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Childcare & Early Education

It is not the challenges that define us, but how we respond to those challenges

July 1, 2016
I remember when my husband and I decided to try for a second child. I wanted to have our children close together – have both in diapers – to power through this phase and be able to get back to work as soon as possible. I got pregnant quickly and breezed through doctor appointments, feeling like a...
Iara Peng's picture

Parenting a child with a hidden disability

July 1, 2016
My story begins 17 years ago. I had the most beautiful baby boy. He loved life. He loved people. He had big blue eyes and a big toothless grin and an even bigger heart. He was always the one to make sure you were ok. As he grew, he was excited to go off to school. He loved pre-school and...
Julie Day's picture

Families First Prevention Services Act Introduced

June 30, 2016
On Tuesday, June 21, the House passed by voice vote the Family First Prevention Services Act (H.R. 5456), introduced in the House by Rep. Vern Buchanan (R-FL) and others. Many advocacy groups were supportive of this bipartisan bill, which would allow states to use federal child welfare dollars to pay for family services to prevent children from needing to enter foster care. These services could include mental health services, substance abuse services (including opioid and heroin abuse services), or in-home parenting skills programs (including individual and family therapy).
Lecia Imbery's picture

New Labor Law Has a Hidden Benefit for Working Moms

June 30, 2016
The Department of Labor announced last month that it will extend overtime protections to millions of additional workers, beginning in December. As many are celebrating the impact these new overtime rules will have on their pay, few have recognized that the rules come with a hidden benefit for mothers: a right to break time and a private (non-bathroom) space to pump breast milk for their babies.
Liz Morris's picture

What You and First Lady Michelle Obama Share When It Comes to Parenting

June 27, 2016
At the end of the day, the crowd broke into an uproar when we heard Oprah Winfrey proclaim, "Hi, everybody!" We had all been anxiously awaiting the Q&A of Oprah with Michelle Obama, the hostess of our summit. Michelle Obama spoke of many things: self-value, self-worth, defining ourselves and handling criticism. She described how she chose her priorities and what she values most. But of all she described and shared, one line stuck with me. After Oprah asked her what she would be leaving the White House most proud of, she stated
Lina Acosta Sandaal's picture

Boys and Social Emotional Intelligence: Worms Don’t Belong in the House

June 23, 2016
It is a warm and beautiful Saturday afternoon. You decide to take your 5-year-old son for a walk in the neighborhood park. After a couple of hours, you head back home. Once his hands and face are washed, you go into the kitchen to prepare a snack for the two of you. Shortly after, your son walks...
Stanley Howard's picture

Reflections on The United State of Women Summit

June 22, 2016
From Vice President Biden's call to action challenging all of us (women *and* men) to help bring an end to violence against women to Michelle Obama and Oprah's *real* conversation about the fallacy women face to have and do it all, The United State of Women Summit, convened by the White House, has...
Tina Sherman's picture

Child Watch® Column: "Inaction Cannot Be An Option"

June 16, 2016
Inaction is not an option. In the wake of the worst mass shooting in American history we can and must do everything in our power to end this scourge of terror, hate and bullets that fly across our land killing and maiming and breaking hearts and traumatizing communities with ever increasing frequency.
Marian Wright Edelman's picture

Labor-HHS-Education Bill Moves in the Senate

June 16, 2016
On Thursday, June 9, the Senate Appropriations Committee passed (29-1) the FY17 Labor, Health and Human Services and Education (Labor-HHS-Ed) spending bill, the first bipartisan Labor-HHS-Ed bill in seven years. The measure would provide $161.9 billion in discretionary (annually appropriated) funding, $270 million below FY16 levels and $2 billion below President Obama’s request.
Lecia Imbery's picture

What works in fighting poverty?

June 16, 2016
Poverty has been in the news a lot lately. Two years ago we marked the 50th anniversary of LBJ’s famous War on Poverty. This year is the 20th anniversary of the Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF) program, which supplanted Aid to Families with Dependent Children (AFDC). And a GOP task...
David Elliot's picture

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