MEDIA REPORTS

State Rep. Mark Longietti is being honored this evening as a “Legislative Champion” by state education advocates for his work as chairman of Pennsylvania’s bipartisan, bicameral Early Childhood Education Caucus. 

State Rep. Pat Harkins has been named a Legislative Champion by state education advocates for his role in founding the bipartisan, bicameral Early Childhood Education Caucus and his decade-long work promoting the caucus’ mission of protecting at-risk children.

The Milton S. Hershey School for poor children, which has faced criticism over how few students it helps despite its riches, has proposed to spend $350 million on six centers throughout Pennsylvania to offer free infant and early childhood services to 900 kids.

“Child care is a business, like all of the others that are struggling through this crisis,” said Jen DeBell, executive director of the Pennsylvania Association for the Education of Young Children. “But this business is the one that everyone else relies upon, to make sure families can work.”

Closed child care centers will be able to reopen Friday, when the region moves from “red” into the “yellow” partial reopening phase of pandemic mitigation.

Whether they all will choose to reopen, or have enough youngsters to reopen, is another matter.

Smith is like hundreds of child care providers and workers in the region. Their future is uncertain as they hang on in fear that their centers — like so many smaller businesses — might be unable to manage through the health crisis.

The statewide shutdown has put an economic strain on an important industry: childcare.

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.