Achievement gaps start early for children in families with low incomes. Access to high-quality early care and education programs help young children develop social and emotional, language, and academic skills needed to succeed. In this blog, you will hear from Ashley, a family advocate who uses her personal experience to make the case for why it’s important for states and communities to invest in early care and learning programs as one strategy for ensuring the next generation has the skills they need to overcome poverty.  

Have you ever asked yourself “what am I doing here?”  Why am I immersed in this situation?  Sometimes we tend to just roll with life and end up with missed opportunity because we don’t fully realize our potential or purpose in a situation.  Recently, I found myself in unfamiliar territory and couldn’t help but wonder what I was doing there, what contribution was I supposed to make?   

In January, we released a new report, “It’s About Time: Parents Who Work Nonstandard Hours Face Child Care Challenges,” where we highlighted the need for and the obstacles in accommodating nonstandard hours child care. We also highlighted groups who are doing it right! Here is one child care provider’s journey to provide nonstandard hours care in her community.

Harper’s Story: An Unthinkable Tragedy and How You Can Prevent It 

It was a day like any other. Harper was a typical toddler full of love, laughs and life, when the unthinkable happened. Listen to Harper’s mother, Whitney, share how the events of that tragic day unfolded. Providers: hear her recommendation for preventing tragedies like this from occurring in your program. Parents: let Harper’s story show you why it is important to talk about safe outdoor play spaces and pick-up policies with your child’s provider.  

As a single parent, Sheena struggled to find high-quality, affordable child care. She found a child care resource and referral agency that helped her find the balance of affordability and quality.

Twenty-two years ago I began the difficult quest of finding a child care provider that I could trust for my six-month-old son. Center-based care for Diego was out of the question. I wanted him in a “homey” place with a provider who could offer a seamless transition from home to child care in a location that was convenient to my work schedule as a social worker, which often included evenings.

I finally settled on my neighbor down the street, whom I’ll call Teresita for this post. Teresita was the prototype of a good family, friend, and neighbor (FFN) provider. She was warm and loving, spoke Spanish, cooked the pupusas and black beans that my son loved, and even had a granddaughter who was a little older than Diego, who became his “more knowledgeable other.” Teresita was wonderful and our families became close.

When my son turned two, feeling like he needed more stimulation—more educational toys, more “quality”—I moved him to a licensed Family Child Care (FCC) provider. She was great, but my son suffered because his new provider only spoke English. He also wasn’t used to the peanut butter sandwiches she provided or to being the only brown child. I started to ask myself questions like, What is quality? Why should I have to sacrifice culture and language, which meant a great deal to my family and my child, for “early childhood quality.”

As a parent, shouldn’t I be able to have both? What if I could help Teresita gain knowledge of early childhood education strategies that she could implement with my son? Wouldn’t that be the ideal situation?