This month we highlight Alliance partner advocacy efforts to support state investment in child care featuring “Day of Action” organized by WECA, Raising WI and Head Start, an Alliance hosted roundtable with DCF Secretary Pertl at U. S. Venture and the State of WI Joint Finance Committee state budget session in Kaukauna. In addition, we share Lynn Coriano, executive director of the Basic Needs Giving Partnership’s opportunity to be a panelist for “Addressing Care Needs” at the Federal Reserve Bank of Philadelphia’s Economic Mobility Summit and a thoughtful Elliot Haspel essay on re- thinking how we invest in child care, “Flipping the Script on Universal Child Care”.
The Northeast Wisconsin Child Care Alliance is a network of partners working to make it easier for children ages birth to 5 and their families to get the high-quality, affordable early care and education (ECE) and family supports they need to thrive.
With this newsletter we aim to educate and inform our communities about the need to transform early care and education in ways that will bring about more equitable and lasting outcomes for children and families and to spark opportunities for action, alignment, and coordination.
This month you’ll find:
LOCAL NEWS:
- Economic Mobility Summit – April 22 -23
- WECA, Raising WI and Head Start Day of Action, Madison, April 16
- Alliance hosts DCF Secretary Pertl roundtable discussion at U.S. Venture, April 11
- State of WI Joint Finance Committee holds state budget 2025-2027 listening session at Kaukauna High School, April
OPPORTUNITIES TO ENGAGE & LEARN:
- Raising Wisconsin Advocacy Opportunities, including a Day Without Child Care, May 12
- Flipping the Script on Universal Childcare, by Elliot Haspel, “Childcare is an essential need for families, not a handout”
Local News
Alliance partners from across our region are taking action at public forums and seeking individual meetings with legislators to speak to the importance of sustained state investment in child care. Thanks to Alliance partners and their networks for championing efforts to increase support and for working to co-create care models that better meet the needs of children, families, and the workforce.
Economic Mobility Summit
Last month, Lynn Coriano, executive director of the Basic Needs Giving Partnership was invited to attend the Federal Reserve Bank of Philadelphia’s Economic Mobility Summit. As the convener of the Northeast Wisconsin Child Care Alliance, Lynn served as a panelist for the session “Addressing Care Needs”. Joining other panelists representing York, PA and Cedar Rapids, IA, Lynn spoke about the investment in early care and education as a public good that benefits us all, not only the children and families receiving quality care. She also pointed to some of the underlying issues contributing to today’s child care challenges – wages, lack of family supports (Paid Parental Leave, Universal Pre-K), and underinvestment from the public sector in children ages birth to five – particularly in Wisconsin when compared to other states.
Day of Action
WECA, Raising Wisconsin and Head Start Day of Action was held on April 16 in Madison and Alliance partners joined with over 350 advocates to rally and speak to members of the legislature on the importance of child care and to urge significant state investment in the child care workforce.
DCF Roundtable
The Northeast WI Child Care Alliance worked with the Wisconsin Department of Children and Families (DCF) to convene DCF Secretary Jeff Pertl in a cross-sector roundtable on Friday, April 11th at U.S. Venture. The roundtable coincided with the release of a University of Wisconsin survey from the Institute for Research on Poverty which underscores how waitlists and prices will continue to increase while challenges around staffing and wages will continue without a long-term investment like Child Care Counts.
Alliance partners shared valuable insight on the importance of public investment in the child care workforce as well as ideas and solutions businesses and communities are taking to support families in accessing quality, affordable care in the region.
To read more on the Executive Summary, click here.
Alliance partners joined DCF Secretary Jeff Pertl at U.S. Venture for Child Care roundtable.
Joint Finance Committee
Individuals and organizations from throughout northeast Wisconsin turned out at Kaukauna High School on April 2nd to share comments with members of the Joint Finance Committee and regional legislators on the Governor’s proposed state budget for 2025-’27. The need and support for significant state investment in child care was voiced by Alliance partners and area providers.
Opportunities to Engage & Learn
The Alliance is proud to be a partner in the state collaborative effort Raising Wisconsin.
Raising Wisconsin provides ongoing advocacy support and opportunities to engage, including a Day Without Child Care on May 12, and sign-on letters to communicate with your individual legislators.
Flipping the Script on Universal Child Care
The Alliance works to balance the importance of near-term goals and efforts with long-term systemic change. This often requires new ways of working together and shifts in values and mindsets – in the case of childcare this means putting children’s health, development, and happiness at the center of how policies are created and implemented.
In this spirit, we offer Elliot Haspel’s thoughtful essay called “Flipping the Script on Universal Child Care”. On re-thinking how the U.S. has often supported child care, Haspel discusses the concepts of “predistribution” and “redistribution”.
Essentially predistribution is when social interventions happen on the front end – investments in infrastructure and conditions that help level the playing field prior to outcomes becoming clear.
Redistribution is when an intervention comes on the back end, after income has been earned, leveling the playing field through taxes, transfers, or subsidies and credits.
Haspel argues that one isn’t necessarily better or worse, however, one tends to be more popular than the other. Check out his article to learn more about how he believes framing childcare assistance as a form of redistribution has limited its political strength.
Flipping the Script on Universal Child Care
