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DC Action Responds to Washington Post Editorial on Fixing Child Care, Noting Improvements in the District
DC Action Director of Early Childhood Ruqiyyah Anbar-Shaheen responded to a recent Washington Post editorial “How to fix America's child-care industry” by pointing out the omission of the historic work happening in the District to improve our own early childhood education sector.
“Rather than wait on federal money to save child care, the DC Council approved a modest tax increase on the city’s highest-income residents to fund a permanent compensation increase for early-childhood educators, including health benefits. Meaningfully transforming the child-care industry means public financing: Paying teachers what they deserve and providing quality care cost far more than what most families can afford. Until policymakers step up with public dollars, child-care supply will always be as inadequate as teacher pay, and families will be plagued with unaffordable child-care costs.”
Home Visitors Connect, Collaborate, and Strategize on the Roof
The DC Home Visiting Council hosted an Advocacy Collaboration session at the Hi-Lawn rooftop space at Union Market on October 21. Home visitors enjoyed the opportunity to socialize, build connections across programs, and learn about advocacy opportunities to meaningfully share their stories about their role. Between networking, the HV Council’s Advocacy Committee facilitated a workshop to gather feedback on the upcoming advocacy agenda and the current workforce challenges. Home visitors face low compensation and heavy administrative workloads, contributing to high turnover rates in the profession and ultimately disrupting services and relationships with participant families. At this meeting, home visitors strategized ways to address these primary workforce challenges and enhance their valuable role to families.
Join Under 3 DC for a Conversation with the Newly Elected Councilmembers from Ward 3 and Ward 5
You’re invited to participate in a discussion with newly elected councilmembers about the state of early education in Wards 3 and 5 on November 17 from 6:30pm to 8pm.
