Strategies for Children

Join us today and all week on #The930Call Monday, April 7 | Joe O’Hern, Coalition and Campaign Director, First Five Years Fund, will share national polling from First Five Years Fund that shows voters want Congress and the Trump White House to have a plan and take action on the child care challenges families are facing. The national poll also oversampled Republican Primary voters showing broad support for key early learning investments at the federal level. Tuesday, April 8 | Diane Girouard, State Policy Senior Analyst, at Child Care Aware of America, will share examples of existing public-private partnership models in the child care sector to help build supply and improve access for more families. We'll also cover lessons learned and key takeaways from implementation of the tri-share financing model. Wednesday, April 9 | 🎤︎ Sharing the Microphone is a recurring segment on the 9:30 Call dedicated to elevating the voices of those working with children and families every day. The 9:30 Call began in March 2020 as a place to host vital, real-time feedback loops between educators, state-level advocates, funders, and policymakers during the COVID-19 pandemic. In those early days, every call was an opportunity to hear from people across the state. Today, this unstructured, agenda-free conversation will provide a crucial space for sharing immediate, on-the-ground insights, questions and updates. These conversations can help ensure policy decisions are grounded in the real, lived experiences of educators, providers, and families – both in times of crisis and beyond. Thursday, April 10 | Meet and greet with members of the SFC Advocacy Network for Early Childhood Cohort 4: Edna Cabral, Family Child Care Owner, Director, Teacher, Edna’s Little Garden FCC in Woburn, Elizabeth Walsh, Assistant Director of Early Education Inclusion, Horizons for Homeless Children in Roxbury, and Bopha Malone, CEO, Girls Inc. of Greater Lowell. Friday, April 11 | NO CALL Learn more about #The930Call and sign up to receive weekly email updates and Zoom access https://lnkd.in/eaFVV4Sp

Today's blog #EyeOnEarlyChildhood This week the 2025 Early Childhood Policy Research Summit was held at Wellesley College. The summit gathered legislators, researchers, advocates, and early educators from across the region. Forty-eight posters were submitted, and 28 of these were chosen to be displayed. Here are photos and social media posts recapping the event: https://lnkd.in/eT7cGRjk *Thank you Kyle DeMeo Cook, Donna Denette and Tom Weber Stay tuned for more updates on the summit!

New this week in our blog #EyeOnEarlyChildhood 4.1.2025 | Our Advocacy Network in Action: Amy Bolotin talks about her career and her advocacy work. “To support a child, you have to support the relationships and the people around that child. It’s the most important thing. And what has always been true is that the rest of the educational world mostly doesn’t acknowledge or value this. Caring for and teaching young children has always been a forgotten, dismissed service field. It’s not thought of as educational.” Read more: https://lnkd.in/ef-8_b6C

Catch up on our blog #EyeOnEarlyChildhood 3.28.2025 | The BIPOC Family Childcare Collective is celebrating its third anniversary! Congratulations Gloria Valentin-Denson, Kim Edwards, Alexsandra Morales, Adrienne Armstrong, Denrudee Holloway, and Edna Cabral! Read more: https://lnkd.in/eSGbB9fm

Join us today and all week on #The930Call Monday, March 31 |  JD Chesloff, President & CEO, Massachusetts Business Roundtable will share an update and highlights from his recent testimony to the MA Legislature Joint Committee on Ways and Means Hearing on Education and Local Aid. Tuesday, April 1 | Sharing the Mic(rophone) is a recurring segment on The 9:30 Call dedicated to elevating the voices of those working with children and families every day. The 9:30 Call began in March 2020 as a place to host vital, real-time feedback loops between educators, state-level advocates, funders, and policymakers during the COVID-19 pandemic. In those early days, every call was an opportunity to hear from people across the state. Today, this unstructured, agenda-free conversation will provide a crucial space for sharing immediate, on-the-ground insights, questions and updates. These conversations can help ensure policy decisions are grounded in the real, lived experiences of educators, providers, and families – both in times of crisis and beyond. Wednesday, April 2 | Yolanda Ramos Guzman and Dodi Swope will share an update from the Together for Kids Coalition including the new Worcester Welcome Baby Passport to Resources. Thursday, April 3 | First Year Legislator Meet & Greet including Representative Richard Wells, 7th Norfolk Friday, April 4 | NO CALL Learn more about #The930Call and sign up to receive weekly email updates and Zoom access https://lnkd.in/eXCMXA8Q

WE NEED YOUR INPUT: Massachusetts Family Child Care (FCC) Insurance Survey https://lnkd.in/eWdt5fS5 Family child care providers face unique challenges when it comes to securing adequate and affordable insurance coverage. We hear increasing concern, frustration and uncertainty. Strategies for Children has partnered with a group of FCC educators to better understand the insurance-related issues you encounter—from premium increases and claim denials to misaligned policies and limited options—and explore potential solutions that can help improve access to affordable and effective coverage for family child care programs. Click on the link or scan the QR code to learn more and participate in the survey + share with others!

Today’s blog: We're launching a new series, ”Leadership Lessons.” The first installment features an interview with Eve Gilmore, the recently retired CEO of Edward Street “Our goal was to become the go-to information and advocacy organization for early education and care for Central Massachusetts,” Gilmore says of her early Edward Street days. Read more in #EyeOnEarlyChildhood https://lnkd.in/eEjQ5Gs8

Today's blog: Celebrating Five Years of The 9:30 Call! Read all about our first-ever live broadcast from the Worcester Public Library, watch the recording, and share - everyone is welcome! #The930Call #EyeOnEarlyChildhood https://lnkd.in/enMAqW9J

Join us today and all week on #The930Call Monday, March 24 | Meet and Greet with members of the Strategies for Children Advocacy Network for Early Childhood 4th Cohort: Amy Izen, Program Manager, Early Childhood Initiative, Healthy Chelsea/Revere CARES, Chelsea and Senior Bilingual Speech-Language Pathologist, Massachusetts General Hospital, Chelsea and Maribel Carvajal de Salazar, Family Child Care Provider, My Pretty Garden Family Childcare, Belmont. Tuesday, March 25 | Marites MacLean, President & Co-founder, Empower Children for Success (ECFS) will talk about An Act Relative to Enabling Access and Empowering Early Educators (H.225), which aims to remove barriers for family child care providers, ensure equitable zoning policies, and protect providers from restrictive housing policies. This bill is crucial for expanding access to quality early education, supporting working families, and strengthening the childcare workforce. Wednesday, March 26 - 🎤︎ Sharing the Microphone is a recurring segment on the 9:30 Call dedicated to elevating the voices of those working with children and families every day. The 9:30 Call began in March 2020 as a place to host vital, real-time feedback loops between educators, state-level advocates, funders, and policymakers during the COVID-19 pandemic. In those early days, every call was an opportunity to hear from people across the state. Today, this unstructured, agenda-free conversation will provide a crucial space for sharing immediate, on-the-ground insights, questions and updates. These conversations can help ensure policy decisions are grounded in the real, lived experiences of educators, providers, and families – both in times of crisis and beyond. Thursday, March 27 | Aditi Subramaniam (LMHC, IECMH-E®, R-DMT, CEIS), Director, Infant and Early Childhood Mental Health Policy, Massachusetts Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Children and Christy Moulin, Director, Center for Early Childhood, The Home for Little Wanderers. Friday, March 28 | NO CALL Learn more about our daily check in for the early childhood community and sign up to receive weekly email updates and Zoom access https://lnkd.in/eXCMXA8Q

Today’s blog: Catching up with Stephanie Lapierre of our Advocacy Network. Read more in #EyeOnEarlyChildhood https://lnkd.in/dzKxuu-q