|
Our babies’ earliest years (0-5) are most important in laying the foundation for life success. So access to excellent early childhood development and care for all families is essential. And yet a majority of our families in Baltimore lack this access: 63% of children start school unprepared to learn.
The good news: Momentum is growing to change this statistic. This issue of CFSuccess highlights some of the voices and efforts behind this momentum, and connects families to resources to help make sure their little ones thrive—in school and beyond.
|
______________________________________________
|
|
Baltimore’s Early Childhood Landscape
Earlier this month, the Baltimore Children’s Cabinet brought together early brain development experts, child care providers and parents to discuss early childhood development—why it’s so important, and the critical roles different people and programs play in ensuring a strong early childhood foundation.
Thank you to:
- UMB School of Social Work researcher and assistant professor Margo Candelaria for telling the data story about why the early years matter most—click to learn the five key numbers at work here
- Parents Klause Ferrell and Alayshja Burnett for sharing your parenting stories, the challenges and support systems you’ve relied on—more from Klause below
- Walter P. Carter Child Care Center owner and director Trina Powell for sharing the experience of child care providers during the pandemic
- Maryland Family Network Executive Director Laura Weeldreyer for spotlighting the amazing resource that is the Maryland Child Care Locator
- The Children’s Cabinet early childhood workgroup for keeping early childhood development front and center among policy makers and decision makers
- And Rochelle Haynes, Vice President of U.S. Social Impact Sesame Workshop, for sharing one of our two very special town hall guests…
Two Special Town Hall Guests
 |
|
Sesame Street’s Rosita opened the town hall with a personal welcome message for parents and children. |
|
|
|
And Nerissa Holder Hall, author of The Day I Beat the Germs, closed out the town hall with a story time to help children "make sense of the past year and the way that we live now.”
Order the book at the Mirror Mirror website. Email nerissa@mirrormirrorbooks.com for bulk discounts.
|
|
 |
Watch a recording of the whole town hall here.
______________________________________________
|
|
COVID-19: A Child Care Curse and Silver Lining
Baltimore City historically has struggled to meet families’ child care needs. According to a November 2019 analysis by the city’s Early Childhood Advisory Council, only 48% of children under the age of 5 had access to regulated early care.
The pandemic has exacerbated that struggle, with child care centers struggling to stay open and families struggling to balance child care with work and other life expenses.
At the same time, the pandemic has amplified the vital role of child care providers, spurring potentially longer-term policy changes to expand child care access. The Maryland General Assembly passed legislation this past session requiring the state to provide up to $150,000 grants to individuals interested in opening family child care centers, and making becoming a family child care operator easier.
Thank you to our Baltimore Children’s Cabinet early childhood workgroup for advocating forcefully for this bill, which you can read more about—along with the other successful 2021 bills that are particularly impactful for our young people—here.
|
|
 ______________________________________________
|
|
Resourcing Baltimore’s Child Care Deserts
In Baltimore, the lack of access to affordable, quality child care creates child care deserts, communities with too few child care slots to meet need, or no access to licensed providers at all.
West Baltimore’s Poppleton neighborhood is one of those communities, and Baltimore’s school-aged parents represent another specific community that lacks access to affordable, quality child care. And the United Way of Central Maryland is working to resource both of these child care deserts with the recent opening of the new United Way Family Center at Excel Academy in Poppleton. The center provides free, quality child care for the infants and toddlers (6 weeks-2 years) of Excel students, allowing them to stay in school and graduate while also giving their babies the foundation they need to succeed in kindergarten and beyond.
Learn more about child care deserts and specifically what the lack of this vital resource looks like for the Poppleton community and Baltimore’s student parents at our website and the United Way Facebook page. And thank you to the United Way and Excel communities for showing us what is possible.
*Above photo courtesy of United Way of Central Maryland
______________________________________________
|
First Step to Better Early Childhood Access: Information
Baltimore’s deep racial and economic inequities drive poor health outcomes for young mothers and children and, coupled with an overall lack of access to quality child care and healthy food, contribute to two-thirds of our children starting school unready to learn. The Baltimore Children’s Cabinet has committed to two key actions in 2021 to help change this statistic:
- Creating a network of people and materials to increase access to resources, strategies and information for young parents
- Generating a report of early childhood services and outcomes across Baltimore to drive equitable distribution of services
Read more about the cabinet’s work and its six other priority areas in the Children’s Cabinet 2021 Action Plan.
______________________________________________
|
|
Baltimore City Head Start: Enrolling for Fall 2021 Now
Baltimore City Head Start operates free, early childhood development and family supports for eligible Baltimore families with 3- and 4-year-olds. Spaces for in-person leaning are available now for summer and fall. Apply here.
|
______________________________________________
|
|
One Baltimore Father’s Parenting Journey
From age 14 to 24, Klause Ferrell lived alone on the street, in parks and in the woods, all while going to high school and college. Then he became a father to his daughter, Lasaura.
“It was hard enough for me to find resources for myself, to be able to take care of myself—that was enough of a stress on an everyday basis. But having to look at myself in the capacity of being a provider and father, I knew that I had to go beyond more than just myself. So that's what started my journey into looking for assistance and resources for me to be able to better myself, and also to be able to provide for my child.”
Klause shares more about that journey here.
______________________________________________
|
|
|
Resources for Parents
Maryland Child Care Scholarship Program
The Maryland Child Care Scholarship Program provides assistance with child care costs for eligible families. Find more information and application here.
Sesame Street Community Resources
The Sesame Street Communities Initiative is partnering with our very own Family League of Baltimore to provide a library of videos, activity pages and other resources for parents and children to address trauma and build resiliency. Details here.
Maryland Family Network's Child Care Locator Service
Get help finding quality child care through this Maryland Family Network service—online or by calling 877-261-0060 weekdays, 8:30am-4pm.
|
|
B’more for Healthy Babies
A partnership between the Baltimore City Health Department, Family League and HealthCare Access Maryland, this website offers families parenting tips and resources to track developmental milestones.
Family Tree’s Research-Based Parenting Classes
The Family Tree offers free programs for families to strengthen parenting skills, improve child behavior and navigate a range of parenting challenges. Details here.
Pratt Library’s Resources for Young Children
All Enoch Pratt Free Library branches have books and games, and story time and arts-and-crafts activities for children under 5. Explore here.
|
|
______________________________________________ |
|
Upcoming...
 |
|
|
On Saturday, May 22, we are partnering across city agencies and the community to host a dialogue between Mayor Brandon Scott and Baltimore’s youth on how Baltimore youth experience violence. Stay tuned for details: @bmorechildren and @gothedistancebmore
|
|
 |
|
|
And on Monday, June 14, the Children's Cabinet will hold the final town hall in its monthly series. The topic: Success for Boys and Young Men of Color.
|
|
|
|
@bmorechildren | #loveoverfear
|
|
Copyright © 2020 City of Baltimore All Rights Reserved. |
|
|
|
|
