Child Care Providers & Employers
SACCN Public Policy
The Child Care Network is your community advocate:
- We educate people on what quality child care is and why it’s so important
- We develop and promote policies that aid in the expansion of quality child care services locally, statewide and nationally.
- We work closely with organizations that are proven leaders in state and national early care and learning advocacy efforts.
Information on the status of child care locally can be found in the 2018 Child Care Community Needs Assessment
Why Advocacy Matters
The first three years of life are a period of incredible growth in all areas of a baby’s development. But by age three, 85% of the core structures of the brain have been developed. Children, who start behind, stay behind. Studies show that children with high quality early learning experiences have an advantage. They include:
- 40% less likely to need remedial services
- 30% more likely to graduate from high school
- 200% more likely to go to college
Stay connected to the public policy issues that impact children and families in our region- and let your voices be heard. To receive public policy updates and action alerts from the Southern Adirondack Child Care Network contact Liz Mahon-Laidlaw at laidlawe@saccn.org or call 518.798.7972.
Current Advocacy Messages and Agendas
The poor state of the economy is hurting millions of Americans. Working families with children depend on child care to get and keep a job.
- More than 11 million children under age 5 are in the care of someone other than their parent.
- Millions more school age children are in after-school programs.
- Child care often is difficult to find, especially for infants and toddlers. It is challenging to afford and of questionable quality.
Child Care Aware of America’s (CCA) public policy agenda is both grassroots-inspired and research-based. CCA recommends that Congress:
- reauthorize and strengthen Child Care Development Block Grant (CCDBG)
- increase the CCDBG quality set-aside
- require accountability for CCDBG funds
- ensure affordable child care for families
- strengthen rural child care
- limit potentially unsafe license-exempt care
- make child care part of disaster planning
A Child Care Agenda for Congress, the Administration and States; 2018 2019 Policy Platform
believes that in this time of fiscal crisis our State must preserve, protect, and increase access to high-quality early care and learning programs. These programs, all of equal priority, are essential for children’s success and our State’s economic recovery.
2018 2019 Winning Beginning Child Care Budget Request
The Early Care and Learning Council believes that investments in early childhood have both short and long term economic benefits for our state, its families, and current and future workforce.
How to Use the Messages to Affect Change
Advocacy 101 Webinar (from Early Care and Learning Council and Winning Beginning NY)
Sarah Bilofsky’s insightful webinar on how to effectively use the WBNY Advocacy Tools for Elected Officials for legislative visits.
Legislative Materials and Advocacy Handbook
Child Care Aware of America
A comprehensive list of advocacy tools, information and resources including featured alerts and campaigns.
Save the Children Video: An Advocate’s Guide to the Appropriation’s Process
Empire State Child Care Campaign Their mission is to achieve equitable access to quality child care for all children and working families in New York State. The web site contains tools, action steps and facts to use when advocating with New York State Legislators.
Action Center
Links to contact information for your:
National Policymakers:
New York State Policymakers:
Local Policymakers:
Child Care Public Policy Reports, Articles and Videos
Putting the Pieces Together: New York Early Learning Program Data Systems
Why Do Parents Spend So Much on Child Care, Yet Early Childhood Educators Earn so Little?
State o f NYs Children Data Snapshots Jan.2018
Early Care and Learning Council ROI Infographic