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
Survey: Only half of Wisconsin’s child care slots are affordable for Families (Wisconsin Public Radio)
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 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.
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.
WECA’s Statement on Equity
Because the Wisconsin Early Childhood Association (WECA) exists to support the wellbeing of young Wisconsin children and our early education workforce, we strongly assert that Black Lives Matter. We all hold responsibility for addressing police brutality, dismantling systematic racism, and equalizing power in our United States. We understand that now is the time to re-imagine what kind of America we want for our children and grandchildren — an America where all children in all communities can live safely – free of bias, discrimination, and racism.
Support for Federal and State Investment in ECE is Mounting
Faced with a pandemic that has shut down the economy, belief that early care and education (ECE) is essential and not expandable is solidifying across the county. This blog post reviews two recent national surveys that examine experiences with and support for ECE during the COVID19 pandemic.
Rights, Raises, Respect: Worthy Wage Day 2020
by Peggy Haack Nearly three decades ago, May 1 became a focal point for a national campaign to raise up the needs of the...
The 2020 Census Part 5: Parent and Kid Resources
As a child care provider, you can play an important role in the Census. You are a trusted voice to the families you work with. By supplying information about the Census, you can help your community understand how important and necessary it is.
