Latest news with #ADayWithoutChildcare
Yahoo
13-05-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Providers rally for funding and support by taking A Day Without Childcare
EAU CLAIRE, Wis. (WLAX/WEUX)—Childcare providers across the state and country took the day off to rally for more funding and support during A Day Without Childcare. In Wisconsin, the Joint Finance Committee cut $480 million from the Governor's proposed budget, some of which was allocated to childcare services. Providers say 25% of facilities may have to close without that money. Lawmakers and providers joined together at Julia's Schoolia in Eau Claire to share the need for these services. They say without childcare providers, employees in other fields won't be able to work and that would directly affect employers, families and children. While the battle to secure this funding continues, childcare providers say they're in limbo. Leanne O'Bryan, Executive Director of Rachel's Place Early Learning Center, says, 'It's very stressful. It's very stressful to be a director in this program. We have so many things to do at the center that we need to be taken care of and having to advocate this many days and this often and this hard… (it) takes a lot of time away from the children and the staff.' Advocates for childcare services say if lawmakers do not promise to reinstate the funding, they will head to the Capitol tomorrow to rally for it. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
Yahoo
03-03-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Some Minnesota childcare centers close on Monday for 'Day Without Childcare'
Some Minnesota child care centers are closed on Monday in observance of "A Day Without Childcare." The demonstration day is the work of "Kids Count On Us," which is seeking to highlight the importance of childcare that is not only affordable and accessible to families, but that pays providers a living wage. "Today is March 3 and childcare providers across Minnesota are closing their doors to show our communities and our elected leaders that childcare is vital to thriving communities and families, teachers, and providers need funding to ensure child care is affordable and accessible, kids get high quality childcare, and teachers can earn living wages!" a post reads from the organization. Kids Count On Us represents more than 500 community-based childcare centers across Minnesota. According to its website, the coalition is aiming to have more than 100 childcare centers across the state close on Monday. Bring Me The News reached out to the organization to learn an exact number of childcare businesses participating, but haven't heard back. Events have been planned in St. Paul, Virginia, Bemidji, Duluth and Rochester. A 2022 Employment and Economic Development (DEED) report shows that single parents spend nearly 22% of their income on childcare alone. The average cost of a spot for center-based childcare in Minnesota was more than $20,000 in 2024, according to the Office on the Economic Status of Women. At the same time, the average childcare worker makes just $14.53-an-hour in Minnesota. The organization believes that the state should fully find the Child Care Assistance Program (CCAP), which "provides support to make great child care affordable no matter one's income."
