Latest news with #EarlyConnections
Yahoo
28-05-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
ECGRA, Erie County invest nearly $1 million to address shortage of early childhood educators
The Erie County Gaming Revenue Authority awarded nearly $1 million in grants May 22 to help 59 child care providers recruit and retain qualified educators. ECGRA Executive Director Perry Wood said the grants ― the Early Childhood Educator Retention Awards ― serve to boost a vital sector in Erie County that's long been underfunded and understaffed. 'According to Start Strong PA, there are currently 93 unfilled early childhood educator positions in Erie County. If filled, these roles could serve 744 more children,' Wood said at a check presentation Thursday at St. Martin Early Learning Center. 'That's why these grants are so important. They represent a crucial step forward in supporting the dedicated professionals who care for and educate our young learners.' The $991,785 in grants were funded by a $2.5 million investment of American Rescue Plan funds from Erie County government. ECGRA has also provided a $2.5 million match in gaming revenue for a collective $5 million child care investment. 'An investment in child care is an investment in workforce development ― that is economic development,' said Erie County Executive Brenton Davis. 'Without parents being able to become dual income families, we're unable to lift our community up the economic mobility ladder.' Thursday's investment represents the first phase of a broader, multi-step initiative to strengthen Erie County's early learning infrastructure, according to ECGRA. Kenya Johnson, owner of Learning Ladder Early Child Care, said the grants will have a 'real and meaningful' impact on her center, both in terms of retaining quality teachers and giving them some much-needed recognition. 'For many of them, this extra income will make a difference in their personal lives ― paying bills, putting gas in their car, covering groceries and that all matters,' she said. 'But beyond the money, it's the message that came with it. That message says: We see you, we appreciate you and we want to keep you here doing what you do best.' Asha Graeb, director of the St. Martin Early Learning Center, added that early childhood educators often have limited support and resources despite the crucial role they play in a child's life. 'Our teachers work every day to create safe, nurturing environments where children can build confidence, spark curiosity and learn compassion,' she said. A Child's World Daycare & Learning; $23,683 Annie's Bubble Care; $6,459 Barb's Care A Lot; $19,377 Barbs Family Learning Group Daycare LLC; $6,459 Boro Babies Child Care Center; $9,689 Bright Horizons at Erie; $29,066 Corry Alliance Childcare Learning Center; $8,074 Creative Learning Childcare – iRock; $35,525 Cuddle Time Daycare; $1,077 Dr Gertrude Barber Corry; $12,918 Dr Gertrude Barber Happy Hearts; $46,290 Eagles Nest Group Daycare; $6,459 Early Connections City Center; $16,148 Early Connections Harbor Homes Early Learning Center; $6,459 Early Connections North East; $6,459 Early Connections Union City; $23,683 Early Learning Center; $19,377 Early Learning University; $24,760 Eastside YMCA; $33,372 Elk Valley Elementary YMCA; $9,689 EPS Pennbriar Childcare LLC; $16,417 Erie First Early Education Center; $11,303 Fit Kids; $10,227 Glenwood YMCA; $17,224 Growing and Learning Center; $43,060 Handled with Care; $37,678 I Love It Daycare Learning Center; $15,071 Javonne Beason; $1,077 Jumpstart Early Learning Center LLC; $6,459 KinderCare 1279; $8,612 Learning Ladder; $18,301 Little Explorers Christian Academy; $5,378 Lollipop U Daycare; $8,612 McKean Elementary YMCA; $2,153 Milestones Early Learning Academy; $13,995 Milestones Early Learning Center; $21,530 Miss Julies Childcare; $11,842 Miss Rose's Learning Center; $8,612 Montessori in the Woods; $9,150 My Terra Village; $4,844 New Horizons Early Learning Center; $10,750 Northwestern YMCA; $8,612 Playway Loving Childcare Center LLC; $5,383 Saint Benedict Center; $52,749 Saint Vincent Child Care Center; $34,448 South Hills Child Development Center; $37,139 St. Martin Early Learning Center; $76,432 St. Paul's Child Development Center; $24,760 Summit YMCA; $6,459 Teresa Jordan; $6,000 The International Institute of Erie; $10,765 Tracy Heutsche; $4,844 Twinkle Time Child Care Center; $5,921 Waterford YMCA; $10,765 Wattsburg Elementary YMCA; $9,688 World of Care; $12,918 YMCA Camp Sherwin; $2,153 YMCA of Corry Daycare; $47,366 Young Environment; $20,992 A.J. Rao can be reached at arao@ Follow him on X @ETNRao. This article originally appeared on Erie Times-News: 59 Erie County child care providers receive $1 million in grants
Yahoo
28-05-2025
- Health
- Yahoo
Why I am hopeful for the future of child care in Erie County
There is a child care and early childhood education crisis affecting children and families across Erie County. Many leaders and organizations recognize this and have been advocating for a solution. The Erie County Gaming Revenue Authority, in partnership with Erie County, is taking tangible steps and providing funding where it's needed most. ECGRA was recently awarded $2.5 million in American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA) funds by Erie County. These funds are the first steps in fixing Erie's fundamentally damaged child care system. Early Connections (formerly the YWCA) has operated in Erie County for over 130 years, providing outreach and programming to young children and families. At first, the YWCA primarily focused on providing housing, education and employment services for young women living in the Home for Girls. To meet the growing demand for child care, this expanded into opening the Children's Center in downtown Erie. After disaffiliating from the national YWCA and becoming Early Connections, we continued to focus on developing programs to meet the needs of our community. Now, Early Connections provides high-quality early care and education programming at four sites, two in the city of Erie, one in Union City, and one in North East. As an intermediary, Early Connections is dedicated to providing connections and supports for high-schoolers and nontraditional students working in the child care field. This strengthens the pipeline between high schools, employers and higher education institutions to help individuals become credentialed child care workers at little to no cost while improving the quality of child care centers. For a long time, we've grown in this city and championed early childhood education. According to Start Strong PA, as of September 2024, Erie County faces a shortage of 93 staffing positions in early childhood education, with the potential to serve an additional 744 children if the positions were filled. A vast majority of centers reported teacher shortages, including difficulties recruiting new teachers and retaining current staff. The child care staffing shortage is driven by low wages, which fail to meet the cost of living in Erie County. This creates challenges in hiring, retaining staff and expanding programs to serve more children. As a small program, we've certainly encountered these issues firsthand. The first round of ECGRA funding is designed to address this issue directly. All industries are feeling a squeeze when it comes to staffing, but early childhood education faces unique challenges. Unlike retail or food service, we can't operate with fewer staff without compromising the quality of care. Early childhood education requires specific teacher-to-student ratios to ensure each child receives the support they need. Without enough staff, programs are forced to close classrooms that would normally be full of eager, learning children. Addressing staffing from the state level, Pennsylvania Gov. Josh Shapiro proposed approximately $1,000 bonuses annually to all child care employees in recruitment and retention grants. If passed, this would be an investment of $55 million in the child care workforce. It's not only staffing that's an issue. Once the current empty classrooms are filled and additional children need to be served, capital improvement projects will be another hurdle to manage. A lot of Erie facilities are entirely tapped out on space and affordably acquiring new rooms is difficult or impossible, especially when factoring in the other challenges at play. This is yet another limiter for child care progress that can be addressed by future ECGRA, Erie County or state investment. Nick Scott Jr.: Child care and economic development in Erie - it is time for action More: ECGRA, Erie County invest nearly $1 million to address shortage of early childhood educators The difficulties we face seem insurmountable when we just talk about them, but I think there's hope on the horizon in the form of tangible action. Thank you to ECGRA for investing in solutions that not only support families today but also help elevate the conversation around early childhood education both here in Erie and in Harrisburg. I'm encouraged by statewide advocacy efforts like Pre-K for PA and Start Strong PA, which are working alongside local leaders to make sustained, strategic investment in child care a priority across Pennsylvania. Michelle Harkins is the executive director of Early Connections in Erie. This article originally appeared on Erie Times-News: Why ECGRA is investing $2.5 million in Erie Co. child care | Opinion
