Blog & News
Stories are powerful. Stay connected to WECA’s impactful journey through our blog and news coverage.
WECA In The Spotlight
Families are ‘drowning’ as early child care programs face widespread staffing shortages (Wisconsin Public Radio)
Jackson County sees success with efforts to combat child care crisis (Wisconsin Rapids Tribune)
Advocacy group shines spotlight on child care need, potential solutions (Wisconsin Examiner)
Early Childhood Education News
Child care industry struggles with shortage of workers (ABC News)
Why You Can’t Find Child Care: 100,000 Workers Are Missing (The New York Times)
Rural communities need federal child care investments (Center for American Progress)
Wisconsin Early Childhood Association Blog
A hub of first-hand perspectives, calls to action, program and initiative information and other timely updates.WECA thanks Governor Evers for commitment to early care and education in Executive Budget
Wisconsin Early Childhood Association applauds Gov. Tony Evers’ support of early childhood educators and early care and education in his Executive Budget announced in February. The investment is historic for Wisconsin, which has never placed this overwhelming an...
WEESSN anuncia nuevas guías de impuestos para negocios de cuidado infantil
Por: Gary Romano, Civitas Strategies, LLC Encontrar una preparación de impuestos asequible y efectiva ha sido durante mucho tiempo un desafío para quienes proveen cuidado infantil. Como resultado, a menudo pagan más impuestos de lo que deberían. Para abordar este...
WEESSN Announces New Tax Guides for Child Care Businesses
Finding affordable, effective tax preparation has long been a challenge for child care providers. As a result, they often pay more in taxes than they should. To address this issue, Wisconsin Early Education Shared Services (WEESSN), a program of Wisconsin Childhood Association (WECA), is partnering with Civitas Strategies Early Start (CSES) to create a revolutionary new set of tax guides specifically for child care businesses.
‘Best I have ever attended’: WECA Conference educates, inspires
The annual event provided learning opportunities dedicated to enhancing the professional development and growth of Wisconsin’s early childhood workforce through four keynote presentations, 25 live workshops, and 23 on-demand sessions. Topics covered growth and retention of professionals, health and resilience, racial justice, cultural responsivity, leadership, communication strategies, and brain development, among many other timely and relevant topics for the early childhood community.
Child Care: A Public Good Impacting Wisconsinites’ Lives and Livelihood
Wisconsin’s child care system is broken. Residents from all corners of the state experience the challenges of this ailing infrastructure, which was fragile before the pandemic and has worsened significantly since. In light of this reality, Wisconsin Early Childhood Association offers some widely accepted truths.
‘Pride in my profession’: Wisconsin early childhood educator wins national award
Jill Stalker loved to “play school” in the basement when her mom, an educator, brought home extra supplies and books. In fact, it fostered her lifelong dream to become a teacher. The dream continued during college breaks when she worked at Apple Tree Connections, a...
WEESSN in the National Spotlight
When Kelly Matthews first attended the National Shared Services Technical Conference in 2017, it was purely an information-gathering opportunity.
In 2022, Kelly and seven other Wisconsin Early Education Shared Services Network (WEESSN) staff members attended to present Wisconsin as a model for innovation, collaboration and growth.
What a difference five years makes.
A Day Without Child Care: A Spotlight on Transformational Change
Child care providers, parents and families across the country are marking, “A Day Without Child Care” on Monday, May 9, 2022. This day of action, sponsored by the national organization Community Change Action, aims to highlight the need for dignified, worthy wages for early childhood educators, equity in child care and affordable child care for all families.
National Provider Appreciation Day is May 6th: One Provider’s Appreciation
Provider Appreciation is usually a time for the community and families to pause and show appreciation for the child care providers who, through our work, keep others working. This year, I wanted to pause and reflect on my own appreciation of family child care and what...
‘Silence is not an option’: The Continued Importance of Advocacy
Advocacy has always been a part of who I am, even when I was too young to even know what the word “advocacy” meant. Earlier this year, I got to take my passion for early childhood advocacy to a big stage – the offices of Wisconsin’s elected officials – during the National Association for the Education of Young Children (NAEYC) Public Policy Forum. As a former early childhood educator and current Wisconsin Early Childhood Association employee, this experience elevated my passion and sense of urgency for advocacy on behalf of early care and education.