Womenstake

Register Today: Call on Supporting Family, Friend, and Neighbor Child Care

by Helen Blank, Director, Leadership and Public Policy, 
National Women's Law Center 

Every day, millions of working parents rely on home-based child care arrangements, including family child care and care by family, friends, and neighbors, for their children. Given the essential role family child care and FFN care plays for so many families, it is important to understand the role that unions are playing to support these providers and the lessons they have learned.

The National Women's Law Center has scheduled the second in our series of calls that will examine child care unionization and other strategies for improving compensation, benefits, and working conditions for family child care and FFN providers and enhancing the quality of care they offer.

Register today for our second call, Lessons Learned: Supporting Family, Friend and Neighbor Care & Family Child Care in Washington State.

The conference call will take place on Thursday, June 18, at 2:00 p.m. Eastern.

Presenters for this call will include:

• Helen Blank, Director of Leadership and Public Policy, National Women's Law Center
• Karen Hart, Early Learning Division Director, SEIU Local 925
• Nancy Ashley, Owner, Heliotrope Consulting Firm

If you missed the first call in our series, "Lessons Learned: Supporting Family, Friend, and Neighbor Care & Family Child Care in Oregon Through Unionization," you can download our audio recording or transcript.

We hope that you will join us for this call!

New Resource: NWLC Child Care Website

by Helen Blank, Director of Leadership and Public Policy, 
National Women's Law Center 

Last year, we released Developing America's Potential: An Agenda for Affordable, High-Quality, Child Care, a "blueprint" for the future of child care. Since then, several bills reflecting parts of the Agenda have been introduced in this Congress. We are happy to announce a new website to better help advocates continue to move forward on the systemic reforms found in the Agenda. 

Check out NWLC's new website based on the agenda.

The website is a one-stop shop for information on the Agenda, including ways you can get involved with our efforts. As you check out the website, you will see that our featured immediate action focuses on the appropriations process.

It's important that we work together and urge our Members of Congress to support a $1 billion increase for the Child Care and Development Block Grant and a $1 billion increase for Head Start in the FY 2010 Labor, Health and Human Services, and Education Appropriations bill. This would be an important step toward the long-term goals contained in the Agenda. While these programs received additional emergency funding in the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act, these funds do not compensate for the longstanding funding shortfalls in these vital programs.

Take action today by sending a message to your members of Congress.

Register Today: Call on Economic Recovery Funds for Child Care

How are states using their economic recovery funds to help boost support for child care?

To strategize about how to best utilize the economic recovery funds, the National Women's Law Center and CLASP are hosting a conference call.

An Economic Recovery Update: How States Can Use Economic Recovery Funds to Help Child Care will take place on Thursday, May 21, at 2:00 p.m. Eastern.

Register today! This conference call is free to participants, but registration is required. 

More details about the key provisions of the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act are available on our website at www.nwlc.org/economicrecovery. 

The call will be moderated by Helen Blank of the National Women's Law Center and Danielle Ewen of CLASP. Presenters will discuss highlights of their states' plans and include:

• Bruce Liggett, Executive Director, Arizona Child Care Association
• Sessy Nyman, Vice President of Public Policy & Government Affairs, Action for Children
• Sheila Hansen, Policy Director, Child and Family Policy Center
• Patty Siegel, Executive Director, California Child Care Resource & Referral Network
• Clare S. Richie, Senior Policy Analyst, Georgia Budget and Policy Institute

We are grateful for the support of the Birth to Five Policy Alliance for sponsoring this call. 

We hope to speak to you soon!

Child Care and Early Education Policy Update

Last year, a broad group of national and state organizations crafted a shared agenda, Developing America’s Potential: An Agenda for Affordable High-Quality Child Care. Below are summaries of several bills that have recently been introduced in Congress that contain elements of the Agenda or that address other aspects of the broader early care and education agenda. To learn more about the Agenda, please go to NWLC's web site.

Starting Early, Starting Right Act

Sen. Bob Casey (D-PA) and Sen. Blanche Lincoln (D-AR), introduced the Starting Early, Start Right Act (S. 1000), which would improve access to high-quality early learning and child care, especially for children in lower-income working families. Highlights of the bill include stronger training requirements for providers and monitoring requirements for states, increased rates for programs and providers serving low-income children, increased funding targeted to improve the quality of child care, encouragement for states to develop Quality Rating and Improvement Systems that support programs and providers in meeting gradually increasing standards, a special focus on infants and toddlers, and research designed to promote higher-quality care. For more information about this bill, please check out NWLC's summary.

Child Care Facilities Financing Act of 2009

The Child Care Facilities Financing Act of 2009 was introduced in the House (as H.R. 1685) by Rep. Carolyn McCarthy (D-NY) and was introduced in the Senate (as S. 1002) by Sen. Casey and Sen. Blanche Lincoln (D-AR). This bill would address the significant need to improve early childhood facilities by creating a flexible pool of capital for early childhood facilities development in low-income communities. For more information about this bill, please check out NWLC's summary.

Policy Update: President Obama Releases Detailed Budget

President Obama’s detailed budget for Fiscal Year 2010 makes investments critical to the well-being of women and their families, especially in the areas of health care and education. Yet the fine print also retains restrictions on reproductive health.

Overall, the budget represents an important change in direction from the past eight years. However, given the enormous challenges that families and communities are facing, this budget could and should do even more to address rising needs. For more information, visit NWLC's website.

Some highlights of how the budget affects women and families include:

• Health Care: The President’s budget brings the nation one step closer to making health care reform that meets the needs of women and their families a reality this year. It creates a reserve fund of more than $600 billion, which will serve as a “down payment” on health reform.
• Reproductive Health: The budget eliminates wasteful abstinence-only programs and allows states to provide more support for contraception through the Medicaid program. Unfortunately, the budget retains harmful and unjust restrictions on the use of public funds for abortion care and provides only level or insufficient funding increases for several programs that provide essential services for women, including Title X family planning.
• Child Care and Early Education: The President’s budget funds several new early childhood initiatives. However, the budget provides only a modest increase for Head Start, and no increase in funding for the Child Care and Development Block Grant to supplement temporary funding for 2009 and 2010 in the Economic Recovery Act. Full details are available on NWLC's website.

Just Released: Important Steps for Women in the First 100 Days

The National Women's Law Center (NWLC) today commended the Obama Administration and Congress for taking important steps for women in the first 100 days. Many of these actions have already made a real difference in the lives of women and their families across the country.

In this brief span of time, Congress and the new Administration prioritized the needs of women and girls throughout the federal government, supported women in the workplace, and provided much-needed assistance to low-income families. The new Administration worked to improve women’s health and education, invest in child care and early education, and guarantee equal rights for all.

NWLC issued a document outlining these advances, as well as critical next steps. The full document is available here.

“The past 100 days have been a breath of fresh air compared to the preceding eight years of setbacks for women,” stated Nancy Duff Campbell, Co-President of NWLC. “Women in this country have been raring for change. This Administration deserves a great deal of credit for listening, and for taking swift action on a range of issues.”

Marcia D. Greenberger, Co-President of NWLC, added: “What a difference 100 days make! The President and Congress have taken great strides for women on many fronts, including fair pay, health care, education, and assistance for low-income families. It all adds up to long-awaited gains and much-needed support for the millions of women who need opportunities and assistance now.”

As part of the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (ARRA), President Obama and Congress enacted critical measures to help women and families through these tough times by increasing assistance for those in need.  The ARRA provided new investments in child care and early education, nutrition, energy, and housing assistance to low-income individuals and families – the majority of whom are women and female-headed households. For example, thirty-two million people who rely on food stamps are receiving increased aid:  $80 per month for a 4-person household.

NWLC in the News

by Mary Robbins, Program Assistant, 
National Women's Law Center  

San Jose Mercury News, April 19, 2009
Women often charged more than men for individual health insurance

Huffington Post, April 16, 2009
What’s at Stake for Women in Health Care Reform

RH Reality Check, April 16, 2009
People Who Are Refused Reproductive Health Care Can't Always ‘Just Go Someplace Else’!

Washington Post, April 10, 2009
Area Gets Funds for Care of Children

CNN: The Situation Room, April 8, 2009
Americans Fight Pirate Hijacking; U.S. to Join Direct Talks With Iran; Doctors' Ethics vs. Medical Science

McClatchy, April 8, 2009
Blacks, women protest Obama order on use of union labor

FOX News, April 8, 2009
Medical Providers Urge Obama to Save 'Conscience' Rule

Take Action: Hungry Children Can't Wait

by Helen Blank, Director of Leadership and Public Policy, 
National Women’s Law Center 

Congress has an opportunity to give nutritious meals to millions of children — and we need you to make sure Congress does the right thing. 

Later this year, we expect the Child and Adult Care Food Program (CACFP) to be reauthorized — providing an important opportunity to reach even more children and win additional benefits.

Please urge your Members of Congress to help more children and families by improving the Child and Adult Care Food Program. 

CACFP provides over 3 million children enrolled in child care centers, family child care homes, Head Start, prekindergarten and after-school programs up to two meals and a snack. In addition, it provides ongoing training in the nutritional needs of children, and onsite assistance in meeting the program's strong nutritional requirements. Unfortunately, there are still millions of children in child care who could benefit from CACFP who are currently unserved.

With your help, we have an opportunity to improve the Child and Adult Care Food Program.

There are several key changes that the early childhood and after-school community is seeking in the reauthorization to expand the program's reach and increase benefits to children, including:

• Increasing CACFP reimbursements to stem participation declines and improve nutrition.
• Allowing child care centers and homes the option of serving a third meal as was previously allowed.
• Reducing the current “area eligibility” threshold from 50 to 40 percent to allow all providers living in neighborhoods where at least 40 percent of the children are in low-income families to automatically qualify for the highest reimbursement rate.
• Reducing burdensome paperwork to ensure that more children and providers have access to the benefits offered by CACFP.

These changes will help to reduce hunger, reduce childhood obesity, improve child nutrition and health overall, and enhance child development and school readiness. For more information on ways CACFP could be improved, check out NWLC's fact sheet.

The Budget Resolution: Who's Really Looking Out for Future Generations?

by Karen Schulman, Senior Policy Analyst,
National Women’s Law Center    

The budget resolution being considered by Congress this week supports important investments in health care, education, and sustainable energy that will strengthen our nation’s economy in the long term. Yet some opponents of the budget resolution are charging that the measure amounts to “generational theft” because they say it would add to a budget debt that will have to be repaid by the next generation. 

The long-term debt is a legitimate concern, but these critics would be more credible if they had been as concerned about the debt when they were voting to steal from the next generation of low- and moderate-income citizens to pay for tax cuts for the wealthy of this generation (including the wealthy investment bankers who helped bring about our current economic situation). Instead of responding to proposals for tax cuts heavily slanted to the wealthy by crying, “Thief!”, they instead shouted, “Aye!” It would also be easier to take these critics seriously if many of them weren’t the same politicians voting against programs that would help the next generation, such as children’s health care and early care and education. Or if they weren’t objecting to proposals that would pay for these investments by closing tax loopholes, reducing tax breaks for the very wealthy, and ending wasteful corporate subsidies.

We need to make sure that the children we raise today are healthy and well-educated so they can contribute to the economy of tomorrow and can help their own children prosper and thrive. Making wise investments now isn’t stealing from the next generation—it’s strengthening future generations, and strengthening the economy they will inherit.

Register Today: Call on Supporting Family, Friend, and Neighbor Care

Every day, millions of working parents rely on home-based child care arrangements, including family child care and care by family, friends, and neighbors, for their children. Given the essential role family child care and FFN care plays for so many families, it is important to understand the role that unions are playing to support these providers and the lessons they have learned.

The National Women's Law Center is beginning a new series of calls that will examine child care unionization as a strategy for improving compensation, benefits, and working conditions for family child care and FFN providers and enhancing the quality of care they offer.

Register today for our first call, Lessons Learned: Supporting Family, Friend and Neighbor Care & Family Child Care in Oregon Through Unionization.

The conference call will take place on Tuesday, April 7, at 2:30 p.m. Eastern.

Presenters for this call will include:

• Helen Blank, Director of Leadership and Public Policy, National Women's Law Center
• Faye Zepada, AFSCME Staff Representative, Local 132
• Abby Solomon, Field Coordinator Care Providers, SEIU

In addition to the call, the National Women's Law Center has just released a new resource, Developing Family, Friend, and Neighbor Care Initiatives: Tips from Experts. The guide compiles insights and recommendations on promising strategies for FFN care and offers tips to address common challenges to developing effective federal, state and local policies and approaches concerning FFN care.

We hope that you will join us for this call!