Michelle Bezark: "The last time the federal government partnered with manufacturers to provide affordable, high-quality child care to families to address an emergency labor shortage, the effects for the larger child-care sector were tangential at best." washingtonpost.com/made-by-histor…

Curious about the last time the fed gov partnered with manufacturers to address a child care crisis? Read my new piece. Thank you @car1ygoodman and the madebyhistory team! And thank you to my Start Early colleagues for doing the work! washingtonpost.com/made-by-histor…

Addressing the #childcare crisis will take more than the CHIPS Act. Our own Michelle Bezark details the roots of the current crisis and how federal leaders can use lessons from history to transform #earlylearning & care. Read the piece in The Washington Post: washingtonpost.com/made-by-histor…

"When businesses and governments pay their share directly, they are better off, as are parents and early childhood educators." Gift article for this great piece! You should read it. wapo.st/3TRiCCM

“America’s childcare market is an abject failure. Even at prohibitively high prices, supply doesn’t meet demand, preventing children, parents and the entire economy from reaching their full potential.” - labor economist Kathryn Edwards Kathryn Anne Edwards washingtonpost.com/business/2023/…

.Start Early’s policy teams are #hiring! Check out our open position for a Digital Advocacy Manager and please pass along to anyone with experience in community organizing, communications, campaigns, etc. startearly.org/who-we-are/car…

There's a reason we don't run K-12 education through employers. There's a reason running health insurance through employers has been a disaster. Why would we think it's a good idea to do so with child care? theatlantic.com/family/archive…

The evidence from #HeadStart and from the Child Tax Credit point to an important lesson: child poverty can be addressed—if we take steps to reduce it through policy, writes Michelle Bezark in TIME. time.com/6320155/child-…

As poverty rates rise and more families are left without access to critical #ECE programs, we must prioritize policies that put our youngest learners first. Our own Michelle Bezark points to #HeadStart as a key solution for addressing the child care crisis in TIME. Read more:

Evidence shows that Head Start programs set the standard for #ECE - and amidst an ongoing #childcare crisis & rising poverty rates, Michelle Bezark of Start Early shares in TIME how Head Start is crucial to driving change. #HeadStartAwarenessMonth time.com/6320155/child-…

Allowing children to live in poverty is a policy choice. In this piece for TIME, Michelle Bezark from Start Early breaks down the history of #HeadStart and explains why it's so important time.com/6320155/child-…

This program, which helps parents write lullabies for their infants, reaches families in healthcare settings, shelters, high schools and more. What a brilliant way to help babies get the nurturing interactions that feed their brains (and our hearts 💕) earlylearningnation.com/2024/03/carneg…

In a new The Fulcrum op-ed, Dr. Demi Siskind, Educare/Start Early researcher & The OpEd Project Public Voices Fellow in partnership w/NBCDI, explains why – and how – we must prioritize #earlycare & education in the 2024 election: thefulcrum.us/election-2024/…

📘 The best #earlyeducation systems are equitable, efficient & effective. Center for Early Learning Funding Equity knows this truth, and is leading smart work that leverages 📈 research & partnerships to build, improve, and sustain #earlylearning systems. celfe.org

#ChildCare workers are essential to families & the economy, yet they're some of the lowest-paid workers, earning a median $13.71/hr in 2022. New research shows how minimum wage increases in IL are helping, but more is needed to ensure fair compensation: tinyurl.com/bdfbypnc

New @CELFE_NIU report illustrates how absurdly the U.S. underfunds early childhood. Whether from a child development standpoint or family support standpoint, this is an insane allocation of resources. (TBC, the answer isn't dropping the right bar, it's boosting the other two!)

Check out their report here: celfe.org/resources/shor…