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Wisconsin Early Childhood Association

COVID-19 Impact

Milwaukee children, especially children of color and children from low-income and impoverished communities, are safe, cared for, and supported academically, socially, and developmentally during and beyond this public health crisis. When more Milwaukee parents begin going back to work, they have access to child care.

Emergency Fund

The Home Grown Child Care Emergency Fund was complemented by funding from the Greater Milwaukee Foundation in the amount of $250,000. Collectively, the Wisconsin Early Childhood Association awarded $350,000 to 140 licensed child care providers in the lowest income neighborhoods of Milwaukee. Specifically, grant awards in the amount of $2,500 were provided to 90 home-based providers and 50 group centers within the five target zip codes serving the highest concentrations of Black and Latinx children.

Home Grown is a national collaborative of funders committed to improving the quality of and access to home-based child care with a mission to increase access to and the quality of home-based child care. 

Student Loan Debt is a Critical Factor in the Early Educator Compensation Crisis 

Home-based providers earn the lowest wages in the child care system, with many making just $10,000 per year, while continuing to serve underserved families. Despite their essential role, they are often left out of policy discussions and loan forgiveness programs, contributing to ongoing financial strain. This new fact sheet sheds light on the earning challenges for family child care providers.

Home-based Child Care Providers Share Reflections on Their Hispanic Heritage

In the United States, immigrant stories can start differently but eventually resemble each other. Leticia Barcenas and Claudia Valentín live in diagonally opposite corners of the country—Portland, Oregon, and New Orleans, Louisiana, respectively—they come from different countries—Mexico and Honduras—and began their American Dream with different plans—Leticia wanted to work to make money and support her family; Claudia looked for ways to educate young people in the diaspora—but they eventually discovered that their destiny was inevitably tied to the success of child care in their communities.

Home Grown’s Statement on the Council of Economic Advisers Brief : Child Care Is Infrastructure —Evidence from Universal Pre-K

Home Grown celebrates the new Council of Economic Advisers brief, Child Care Is Infrastructure: Evidence from Universal Pre-K. For over 3 years we have invested in co-funding research that highlights the importance of including Family Child Care (FCC) in public pre-K systems and are excited to be working with NIEER this fall to support a cohort of public pre-K systems with targeted TA and evidence-based tools to modify their pre-K systems to include FCC.