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Wisconsin families have long been known for their strong work ethic. But over time, the economic realities they face have changed. A typical family was once able to maintain a decent standard of living on a single income. That is no longer the case. Most two-parent families now need both parents to work in order to make ends meet. And Wisconsin’s welfare reform efforts over the last decade have led single parents to enter the workforce in much larger numbers than in the past. High Rates of Working Parents Having no alternative to participating to the workforce, parents are understandably worried about their young children. They want programs where their children are well cared for and prepared for school. They struggle to find basic child care that they can afford. Unfortunately, early childhood programs with strong early learning programs are often way out of their financial reach. High Cost of Child Care Families Face Financial Squeeze According to the study’s author, Sylvia Allegretto, it was predictable that families headed by those with less education, by single parents, or by younger workers struggle to attain incomes that meet family budget thresholds. “But,” she writes, “maybe not so expected are the significant percentages of families headed by educated workers, full-time, full-year workers, and older workers who are also finding it difficult to have a standard of living that is above the basic level represented by these family budgets.” Over one third of Wisconsin children live in low-income households (less than 200 percent of poverty) and 15 percent live in poverty. With recent increases in energy and housing costs, these families are having an even harder time making ends meet. Summits on Early Childhood Participants at these regional summits have heard from researchers, business leaders, economists, government officials and educators about the power of investing in early childhood, with a particular focus on early care and education. The summits have had consistent messages:
At the Green Bay Regional Summit, Charles Kolb, president of the Washington-based Committee for Economic Development, said he thought Wisconsin was reaching “the tipping point” in understanding the importance of early investment. Mike Burke of the Buffett Early Childhood Fund said that 200 years ago America’s great achievement was the public school system, and 100 years ago the breakthrough was the emergence of a first-class higher education system. Now, he said, early education is the next frontier. Public Policy Implications: Access and Quality
However, with years of flat federal funding, Wisconsin faces serious challenges in assuring access for low-income families to child care subsidies. Head Start faces cuts, and disability services are struggling to maintain services. Families just above income eligibility levels for child care and Head Start often have to settle for substandard and patched-together services for their children. Leaders in the legislature responded to part of the funding crisis in the 2007-09 budget, adding $69 million to the Wisconsin Shares child care budget. The additional dollars prevented major changes to the program, such as waiting lists for the first time in a decade and reductions in family income eligibility. While the investment helped address a serious problem, it is likely that significant funding increases will be needed in the future to address the demand for services and to address child care provider payment rates that have been frozen. In a more recent development, Senate Democrats in late January 2008 proposed an economic development package that included $15 million to expand initial child care eligibility for families up to 210 percent of poverty, with continuing eligibility up to 225 percent. Several different economic proposals are now under consideration. Early care and education issues have certainly received attention in the Capitol. Our state has had a strong focus on access; Wisconsin compares favorably to other states on family access to early care and education services. However, the real challenge for Wisconsin and the nation is to not only address affordable access issues, but also to deliver the promise of high quality services, which the research says provides positive short- and long-term benefits in a cost-effective way, with the greatest return on investment for children from disadvantaged backgrounds. National Scientific Council on the Developing Child recently summarized the available research on what components of early care and education programs are linked to program effectiveness and positive child outcomes. They found that these characteristics yielded the best results:
Other researchers would include parent engagement on the list, because of the evidence that parent involvement in a child’s learning is key to later results. Most states, including Wisconsin, are grappling with the challenge of transforming early care and education in ways that incorporate these factors. A significant shift in public policy is needed if Wisconsin is to address both access and quality in early care and education. In the last part of the 20th century, it was clear that our families were dealing with a series of new pressures in balancing work and child-rearing responsibilities, and there were growing concerns about our children’s first five years of development. Much of the rest of the world, including Europe and emerging economic powers in Asia, reacted to changing family and societal needs with a range of early childhood services and supports. In the next few years we will see whether Wisconsin has indeed reached “the tipping point” on early care and education. The Council will be doing its best to make sure the state tips in the right direction on these issues.
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