Hello Starting Line readers,
One of the benefits of being a reporter is the opportunity to revisit past stories to see what happened years later. I got that chance recently and circled back to a story I wrote in 2018 about a western Colorado county’s plan to nearly double its number of child care seats. It was an unusual effort both because it was extremely ambitious and because it was spearheaded by the director of the county health department — not the typical role for a child care champion.
Today, the health director is gone and the effort’s space-age name, “Child Care 8,000,” is no longer in use, but there have been real changes in the county. Check out our lead story to learn more about where the needle moved in Mesa County — and where it didn’t.
If you have story ideas, news tips, or just want to say hello, drop me a line at aschimke@chalkbeat.org or reply to this newsletter.
— Ann Schimke
STORIES FROM CHALKBEAT
A COUNTY CAME TOGETHER In 2017, a western Colorado county embarked on an ambitious campaign to nearly double its number of child care slots. Seven years later, here’s what happened.
GOVERNOR’S PRIORITIES New Jersey Gov. Phil Murphy renewed his commitment to expanding universal pre-K and promised new plans to improve child literacy rates in his State of State address last month.
FASTER PRE-K TIMELINE In January, Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer promised to make the state’s free preschool available to all 4-year-olds regardless of family income, two years ahead of schedule.
BILINGUAL LICENSING SUPPORT Colorado lawmakers are considering a bill that would maintain funding to provide bilingual support to child care providers seeking to get their state licenses.
PRE-K EXPANSION AT RISK? Federal COVID relief money helped Chicago expand its free preschool offerings, but with that money set to run out this fall, it’s not clear if the school district will have to cut programming.
LEADING THE CHARGE ON READING Philadelphia’s “reading captains” fan out into neighborhoods with one goal: Make sure the children on the block have the support they need to read on grade level.
OTHER EARLY CHILDHOOD STORIES
CHILD TAX CREDIT BILL Low-income families, especially those with multiple children, would be helped the most under a bill to expand the child tax credit that Congress is considering. The Hill
SENDING OUT AN SOS Top Utah community leaders, businesses and philanthropy organizations have signed an open letter asking the Utah Legislature to address the state’s child care crisis. Deseret News
CASH IN HAND In 2022, the D.C. government announced a pilot program that offered 132 new and expecting low-income mothers $10,800 over the course of a year — no strings attached. Here’s what happened. Washington Post
ORGANIZING FOR A CAUSE Child care workers who’ve organized for better pay and treatment talk about the strategies they’ve used in California and New Mexico. Hechinger Report
CLASSIC STUDIES An early childhood expert explains why results from two classic research studies don’t always match more recent research on the impact of early childhood education. Education Week
BIRTH OF A CHILD CARE CENTER After COVID, workers in this Texas Panhandle town weren’t returning to meatpacking plants, schools, and other key employers. A new child care center has helped. Texas Tribune
FIRSTHAND
What the child care crisis does to parents New York Times
For my medically complicated son, going to school was a struggle and a joy Chalkbeat
How the enduring belief about child care – I don’t want someone else raising my kid – hurts us all Early Learning Nation
NYC needs fully accessible schools. Families like mine depend on it. Chalkbeat
Photo credit: Ann Schimke/Chalkbeat
