Emergency Grants Helped Programs Stay Open
As the pandemic descended in March, the Minnesota Legislature funded $30 million in emergency grants to help child care programs respond to the child care needs of essential workers. An additional $10 million was added to the program in June. The Minnesota Department of Human Services, Governor’s Children’s Cabinet, and Child Care Aware of Minnesota…
Recent Posts
Child Care Aware and the Minnesota Department of Education Partner in State High Schools
Child Care Aware of Minnesota has embarked on a partnership with the Minnesota Department of Education and Family and Consumer Sciences educators to support high school students that may be interested in early childhood education as a profession. This project aims to create excitement and interest by offering students no-cost options to explore careers in…
T.E.A.C.H. Early Childhood® MINNESOTA Annual Report Now Available
T.E.A.C.H. Early Childhood® MINNESOTA is a scholarship program that helps early childhood and school-age care early educators increase their levels of education, compensation, and commitment to the field by earning college credits and degrees. Over 230 early childhood educators were awarded a scholarship in state fiscal year 2019-2020, and the program has awarded over 1,200…
Ann McCully Wins Nancy Latimer Award
We are proud to announce that our Executive Director, Ann McCully, was a co-winner of this year’s Nancy Latimer Award! The other winner was also from our system – Dianne Haulcy from Think Small. Here are Ann’s remarks from the award presentation: I want to thank the Early Childhood Funders for this award. I am…
Child Care Aware Access Ambassadors Move Forward
The Child Care Aware of Minnesota (CCAoMN) Access Ambassadors workgroup ensures that all CCAoMN staff have the tools, knowledge, skills, and confidence necessary to promote diversity, equity, and inclusion within the child care system. The Access Ambassadors is comprised of CCAoMN staff from diverse backgrounds and all areas of expertise, from both the Twin Cities…
Child Care is Essential Before, During and After the Pandemic
The early childhood workforce, and child care itself, is always essential. Without a strong and healthy early childhood workforce, we cannot sustain a strong and healthy economy. However, as we lurch into the seventh month of the pandemic and the start of school, our Child Care information Specialists are talking with working parents every day…
Peacetime Emergency Child Care Grants Conclude
In mid-July, we wrapped up the third and final round of the Peacetime Emergency Child Care grants. These grants, proposed by Gov. Tim Walz and authorized by the Minnesota Legislature, were designed to support family child care providers and child care centers to ensure there are enough child care slots to serve families of critical…
Coronavirus Resources
The Coronavirus (COVID-19) is dominating headlines and quickly becoming a concern for child care programs and parents. Our national office has shared a new blog post titled Coronavirus: How Does It Impact Child Care Providers and CCR&Rs? with helpful information for child care programs. The post provides an overview of the current situation, recommendations to…
Deregulation is Not the Answer
Reducing the rules that regulate child care is often offered as a solution to declining numbers of family child care programs. Late last year, Child Care AwareÒ of America published a one-page issue brief, The Child Care Supply Crisis: Why Deregulation is Not the Answer. It showed that the number of family child care programs…
The 2020 Legislative Session Begins
The 2020 Legislative session begins on February 11! While this is the “short” session focused on bonding and policy, there is already a whirlwind of activity related to early childhood issues. The current state budget is already set through June 2021, but news of a $1.3 billion surplus has allowed lawmakers to discuss potential additions.…