Tell Your State Representatives to Support Universal Child Care!

The Universal Child Care Act was introduced in the New York State Legislature! This act would extend access to all families who need child care in the setting of their choice and ensure that family child care educators are compensated based on the true cost of care. 

Please take a moment to call your State Senator and Assemblymember today, urging them to sign on as a co-sponsor of this bill. Check out a sample script below:

Hello, my name is ______ and I am the owner of a family child care program in your district. I urge the Senator/Assembly Member to co-sponsor the Universal Child Care Act (S.7595/A.8623) to support family child care programs like mine and the families we serve. Thank you.

To create a system in which child care is accessible to all families and educators are fairly compensated, we need the support of our elected officials! Please reach out to the Policy Team: Christie Balka at christie@allourkin.org or Steven Morales at Steven@allourkin.org if you have any questions or need support. 

NYS Grant Opportunity for New Child Care Programs

OCFS has announced a grant opportunity for applicants interested in opening a new child care program! The “Invest in New York - Child Care Deserts Grant” aims to address child care deserts across our state by offering $100 million in funding to help build up child care in communities with the least supply.

For more information, visit: ocfs.ny.gov/cc-deserts.

Don’t Miss NYS Child Care Advocacy Day Tomorrow! 

Over 800 New York educators, parents, and child care supporters will join tomorrow’s Advocacy Day to push elected officials to tackle universal child care in this year’s state budget.

If you have not already registered, contact Steven, the New York Policy Director at steven@allourkin.org to sign up.

Did You Miss Our Advocacy Day Prep Session? 

Last Monday, over 100 FCC educators from across the city joined our session with ECE on the Move to learn and prepare together for Advocacy Day.

You can review the slides from the presentation here.

Help Policymakers Improve Family

Child Care!

The Building and Sustaining the Early Care and Education Workforce (BASE) team wants to hear from family child care educators on their experiences in the field! Help federal and local policymakers improve the recruitment, advancement and retention of the child care and early education workforce.

The meeting will be conducted virtually and educators can participate by phone or by using video conferencing.  

If you’re interested, please contact baseproject@mdrc.org

Journey to Nia: Power and Purpose in Black Caregiving of Young Children

The Journey to Nia is a program designed to support the development of healthy racial and cultural identities of Black children in their earliest years. The SERC Black Lives Matter Affinity Group invites educators from across the African diaspora to participate in a two-part learning series! You’ll identify ways to care for and educate Black children so that they can thrive and learn self-care and community care within the context of racism and racial trauma.

Participants will receive a stipend upon completion, along with a certificate.

Join Our Free 10-Week Business Series!

All Our Kin's FCC Business Series is a 10-week training designed to provide family child care educators with the tools needed to successfully manage their businesses. 

Classes will begin soon, either in-person or virtually, according to the respective site. See this flyer for more information.

Get a Jump Start on Accounting For Your FCC Business!

This free three-part workshop will teach you how to use the All Our Kin Accounting System, an easy-to-use computer program designed to summarize your business income and expenses; understand your business profits from month to month; compile necessary information for filing taxes and prepare a budget and compare your actual income and expenses to your budgeted income and expenses.

To sign up, educators must have a laptop and commit to attending all three trainings. A free copy of 2022 Accounting System and user manual will be provided. Please contact the Business Program team at (203) 309-6951, and view this flyer for workshop dates.

Bridgeworks

We invite you to come and spend time with other FCC Educators along with the AOK NYC team! We look forward to sharing policy updates, educational activity ideas!

Wednesday, February 23rd

Deepening Relationships with Parents

Join a special conversation with Early Childhood Expert Sharon Redmann, exploring how the dreams that parents have about parenting shape their confidence and behaviors in profound ways. Brainstorm all the amazing opportunities these dreams create for developing and engaging in rich strategies for deeper relationships.

This conversation is intended to inspire Family Child Care Educators as they continue to strengthen relationships with families. Certificates will be issued for two hours of professional development.

Tuesday, February 15th

6:00-8:00 p.m.

Offered in English with simultaneous interpretation in Spanish

Share Your Knowledge and Experience at an AOK FCC Educator Panel

Do you love what you do and want to share your ideas with fellow educators? The AOK Professional Development team is working on a new series and we’re looking for panelists! Since the beginning of the pandemic, our FCC Educator Panels have been a great way to share ideas, knowledge and experience in a virtual space.

The expected time commitment is approximately three hours and we will provide full support and compensation in gift cards. If interested, please take a moment to complete this brief form.