Thursday, July 7, 2011
Sharing Web Resources
The organization I chose to follow online is the National Association of Child Care Resource and Referral Agencies (NACCRRA). I currently work for a Child Care Resource and Referral Agency, so this organization really ties what is going on in my professional life with my educational life. NACCRRA spends a great deal of time, money and effort on public policy and messaging to get information out to parents, providers and other members of society on the various child care issues. One thing that really caught my eye today on their site was a blurb about a news cast in Minnesota that parents are waiting to hear if child care subsidy is going to remain in the state budget. Our child care resource and referral agency (CCR&R) serves three counties and right now, two of our counties are not releasing funds for child care subsidy cases. The families that rely on those funds have to make a choice. They can either find another provider that is not licensed, or a parent can quit their job and stay home. For providers that are not licensed, they typically charge a lesser rate but the safety is not quarenteed because there is no one checking on them and setting the standards they must follow. The news cast that NACCRRA referred to quoted a parent that stated, "Money that I have set aside that I used for daycare this morning, I was going to use for my half of rent, so we'll see how all that works out" (http://www.naccrra.org/).
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It's great that you found a resource that is really relevant to the work that you do. The information you shared around the challenges with funding due to budget cuts is affecting many families, and as a result many children. We are seeing it here in California too and really do not want to see any families fall through the cracks. Advocacy is so important to supporting the children and families who need these services most. Thanks for your post.
ReplyDeleteNicole,
ReplyDeleteI really don't understand how the states are cutting the budget concerning our young children. Many parents are trying to work to better themselves and provide for their chidren, but if the child care subsidy is not going to remain in the budget, what is going to happen to our young children with working parents? I believe this is a question the states really need to think about for the safety and well-being of our children.