SACCN Public Policy
The Child Care Network is Your Community Advocate:
- We educate individuals 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 2022 Washington County Community Needs Report and 2022 Warren County Community Needs Report.
Why Advocacy Matters
The first three years of life are a period of incredible growth in all areas of a baby’s development. 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 [email protected] 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 often can be questionable in quality.
2022 Winning Beginning Child Care Budget Request
The Early Care and Learning Council believes that investments in early childhood education has 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
- 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.