WECA Advocates in Action

In Wisconsin, 70 percent of children—infants to age five—receive child care. As a child care professional, you are in a position to change the lives of Wisconsin’s children and families. Becoming a member of the Wisconsin Early Childhood Association gives you access to resources that help you provide children high-quality care and education. And while you’re busy helping children grow, you can work confidently knowing you are supported by Wisconsin’s largest community of early childhood professionals.

WECA membership benefits create opportunities to put you in the best position to succeed, for yourself and the children you care for. Your benefits include:

• Member discounts on WECA training workshops and conferences
• Member discount on registration for the annual NAEYC conference
• A one year subscription to one of the following early childhood magazines Young Children or Teaching Young Children
• A one year subscription to the WECA quarterly newsletter
• Savings of 20% on hundreds of books, videos, brochures, and posters carried in the NAEYC catalog
• AND MORE!

It’s so easy to join! Visit our website today and sign up to be part of a committed community of early education professionals.

During election campaign season, you can expect to see and hear a lot of commercials and speeches from candidates for public offices. But, are they talking about issues that impact early education, quality child care, and the ece workforce? Campaign season is the perfect opportunity to ask public official candidates what they think about these key issues.

The Wisconsin Council on Children and Families (WCCF) wants us all to raise our voices for kids during these busy election times in Wisconsin. Let’s make sure candidates are talking about kids’ issues when they are campaigning, so we can all make informed decisions when we vote.  To help you along, visit WCCF’s  “Elect Candidates For Kids” electoral advocacy page.  The page highlights questions that can be taken to debates and forums, electoral advocacy tips offering ways to get involved in the elections, and links to other sites where you can review candidate interviews and other useful resources.

Please help make children’s issues an important part of the election season dialog this year!

A new policy report from the Society for Research in Child Development just came out, and it discusses some challenges facing the early education field. Which of the barriers discussed in the report is the biggest barrier, in your opinion?

The report also discusses some policies that could be put into place, that can strengthen the workforce, and improve its effectiveness. These policy recommendations include:

• Have clear and consistent terms and definitions for the field and people who work in it
• Raising subsidy reimbursement rates to market level
• Setting minimum standards for staff qualifications
• Improving training and educational opportunities for ECE professionals
• Providing more opportunities for advancement and recognition in the field
• Building public understanding of the importance of early education

View the brief version, or the full report, to learn more!

As a family child care provider, you work hard every day to help keep children healthy and growing strong. Preparing meals and snacks is part of this important work. The WECA Food Program is here to help you pay for nutritious foods and give children the opportunity to live a healthy life.

With the WECA Food Program, family child care providers are given the opportunity to serve healthy and nutritious meals to children, while being reimbursed an average of $340* each month. We know that you are already doing your best for the children in you care, why not help us reimburse you for some of your efforts?

Learn more about the WECA Food Program, including how to join now, by clicking here.

*$340 is based on an average Food Program recipient claiming breakfast, lunch, and a snack for four children at Tier 1 rates.

ReadyNation has made it easy for you to get involved and express your belief that America’s economic future depends on how effectively we invest in young children. If you agree with the following pledge, sign it today and show your support!

The ReadyNation Pledge

We are committed to ensuring all of our nation’s children show up for school ready to succeed.

We understand that long-term US economic strength and fiscal sustainability depend on the capabilities of the U.S. workforce.

We assert that our country’s workforce pipeline is not producing the employees we need, which can only truly be remedied by starting at the beginning.

We know from extensive research that kids who start off right are more likely to be ready to succeed in school, become part of a highly-skilled workforce, and become productive members of society. Families and communities matter in how children start off in life, and effective public and private investments in young children and their families are a vital educational success and economic growth strategy.

Take the pledge today

Note: Signing the pledge is not an endorsement of any particular policy or program. It is a way to provide evidence that you and other U.S. business people are concerned about America’s workforce development and future economic competitiveness.

The early education community is buzzing about a new report from the Wisconsin Policy Research Institute entitled The Economic Power of Early Childhood in Wisconsin. The new report highlights what many early education advocates have been saying for years:

“Early childhood education is one of the most cost-effective and potent economic development tools available.”

Read the full report here and learn more about how the private sector can be a powerful investor in early education programs by reading this follow-up article here.

Child care providers are hearing a lot about “quality.”  One reason for this is YoungStar – Wisconsin’s child care quality rating and improvement system. Another is the training all Wisconsin providers are required to complete each year to keep current with regulatory requirements. All training – including that which focuses on YoungStar – help providers deliver quality care to young children.

WECA’s statewide and Milwaukee County trainings, as well as our annual conference, have been designed to help get you where you want to go. Whether it is taking trainings specific to YoungStar, completing continuing education requirements, or learning to advance your skill set, WECA has something to offer you. In 2011, we educated nearly 500 early education professionals at our annual conference in Appleton. We offered an additional 50 workshops throughout the year with sessions including activities-based curriculum, action planning, cultural sensitivity, and WMELS.

Join us for our 2012 conference on October 4th-6th in Waukesha and visit our website to learn more about our trainings!