NEW GLARUS — Department of Children and Families (DCF) Secretary Emilie Amundson, Erin Arango-Escalante, Administrator Division of Early Care and Education, Priya Bhatia, Policy Initiatives Advisor, Amanda Merkwae, Legislative Advisor, and Nadya Perez-Reyes, Assistant Secretary visited Corrine’s Little Explorers family child care, New Glarus, and Mariposa Learning Center, Fitchburg, programs in honor of Teacher Appreciation week and Provider Appreciation Day last week.
Visits were planned to thank providers because “The work that child care providers do-day in and day out-is critical to our state and our future generation,” said DCF Secretary Emilie Amundson. “They are the backbone to our state’s economic recovery, the brain builders of our youngest citizens, and a lifeline for working parents. This day (Provider Appreciation Day) offers us an opportunity to share our gratitude and recognize the positive role they play in our children’s lives.”
Arriving at Corrine’s Little Explorers, which is now almost exclusively outdoors, at 8 a.m., members from DCF were greeted warmly by the few children who had already arrived. Over the next hour, as children filtered in, they warmly greeted the visitors and said good-bye to their parents. DCF was able to witness the COVID-19 screening completed weekly that provider Corrine Hendrickson does for all children over the age of 2. Having the screening available is from a partnership with DCF and Department of Human Services in order to increase access and equity to testing for children in child care settings and detect covid early.
The children used the outdoor wash station and were settled in for breakfast and baby Sylvan charmed every adult who had the opportunity to hold him. Secretary Amundson played magna-tiles with Sol, while the other visitors interacted and played with the other children.
During the visit, between caring for the children, Hendrickson spoke with them about the grants Green County has procured and the possibility of other grants GCCCN applied to in order to offset parent tuition and increase wages to build capacity to meet the needs of working families and their employers. How the mentor program of existing providers working with other new to the business or new to Youngstar mentees to navigate both those systems.
Andrea Priebe, one of her mentees, just earned 4-stars after participating for the first time and is on track to get 5-stars next year after implementing portfolios for a year. That segued to opportunities to improve Youngstar to be more reflective measure of quality.
Child Care Counts funding has allowed her to hire a part-time assistant, former intern of hers and current parent of a child in care going to school for a Master’s in Social Work. This allows her to complete some administrative tasks during business hours instead of nights and weekends, go to appointments without closing, and participate in a UC-Berkeley Center for the Studies of Child Care Employment Bold Leadership Committee on Compensation with Erin Arango-Escalante, Rep. Billings, and WECA Executive Director Ruth Schmidt and leaders from seven other states.
Furthermore, they discussed how providers are starting to understand that family child care is a business while we also care for and educate children so their parents can work, go to school, or do the other things that parents need to do that are difficult to do with a young child in tow. Hendrickson talked about how since 1991 when the Green County Child Care Network was created (and is still the only county wide professional organization with both family and group centers in the state) there were over 80 programs and now there are 32 leaving an enormous number of children with no care and parents unable to consistently work.
The state’s budget must reflect the critical need for investment since we have record low unemployment, and more and more people will be retiring thus increasing the need for more women to have the ability to be employed. Child care is the critical component currently missing.
