WA State Early Care & Education

    Provide quality, affordable childcare, preschool and early education support to all families who need it.

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    Did you know that learning begins at birth & the brain develops faster between birth & age 3 than any other period of life? That is why early care & education is an important & critical development phase.

    But, $10,000 per year, per child, for childcare is out of reach for many families.

    All families should have access to high-quality affordable options for their children's early care & education – whether their children spend their days at home, in childcare, or preschool. Join us & spread the word!

    Join us & spread the word!

    Share Your Childcare & Early Learning Experiences

    Have an experience related to early care and education, childcare, or early learning of your own to share?

    Ever had a good, bad, funny or sad experience with finding, paying for, or getting great childcare?

    • “I've had to pay ridiculous amounts of tuition to find decent pre-K education. I look for small child to adult ratios and well-qualified teachers. I also like to see clean and attractive play spaces both indoors and outdoors...”

      —Bree

      Washington

    • “For the first nine month of my son's life I was lucky to have my mother watch him. When my mother decided to go back to school I had to find daycare. My husband and I are both employed full time, but we can barely afford childcare and we do not qualify for any assistance.”

      —Sara

      Oregon

    WA State Resources

    Need help paying for childcare?

    The Washington Department of Early Learning and the Department of Health and Human Services are the first places to go for help.
    The Washington Department of Early Learning
    The Department of Health and Human Services

    Looking for breastfeeding or prenatal support?

    Check out resources.parenthelp123.org/ to find resources near you

    Looking for more fun things to do with your baby or toddler?

    Check out the statewide events calendar at www.parentmap.com/

    Research & Policy

    And for more about Washington's state early care and education policies, visit our great partners:

    MomsBlogging on
    Early Care & Education

    Mothers Snowed Under

    Posted March 13, 2010 by Valerie Young

    From Your (Wo)manInWashington blog 
    MOTHERS changing the conversation @ www.MothersOughtToHaveEqualRights.org
    Would you believe me if I told you that a major snowstorm affects the lives of men and women differently? Could I convince you that there is a gender difference, even in the weather? Let me try.
    In February, parts of the East Coast had a humongous snowstorm. [...]

    Posted Under: E: Excellent Childcare

    Bring on the radical homemakers

    Posted March 12, 2010 by Katrina Alcorn

    …At some point, of course, I realized I wasn’t happy. I was trapped. I had money, but not time. It was like being surrounded by food, and dying of thirst.

    It turns out that there is a way out of this mess. There are people all over this country–both women and men–who have made a conscious decision to value their time more than their money. Against the formidable current of popular culture, they have decided that this may be the only life they will ever have, and they’re going to live it fully.

    71% of US supports food for kids, will Congress?

    Posted March 10, 2010 by Sarah Francis

    Nearly 17 million U.S. children (almost 1 out of every 4 children) faced hunger at some point last year.
    That is a staggering statistic. But for MomsRising member Yvonne, it’s much more personal:
    “My sister, the mother of 2 preschoolers, has track marks up and down her arms. Last July both she and her husband lost their [...]

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