What would improve early care and education in Wisconsin?

Families want and need ECE to be more affordable. This may be possible through easier access to financial assistance and expanding subsidies through Wisconsin Shares, or extending the model of free public education to ECE.

To be financially stable, providers need funding for facilities, staff benefits, and living wages. Providing benefits and higher wages retains ECE staff and allows providers and their families to thrive. Financial support for facilities improvement allows providers to improve indoor and outdoor spaces; purchase items such as toys, books, and technology; and offer high-quality and nutritious meals and snacks.

Families and providers want diverse ECE staff and leadership to reflect their own family backgrounds and to support children’s positive sense of identity, as well as support children’s appreciation and understanding of others. This could be achieved by funding educational and professional development opportunities for underrepresented providers, supporting professional networks and connections, fostering an inclusive work environment, building strong staff relationships, and more equitable pay and benefits.

Many families want more convenient access to ECE providers. For some this means more affordable transportation options (like free or discounted bus passes) to providers. Others want ECE offerings closer to their family’s home or work. Employer-provided and co-located ECE can make arrangements easier, save families time, and support improved mental health.

Many parents work jobs that have variable hours or do not fit a nine-to-five weekday schedule. These families would like providers to offer early morning, evening and weekend hours, as well as flexible hours for those who don’t have regular schedules. Providers also noted the value of a substitute directory to help them find replacement care when needed.

For many, other family members and friends are the preferred option for child care. Not only is family-and-friend care a convenient and trusted option for many families, but also one that often supports children’s identities and heritage language development. Caregivers believe these family members and friends should receive payment for the work that they’re doing and without the burden of having to obtain a family care license.

Families want more providers who can accommodate the varied needs of children with disabilities. Providers caring for children with disabilities want to see more support, like community navigator or caseworker services that can help guide them through programs, like Birth to 3 and public school therapy. Both families and providers would like access to further training and education in caring for children with disabilities.

Families want to see their cultural traditions and language reflected in the care their children receive. Families want ECE to feel like an extension of the family, offering a safe and anti-racist environment that supports the bonds between child, family, and community. Caregivers want to see more invested resources and enhanced policies and practices to integrate families’ languages and customs, support diverse providers, embrace intergenerational and other culturally-relevant care, and advance anti-racism.

Families and providers want to see ECE attend to children’s full development including physical, emotional, psychological, social, and spiritual development. Caregivers and providers also think that ECE can play a role in ensuring prenatal care for mothers, trauma-informed care for children and parents, connecting families to community resources, and providing coordination and transition support to the public school system.

Families want accessible information about child care resources, provider options, and financial assistance. This could be done through an enhanced, comprehensive website accessible for people with diverse abilities and has information in multiple languages, or through multilingual community navigators with diverse backgrounds. Some caregivers would also like better access to education on topics like child development, trauma-informed care, children with disabilities, or starting a child care business.

Providers want child care licensing and YoungStar participation to feel less burdensome, especially for new providers. Providers say this could be done by engaging mentors early in the licensing process, along with multilingual technical support staff of diverse backgrounds. Providers also believe it is critical to examine the current system for racial or cultural biases and to revise current regulations to better reflect the needs and lived experiences of providers.

Families and providers recognize trust as a critical aspect of quality child care.Trust can be enhanced by good communication, meaningful parental involvement, shared sense of community and values, efforts to align home and child care routines and practices, and more transparency around child care tuition and what those funds support.