Impact & Influence
WECA centers innovation in all its work to support the early childhood workforce and early care and education in Wisconsin. Check out this page for more information on WECA’s innovation and influence through several impact updates, our blog, Annual Reports, news coverage, and more.
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
The death of a day care: When a child care center closes, an entire community is affected (The 19th 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)
WHAT IS WECA?
WECA is a state nonprofit with significant local reach that supports early care and education in Wisconsin. Watch this video to get perspective from providers, partners, advocates, and WECA staff.
Read the Annual Report!
For more information about WECA’s research and data findings – visit this page.
Good Food at Home Partnership
WECA’s food systems staff collaborated with Partnership for a Healthier America and LifeWays Early Childhood Center to help bring fresh fruits and vegetables to 200 Milwaukee families this past winter. The initiative provided $60 a month in Instacart credits for fresh produce.
“Providing access to these fresh foods can help improve outcomes for children for a lifetime,” shared WECA food systems co-coordinator Catherine Hansen.
Learn more about the project in this video overview (offered in English) and read our recent blog for more on WECA’s commitment to assisting early childhood programs foster positive food environments to help children and families thrive.
Wisconsin Early Childhood Association Blog
A hub of first-hand perspectives, calls to action, program and initiative information and other timely updates.
It’s Not Daycare
by Paula Drew, Co-Director, Wisconsin Early Education Shared Services Network This post is the fourth in the...
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?”
A Weary Workforce; Child Care Work Gets More Complex Every Day
This post is the third in the series, Uncovering Stories from the Early Care and Education Field During the COVID-19...
Impossible Choices
This post is the second 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 Wisconsin.
Uncovering Stories from the Early Care and Education Field During the COVID-19 Pandemic: A new series which explores the challenges of our essential workforce.
Over the next two months, through a series of blog posts, I will explore the hidden stories from this field. Through confidential interviews and themes from a number of child care provider communication platforms and policy maker and advocate forums, I will lift up the challenges, needs, fears, hopes and future plans of our essential workforce during the pandemic. I will highlight needs that agencies and advocates could consider in creating a better support system for future crises.