Wisconsin Family Child Care Association

Supporting Family Child Care Since 1982

Early Childhood Advocacy

Get involved in matters that you care about! Wisconsin Family Child Care Association is the professional voice of over 1,200 family child care providers. With so many voices joined together we CAN affect the lives of young children and the future of our profession!

Part of our job as early childhood professionals is to raise awareness about the importance of early care and education and advocate for early childhood issues. As family child care providers we have the added responsibility of advocating for the profession of family child care.

Current Early Childhood Advocacy News

Stay up-to-date on current early childhood advocacy topics! We'll post information as we become aware of it.

Tell the U.S. Senate to Fund Child Care

Congress is moving on to the 2018 budget, and we need to push for even larger investments. And you can start this effort now by contacting your Senators.

The deadline for Senators to make requests for what they want funded in the Fiscal Year 2018 Appropriations bill is soon approaching. That means that if there's going to be an increase in funding for child care in next year's budget, our Senators have to ask for it! And they need to hear from YOU - today!

Dial 202-224-3121 and ask the operator to connect you to your U.S. Senator's office. Once you're connected, tell the staff person who answers the phone:

"Hi, my name is _______, I'm a family child care provider, and I live in _____ (mention your city and state). I urge the Senator to ask for a $1.4 Billion increase in C-C-D-B-G before the Senate Appropriations request deadline because child care helps parents work and children get the good start they need."

Please do this twice - once for each of your U.S. Senators! If you get a voicemail instead of a staff person, you can leave this in a recorded message with the office.

Results from the Joint Finance

From Dave Edie of the Wisconsin Council on Children and Families: First, the good news. The Joint Committee on Finance unanimously approved the Governor’s proposal for a $3.9 million increase for home visiting in each year of the biennium. The support for home visiting is encouraging.

Now, the bad news. Two critical proposals to improve child care were rejected. The implications are serious.

No Increase in Child Care Provider Reimbursement Rates: $24 million annually
A motion to increase child subsidy payment rates by $24 million annually to increase maximum reimbursement rates was rejected on a 4-12 partisan vote. The motion would have brought subsidy maximum payment rates up to the 50th percentile. The vote that passed 12-4 supported the Governor’s proposal that does not increase the subsidy rates, despite the serious decline of the rates. The payment rates have dropped from the 75th percentile of the market price a decade ago to the current low ebb of 23rd percentile market price for child care slots. In other words, the payment rates will not cover the price of 75% of child care in Wisconsin, and the problem will only increase over the biennium. This is likely to result in many low-income working families unable to pay the price of child care and have to look for other option. The continued rate freeze will lead to increasing child care providers unable to serve low-income children or will cause programs to stop participating in the Wisconsin Shares child care subsidy program. The decline in child care subsidy payments in recent years has been drastic, with a decline in over $130 million, and a severe drop of children receiving subsidies.
No Increase for TEACH Scholarships and REWARD Stipends: $10 million annually
After hopeful discussions in the weeks leading up to the May 23 Joint Finance meeting, the final decision was to reject any increase for TEACH and REWARD. The four Democrats on the Committee offered a motion to increase funding by $10 million annually. The vote was rejected on a 3-12 partisan vote. Child care programs are facing a crisis in attracting and retaining qualified teachers. TEACH scholarships and REWARD stipends have long waiting lists. I anticipate hard times ahead for the child care workforce.

Let your legislators know how you feel about these decisions. Tell them yor experiences with TEACH and REWARD, and how both benefit the children you care for and their families. It's never too late for your voice to be heard!

Congress and Administration Approve a Budget for Fiscal Year 2017

The U.S. House and Senate approved the legislation completing the work of the FY 2017 federal budget - and in it are all the details about investments in crucial federal programs and services.

Among other provisions, the Child Care and Development Block Grant (CCDBG) got an increase of $95 million, but more action is still needed in 2017 to urge Congress to invest in child care. Read all the details and what you can do on NAFCC's website.

Early Childhood Advocacy Actions

Research shows that quality early childhood experiences are critical for promoting children's health, confidence, and success later in life. Family child care programs provide the high quality experiences children need to succeed. Family child care programs also promote local economic growth by supporting today's working families and nurturing the workforce of tomorrow.

Here are some ways to get started:

Write a letter to the editor of your local paper.
Contact your legislators. Visit the Wisconsin State Legislature website and click on "Find My Legislators" to discover who your representatives are.
Invite local legislators to visit your program. Take a picture of them with the children and send them a copy with a thank you note.
Visit NAFCC's Public Policy page for current issues and advocacy tools.