Budget & Policy Center

Child Care and Development Programs and the 2018-19 May Revision – CA Budget

Putting the Governor’s 2018-19 May Revision in Context

Several key considerations provide the backdrop:

•State revenues for the coming fiscal year are projected to be higher than previously forecast.

•Economic hardship – overall poverty as well as child poverty – remains very high in most parts of the state, even several years after the end of the Great Recession.

•Various key public services and supports continue to operate at diminished levels due to state cuts made during and after the recession

Source: Microsoft PowerPoint – CAPPA May Revise Handout

New California law expands low-income parents’ access to subsidized child care | EdSource

By Ashley Hopkinson

In an effort to remove obstacles for Californians trying to succeed in the labor market, a new law could make access to child care easier for low-income parents taking classes to learn English or complete high school.

The law will expand the eligibility requirements for subsidized child care. It will make low-income parents who are are enrolled in English as a second language classes (ESL) or a program to earn a high school diploma or general education development certificate (GED) eligible to place their children in subsidized care.

Although in the past some parents taking ESL classes were considered eligible for subsidized care, it was not specifically listed as a factor for eligibility.

Source: New California law expands low-income parents’ access to subsidized child care | EdSource

Enacted Budget Includes a Number of Improvements – California Budget & Policy Center

On June 27, Governor Brown signed the 2017-18 state budget bill. This year’s budget agreement includes a number of improvements over earlier proposals, though the overall scope of state investments remains constrained by uncertainty about potential federal policy changes. The 2017-18 budget package:

  • Expands the California Earned Income Tax Credit (CalEITC) to well over 1 million additional families by expanding the credit to the self-employed and increasing the income eligibility limits.
  • Reflects an agreement between the Governor and legislative leaders over how to spend Proposition 56 tobacco tax revenues for Medi-Cal, with this funding going to supplemental payments for Medi-Cal providers and also to covering ordinary spending growth in the program.

Source: First Look: Enacted Budget Includes a Number of Improvements, Reflects Ongoing Uncertainty About Federal Commitments – California Budget & Policy Center

California still has a way to go in offering ‘full-day’ preschool | EdSource

By Louis Freedberg and Susan Frey

Despite continuing efforts to expand learning time for young children, large numbers of low-income California children still lack access to full-day programs in state-supported preschool, according to a new EdSource report.

The report, titled “Expanding Early Learning Time: Accessing Full Day Preschool and Kindergarten in California,” points to compelling research that shows that attending high-quality, full-day preschool is associated with improved learning outcomes for students. A study in the Journal of the American Medical Association, for example, found that full-day preschool attendance contributed to greater school readiness on four measures: social-emotional development, language development, math performance and physical health.

Source: California still has a way to go in offering ‘full-day’ preschool | EdSource

Benicia Moms Group’s Early Education Fair returns – Benicia Herald

By Nick Sestanovich

Preschool is an important milestone in every person’s life. It is when children take their first steps into the world of education. However, it can be a lot of work just to get started. Thankfully, as they have in the past, the Benicia Moms Group will be hosting an Early Education Fair to let parents know what to expect. According to Brittainy Sapien, a vice president of administration for Benicia Moms Group, the group first hosted a Preschool Fair in 2013 under the guidance of member Ann Brooner. It was also held in 2014 and 2015 but was canceled in 2016 due to a lack of resources and intesrest. “When we did not host the fair in 2016, we had heard a lot of feedback that people had missed the fair, so we knew that it was an important thing to bring back to the community,” Sapien said. With the help of Benicia Unified School District and First 5 Solano, the Early Education Fair is back to provide information on preschool and kindergarten. Parents can have questions about preschool answered, meet with community resources and learn about activities and childcare for kids ages 5 and under. Benicia Unified representatives will also be on hand to talk about kindergarten preparedness.

Source: Benicia Moms Group’s Early Education Fair returns

Children Eligible for Subsidized Child Care Did Not Receive It in 2015 – California Budget & Policy Center

By Kristin Schumacher

Parents with low- and moderate-incomes often struggle to stay afloat, balancing the soaring cost of child care against the high price of housing and other expenses. California’s subsidized child care and development programs, which are funded by both the state and federal governments, help many families make ends meet and allow them to avoid difficult choices about where to leave their children while at work. Yet, seven years after the end of the Great Recession, these programs as a whole continue to operate at below pre-recession levels, with inflation-adjusted funding well down from 2007-08 levels due to state budget cuts. This means that far fewer families with low and moderate incomes receive subsidized child care today than before the Great Recession began in 2007.

There is tremendous unmet need in California for subsidized child care. In 2015, an estimated 1.5 million children from birth through age 12 were eligible for care, according to a Budget Center analysis of federal survey data. However, only 218,000 children were enrolled in programs that could accommodate families for more than a couple of hours per day and throughout the entire year (see chart). Child care subsidies provide job stability and have been shown to increase parents’ earnings. Subsidies also allow families to afford higher-quality child care where their children can learn and grow. Boosting support for families struggling to afford child care is critical, especially given that the cost of child care and nursery school nationally has outpaced overall inflation since the end of the Great Recession. In California, more than two out of three families with children who are living in poverty include someone who is working. Yet, in 2015 the cost of child care for an infant and school-age child in a licensed center was equal to 99 percent of the annual income for a single mother and two children living at the federal poverty line ($19,096).

Source: Over 1.2 Million California Children Eligible for Subsidized Child Care Did Not Receive Services From State Programs in 2015 – California Budget & Policy Center

State could lose federal funds if rules for child care eligibility don’t change – EdSource

By Jeremy Hay

California risks losing more than $500 million in federal funds if it doesn’t establish new rules within a year governing eligibility for state-subsidized childcare and after-school programs. At least three attempts to accomplish that have died in the Legislature since 2014.

The state has until Sept. 30, 2017 to comply with a 2-year-old federal requirement to ensure that families qualifying for public childcare, preschool and after-school programs remain eligible for 12 months without having to re-establish eligibility during that time. The legislative window to pass a bill making that change has narrowed to one session, starting in January. Failing that, the change would have to occur through the state budget process.

Advocates and parents say the current rules often cause people to lose benefits over bureaucratic hurdles, when their job status changes or they receive even a minor wage increase.

Source: State could lose federal funds if rules for child care eligibility don’t change

California bill would change law governing eligibility period for subsidized child care | EdSource

By Jeremy Hay

California families who qualify for state-subsidized child care would be guaranteed eligibility for 12 months under a bill working its way through the state Legislature that would bring the state into compliance with federal requirements.

Under current state law, families in California’s publicly funded preschool and childcare programs for low-income children must re-establish their eligibility at least once every six months and any time there are changes to their employment situation, income or family size. Parents who work a variable schedule – one in which hours can change weekly – must re-establish their eligibility every four months. Childcare and family advocates have long urged legislators to change those requirements. There are about 270,000 children in the state-funded programs.

Source: California bill would change law governing eligibility period for subsidized child care | EdSource

District 2 hopefuls differ on children’s tax measure – Daily Republic

By Todd R. Hansen

An emotional Monica Brown questioned why there is even a need to pass additional taxes to support children’s services, but because she believes the need is great, she would support a proposal for a quarter-cent sales tax increase on the November ballot.

Her 2nd District opponent, Mike Ioakimedes, said he would likely support the initiative, but he called it another “Band-Aid measure,” and said real change will only come with an overhaul of the tax system.

“It is incomprehensible that in 2016 we have to take votes to take care of our kids,” said Brown, who broke down in tears when discussing the proposed Solano Fund for Children. “What kind of society are we that we don’t take care of our children?”

Source: District 2 hopefuls differ on children’s tax measure

County will help children’s group craft ballot measure – The Reporter

By Todd R. Hansen

The Board of Supervisors faced a full room of advocates imploring that it was time to invest in Solano’s children.

“Is there any reason you won’t support us?” the board was asked by four children in a rehearsed plea to support a ballot measure that, as proposed, would raise the sales tax 25 cents over the next 10 years.

Suisun City Vice Mayor Lori Wilson said the kind of services that the measure would support gave her hope and a chance at a productive life. In an emotional testimonial, she described a childhood of homelessness and abuse.

Source: County will help children’s group craft ballot measure

Gov. Brown agrees to add money for child care, preschool in budget | EdSource

By John Fensterwald

Advocates for expanding early childhood education and for better preparing low-income high school students for state universities wrested substantial money in the compromise state budget, announced Thursday, that legislative leaders and Gov. Jerry Brown have negotiated. The Legislature will vote next week on the $122 billion plan for the fiscal year starting July 1.

Although less than they wanted, members of the Legislative Women’s Caucus got a down payment on a half-billion dollar increase for child care and state-funded preschools over the next four years. By 2019-20, that will include ramping up to an additional 8,877 slots for full-day state preschool and increases in reimbursement rates for child-care providers to reflect increases in the state minimum wage. The first 2,969 preschool slots will open up in March 2017.

“This is going to be the biggest appropriation in a decade,” Assemblywoman Cristina Garcia, D-Bell Gardens,vice chairwoman of the Women’s Caucus, told the Los Angeles Times, referring to the increased costs in future years. “We’re trying to be progressive and think about the future.”

Source: Gov. Brown agrees to add money for child care, preschool in budget | EdSource

Child care service to move to Fairfield High School – Daily Republic

By Susan Winlow

The saga of the Fairfield-Suisun School District child care nursery, which is currently located at Sem Yeto High School, is over for the time being.

Trustees voted unanimously Thursday to move the service to Fairfield High School when Sem Yeto transitions over to that campus next school year while the former Dover site, its current location, is refurbished. The move is designed as a short-term situation.

The child care service, which district staff originally sought to eliminate, is a portion of two programs – the parenting program for parenting teens and the Career Technical Education Child Development program, which uses the nursery as a lab component.

via Child care service to move to Fairfield High School.