CBS 21: PA childcare providers call for economic stimulus
March 24, 2020
The statewide shutdown has put an economic strain on an important industry: childcare.
Childcare leaders in Pennsylvania are calling for an economic stimulus to prevent collapse of the industry in PA.
“Childcare centers … are on a very thin margin,” said Donna Cooper, Executive Director of Public Citizens for Children and Youth. “And when they were ordered closed… providers were no longer capturing co-pays.”
An extended shutdown puts nearly one-third of PA childcare providers at risk of closing permanently.
Find the article and video here.
Post-Gazette: Pennsylvania child care centers at ‘breaking point’ due to mandated COVID-19 closures
By: Kate Giammarise March 24, 2020
Child care providers throughout Pennsylvania — most of which have been temporarily closed since last week — say they might not be able to reopen for business without direct and immediate state aid, should the closure last beyond a month.
On Tuesday, several statewide child care advocacy groups said action is needed from the governor and legislature to preserve child care for essential workers during the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic — and to ensure the system’s survival for when all families are able to return to work.
The system is “truly at a breaking point,” said Cara Ciminillo, executive director of Pittsburgh-based advocacy organization Trying Together, speaking Tuesday on a conference call with reporters.
Providers are being hammered by a combination of an already fragile infrastructure and staffers who often earn low wages, combined with the sudden halt of tuition payments from parents and the prospect of an uncertain and potentially prolonged period of closure.
Gov. Tom Wolf ordered child care centers closed statewide for two weeks as of last Tuesday along with other “nonessential businesses,” though centers that serve the children of workers deemed essential — such as first responders and front-line healthcare workers like nurses — can apply for waivers to remain open.
As of Tuesday, the state had processed and approved 670 waivers, said a spokeswoman for the state’s Department of Human Services.
In the meantime, child care advocates Pre-K for PA and Start Strong PA are asking the state to continue to pay the subsidies it would normally pay as part of the Pre-K Counts and Head Start programs, in addition to $17 million to compensate for lost co-pays, $100 million in lost tuition payments from parents, and $50 million to extend programs like Head Start into the summer.
About one-third of the agencies that responded to a survey by the Pennsylvania Child Care Association said they would not be able to reopen if the state-mandated closure lasts beyond a month. That will harm any economic recovery, they said.
Read the full article here.
Pennsylvania Capital Star: Childcare providers seek $100M in aid to ride out COVID-19 pandemic
March 24, 2020 by Elizabeth Hardison
Before the COVID-19 pandemic brought much of southeastern Pennsylvania to a standstill, Latonta Godboldt could typically expect to tend to 13 children each day at her home-based daycare center in North Philadelphia.
These days, attendance at Small Wonders Family Child Care has dipped to three students. Godboldt says she can continue paying her staff for now, but she and countless other child care providers wonder what’s in store as Philadelphia residents and suburbanites remain under strict orders to stay at home.
A coalition of advocates on Tuesday asked state lawmakers to authorize more than $100 million in stimulus aid for the state’s ailing childcare sector, which they say could collapse as the COVID pandemic disrupts business and employment across the Commonwealth.
“Our economy is dependent on the childcare sector being up and able to take children,” Donna Cooper, executive director of Public Citizens for Children and Youth, said during a conference call with reporters. “If anyone has an expectation of the economy returning to normal without a healthy childcare sector … they are fooling themselves.”
Childcare centers across the state were forced to close their doors starting on March 13, when Gov. Tom Wolf ordered a statewide shutdown of daycare centers and schools to slow the spread of the coronavirus virus that causes COVID-19.
Home-based providers, such as Godboldt, were able to keep operating. Some child care centers secured waivers to stay open, even as enrollments dwindled.
But many centers shut their doors entirely, either to protect the safety of their staff or because they fear being sued if they continue to operate during a statewide emergency.
Childcare providers say their incomes could evaporate as more workers face layoffs and furloughs that leave them unable to pay tuition.
Wolf extended the closure for schools and daycare centers through April 6 on Monday. Advocates say a prolonged shutdown could be disastrous for childcare centers, which have long been plagued by high costs for labor and facilities.
If approved, advocates say a $100 million appropriation from the state’s General Fund would help centers that rely on tuition payments maintain their payroll and overhead costs until the COVID pandemic abates.
Read the full article here.
Reading Eagle: Report Calls on Harrisburg to Increase Pre-kindergarten Funding
January 28, 2019 by Dan Mekeel
Over the last five years, Pennsylvania has pumped $145 million in funding increases into the effort to make sure kids have access to high-quality prekindergarten programs.
The Pre-K for PA Campaign is looking for another $243 million.
In a report released Tuesday, the campaign says that Pennsylvania ranks 19th out of 28 states that provide high-quality, publicly-funded prekindergarten when it comes to how much money the states provide per student. The $966 per capita spending in Pennsylvania is less than a third of what the top state, New Jersey, spends.
The newest “The Road to Success Includes High-Quality Pre-K” is the third version of the annual report. In each, Pennsylvania has fared similarly, coming in at 20th in 2017 and 18th in 2018.
“We’ve really been hanging around the same range,” said Kari King, president and CEO of Pennsylvania Partnership for Children, a principal partner of The Pre-K for PA Campaign.
King said Tuesday that the importance of high-quality prekindergarten programs is well-known. Study after study has shown its positive impact on students both inside the classroom and out, helping to develop curiosity, problem solving and social and emotional skills and other traits.
Kids who go through the programs perform better on standardized tests, have higher graduation rates and are better prepared when they reach the workforce, she added.
Despite the obvious benefits, King said, there are still a lot of kids not getting the opportunity. Only 44% of the eligible 3- and 4-year-olds eligible for state-funded prekindergarten — as determined by financial need — are currently enrolled.
And that, she said, needs to change.
“If we don’t break down barriers to access for more children at-risk of failure, then we cannot expect them to enter adulthood prepared to make meaningful contributions to our economy and society,” King said.
That’s why King and others involved with the report are calling for the state to increase funding for prekindergarten by $243 million by the 2022-23 school year.
During a teleconference to discuss the report, a pair of men involved with efforts to increase prekindergarten funding in states that fare much better than Pennsylvania in the rankings shared their experiences.
Ken Sikkema, a former Michigan state Senate and House majority leader, said his state made a significant push to increase prekindergarten funding in 2013. Michigan ranked fourth in the report, spending $2,143 per student.
Sikkema said Michigan started a program to provide prekindergarten for low-income children in 1985, initially providing $1 million in funding. The program grew year after year, he said, sitting at about $70 million when he retired from politics in 2006.
Then, in 2012, a report came out that showed low-income students in the state who went to a quality prekindergarten program ended up being much more successful than the ones who didn’t.
“The results were really quite startling, to be honest with you,” Sikkema said.
Read the full article here.
Erie Times: Christmas tree lights up Pennsylvania Capitol Rotunda
December 9, 2019
An 18-foot Douglas fir from Carbon County decorated with more than 900 LED lights and 1,600 handmade ornaments adorns the Capitol Rotunda after Monday’s tree-lighting ceremony.
Gov. Tom Wolf, First Lady Frances Wolf and Lt. Gov. John Fetterman and his family joined hundreds of people for the ceremony. The Bishop McDevitt High School Chorale performed Christmas carols and Santa Claus made an appearance. Preschool students from Crispus Attucks Early Learning Center and the Bank Street Center of Capital Area Head Start and Keystone Human Services also took part.
The rotunda tree, and two others, will be lit daily through the week of Jan. 6.
“The Capitol Christmas tree stands as a symbol of hope and the holiday spirit and will be enjoyed by thousands of visitors for weeks to come,” Wolf said. “This is a wonderful time of year to come together with family and friends to celebrate the season. Let us reflect on our blessings and everything the holidays have to offer.”
The ornaments for the rotunda tree were donated by students and seniors throughout the commonwealth in coordinated with Pre-K for PA and the Department of Aging.
Read the article here.
WFMZ: Report: 7 in 10 Pennsylvania youth ineligible to enlist in military
November 14, 2019 By Dave Fidlin
A strong economy, coupled with a rising number of ineligible Pennsylvanians, has contributed to all-time lows in the number of people enlisting in the military, a new report revealed.
Mission: Readiness, a nonpartisan organization, held a news conference and took the wraps off its new workforce readiness report in Pennsylvania. The document outlines how competition for qualified people in all employment sectors is affecting military recruitment.
Steve Doster, state director of “Mission: Readiness,” said there are parallels between the public and private sectors on the state of today’s youth and their pathway to meeting the needs of unfilled positions.
While the labor shortage for skilled manufacturing jobs has been well publicized in recent years, Doster said the gap in qualified Pennsylvania youth entering all branches of the military is less known. He said the goal of the new report is to shed light on the seriousness surrounding the shortage.
“Our report shows that our military is not insulated from these gaps in workforce readiness,” Doster said.
At a news conference Tuesday, retired Army Lt. Gen. Dennis Benchoff pointed out some of the statistics related to military investment within Pennsylvania last year.
When 2018 came to a close, Benchoff said the Army missed its recruitment goal by about 6,500 persons, or 8.5 percent. Additionally, the Army National Guard and Army Reserve missed their goals last year to the tune of a combined 17,000 recruits within the state.
The military is in “fierce competition” with the private sector, Benchoff said – a common issue when the economy is on an upward swing.
But there are other factors at play with the shortage, Benchoff and others at the news conference said, pointing to a need to allocate more resources to fund early childhood education.
Seven in 10 Pennsylvania youth today cannot enlist in the military, simply because they are ineligible in one or more key categories.
The list of qualifications, off the bat, includes graduating high school, passing a military exam, having a clean criminal record and being in good health.
Read the full article here.
