An elementary school in Columbus recently unveiled a new book vending machine to expand access to books, as part of the district’s literacy initiative.

QUOTABLE & NOTABLE

“What’s uncontroversial at this point is that the current early education system in America is not working well, and the situation has only worsened since the pandemic. ...

The good news is that it doesn’t have to be this way, a fact made clear by a number of other nations. Generally, European countries have made the most progress in enshrining a right to early education. As of 2019, seven EU member states (Denmark, Germany, Estonia, Latvia, Slovenia, Finland, and Sweden) as well as Norway guarantee a place in publicly funded ECE for each child from an early age, ranging from six to eighteen months. Meanwhile, a legal entitlement to early education has been either introduced or extended in the Czech Republic, Poland, and Portugal.”

Who:

Aaron Loewenberg

Where:

“Establishing a Right to Early Education: Part One of a Four-Part Series” published by New America

FACT OF THE WEEK

A new study by workplace child care provider Vivvi and consultant The Fifth Trimester found that businesses receive an $18 return-on-investment (ROI) for every $1 spent on caregiving supports for their employees with children.

POLICY RADAR

The Ohio Department of Health has awarded $5 million in funds to 19 groups across Ohio to support maternal and infant health — an important investment to address infant mortality.

BEYOND THE BUCKEYE STATE

A grant is helping several Minnesota child care providers continue their businesses through an innovative “pod” model. The model is “a new licensing method in Minnesota that allows up to four in-home day care providers to operate out of the same building.” This provides an alternative location for home providers outside of their personal residence to provide care for children, but without the heavy regulatory lift required to start a brand-new center.

WHAT WE'RE READING

Franklin County, Ohio (our very own backyard), is highlighted for its use of American Rescue Plan Act dollars to bolster child care in the community. When funds were initially released, they were used to offer sign-on bonuses to new early educators, provide child care scholarships, offer incentive payments to centers that serve families with low incomes, support programs in achieving a higher status on the state quality rating system, and pilot a program to subsidize wages for educators. Recently, funding was approved until 2026 to continue on this trajectory through the Franklin County RISE program.

New America outlines the unique — and pressing — challenges facing one segment of the early childhood workforce: those providing early intervention and early childhood special education services.

A new report from NIEER examines the costs for providers of family child care and argues that current state spending on early childhood education is insufficient to support the true expenses involved in providing high-quality, home-based care.

This edition was written by Jamie O’Leary and Janelle Williamson.

If you like this newsletter, forward to a friend! Subscribe here.

crane.osu.edu