Early Child Care Educators and the COVID-19 Vaccine: The Wisconsin Process
We have heard many of you expressing your concern about the COVID-19 vaccine in our state. We know that this process will take time, but we want to make sure to share the facts we have currently on this issue.
In December of 2020, Wisconsin started to receive the COVID-19 vaccine. Currently, it is making its way into the arms of those in Tier 1A as defined by the Wisconsin State Disaster Medical Advisory Committee (SDMAC). Tier 1A is our state’s medical professionals in high-risk categories of being exposed to the COVID-19 virus and those in long term care facilities; think nursing homes. As of January 7, 2021, the Wisconsin Department of Health Services (DHS) website shows that 420,200 vaccines have been allocated to our state. Of those, 266,675 have been shipped, and 110,207 vaccines have already been administered.
Child Care Sector Relief in Pandemic Bill
The child care sector has been named in every pandemic relief bill proposed to congress since the spring. The importance of this work has never been more clear. And while we must keep advocating for the long-term Child Care is Essential Act, we celebrate the news that help is coming. The House and Senate have passed a new $892 billion COVID Relief Package and the President signed the bill this past Sunday. While in its entirety, the bill is 5,593 pages long and will take time to fully understand, there are some highlights that will directly benefit early care and education professionals in Wisconsin. What’s more, the bill not only calls for pandemic relief, it also increases spending on federal programs impacting our field for 2021.
Bucking the Child Care Closure Trend: WEESSN Expansion Helps Wisconsin Child Care Programs
According to the National Association of the Education of Young Children, an estimated 40% of child care programs around the country will close before the end of the pandemic, making it even more difficult for communities to recover economically. However, one...
Gratitude
Thank you Governor Evers and the Wisconsin State Legislature for the investment of federal CARES Act funding into Wisconsin’s child care programs throughout the COVID-19 pandemic. Programs around the state have said that this funding has been vital in helping them...
Local Group’s Efforts Selected for Wisconsin Top Rural Development Initiative Honors
The Wisconsin Early Education Shared Services Network (WEESSN), launched in Vernon and Monroe Counties, has been selected to receive the 2020 Wisconsin Top Rural Development Initiative award, one of two awards presented in 2020 by the Wisconsin Rural Partners, Inc. The presentation was made at a private ceremony following the cancellation of the Wisconsin Rural Summit due to COVID-19.
Unless…
This last piece has not come easy and has taken MANY rewrites. I have felt unsure how to close out something that is far from being over. At one point, I was holding out hope that by mid-August, we would be celebrating the $50B relief package this industry needs. But to be honest, it still feels far from that time and I am feeling demoralized. While Americans across the political spectrum agree that the federal government should fund early care and education to a larger extent, congress has not been successful in getting this done.
The Un System of Early Care and Education
by Paula Drew, WEESSN Co-Director I often struggle with how to present the injustices within the early care and education (ECE) sector without making early educators sound like victims because they are anything but. However, inadequate financing of child...
It’s Not Daycare
by Paula Drew, Co-Director, Wisconsin Early Education Shared Services Network This post is the fourth in the series, Uncovering Stories from the Early Care and Education Field During the COVID-19 Pandemic, based on in-depth interviews of child care providers across...
Unprecedented Support in Unprecedented Times: WECA’s Response During COVID-19
Because “small lives get bigger”, our mission at WECA is to advance positive change for children by focusing on the professionals who provide child care for well over 70% of Wisconsin’s children. We truly believe that quality early care and education is fundamental to creating a better world. Our work to support this sector and the children and families who intersect with it has always been comprehensive. During the pandemic, WECA’s staff stepped up to support Wisconsin’s system of early care and education in unprecedented ways.
Remember Wisconsin’s Child Care Programs … Please!
Governor Evers just announced significant support to distribute PPE to schools, specifically 2 million masks and 4,200 infrared thermometers. While I fully support ensuring our schools open safely for children, teachers, and staff, I must ask, “What about our state’s child care programs? Where are their masks and thermometers?”