Growing Bright Together: Celebrating Milestones in October
As the leaves change and the crisp autumn air fills our days, it's clear that October has arrived in Idaho. This month brings the excitement of new seasons and an opportunity to reflect on the growth and development of the children we serve.
(Part 3 of a three-part series.)
Addressing the early childhood education challenges facing families and providers in the Wood River Valley requires money.
The United States is a major outlier among wealthier nations, spending on average $500 per year per toddler, while other rich nations spend an average of $14,000 per year, according to a 2021 study by The Hamilton Project at The Brookings Institution, a nonprofit think tank.
The IdahoSTARS project is a voluntary program that provides training in child development, education, health, safety and assessment of child care facilities based on national quality standards. It was established to increase parents’ access to affordable child care that meets their families' needs.
(Part 2 of a three-part series.)
The need for affordable and high-quality early childhood education options in the Wood River Valley isn’t critical just for working parents or rapidly-developing young brains; it is a requisite for the entire community’s economic and societal health, according to local and national experts.
From a developmental perspective, a mountain of research shows that having fundamental language and social emotional skills before entering kindergarten can set the trajectory for the rest of a child’s life.
(Part 1 of a three-part series.)
When the Hailey house that the Sweet Clover School called home for eight years was listed for sale last winter, director Stormi Kilcher immediately began looking for a new space but found viable options few and far between.
To date, she still has not found any attainable spaces, and all the families whose children attended Sweet Clover were forced to make other arrangements for the care and education of their pre-school-aged kids.
Find out about what your employees need and want through this employee survey. Feel free to revise as needed and add your own questions.
Download this employee child care guide to include in orientation sessions, new hire packets, and/or employee handbooks, which includes information about IdahoSTARS and helpful tips in searching for child care.
Ask your employees to look for programs that participate in Idaho’s Steps to Quality Child Care Program, Idaho’s system to provide parents a way to differentiate among the quality of child care settings. It’s hard to find child care. It’s even harder to know how to compare child care programs and understand the quality of the settings.
For low-income families, child care subsidies are available based on family income. These resources are available through the Idaho Child Care Program (ICCP) through the Idaho Department of Health and Welfare.
When you send your employees their W-2 at tax time, remind them if they have children for whom they pay for child care services, they can claim CDCTC.
