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Part 3 of Guidance for Advancing Action Along NC Pathways To Grade-Level Reading
Here is the third of our five-part Pathways to Grade-Level Reading Policy and Practice Action Toolkit to provide guidance for how policymakers, advocates, community non-profits, the business community, and other stakeholders can work together to move us closer to the goal of all North Carolina’s children reading on grade-level by third grade. This Toolkit also highlights organizations and initiatives across the state that are already taking action to move the needle forward.
Explore Part 1 and Part 2 of the Toolkit here. Read on to preview the actions that are the focus of each Toolkit.
Early Care and Education are a Critical Lever
This part of the toolkit highlights that in order to participate in the workforce, parents need some form of child care. Parents are children’s first and most important teachers, but the task of fostering children’s healthy cognitive and emotional development is shared with care providers. Despite the clear importance of high quality child care for the well-being of children whose parents are in the workforce, federal, state, and local governments have collectively underfunded child care for decades.
The Looming Child Care Cliff
During the pandemic, the federal government provided child care stabilization funding through the American Rescue Plan Act. Starting in October 2021, child care providers received funding that enabled them to increase teacher pay and provide other incentives to address severe staffing shortages. The ending of federal funding to stabilize child care systems means that states must step up. North Carolina has not yet identified state-level funds that can stabilize the supply of affordable child care once federal funding ends. As a result, more than 155,000 children are at risk of losing their source of child care in the coming year.
While lawmakers have not yet prioritized new state dollars for child care, North Carolinians across the political spectrum have given them a green light to do so. As shown in NC Chamber Foundation’s recent statewide survey, 79% support increasing state funding to provide more working families with access to affordable, quality child care.
The undersupply of child care is hurting families because many who want and need to work are forced to remain unemployed or underemployed. Lack of child care is also hurting businesses, by making it difficult for them to hire the number of employees needed. The Chamber Foundation’s survey revealed that 26% of parents with children five and under said they left the workforce because they couldn’t find affordable child care.
Additional Policy Areas for Strong Early Childhoods
This toolkit highlights 5 policies to ensure that working parents and their children can thrive, in addition to moving towards a publicly-funded child care and early learning system. Those are:
- Create Family-Friendly Employment Policies
- Ensure Accessible Transportation to Early Care Programs, Schools and Health Services
- Provide Wraparound Services for High Quality Early Care and Education
- Expand Child Care Subsidies for Children; Raise Child Care Subsidy Rates; and Provide Higher Subsidy Rates to Providers in Underserved Communities
- Increase Standards and Compensation of Birth-through-Age-Five Educators
This toolkit explores how public investment to stabilize our child care system can ensure that many more parents who want to work can get their children into high quality care. That’s a solid investment in the future of our state.
What is Pathways for Grade-Level Reading?
The Pathways for Grade-Level Reading aims high and is driven by a bold vision:
All North Carolina children, regardless of race, ethnicity or socioeconomic status, are reading on grade-level by the end of third grade, and all children with disabilities achieve expressive and receptive communication skills commensurate with their developmental ages, so that they have the greatest opportunity for life success.
Toolkit Part 1 (access here)
- Support Families in Advocating for their Children
- Require Linked Strategies Across Programs to Engage and Learn from Families
- Ensure Assessment Instruments are Culturally and Linguistically Relevant
- Ensure Education Accountability Systems are Culturally Relevant
- Provide Professional Development for Teachers on Cultural Competency/Working with Families
- Support Schools and Child Care Programs to Engage Deeply with Families
Toolkit Part 2 (access here)
- Recruit and Retain Educators and School Leaders of Color
- Adjust Hiring Practices to Ensure High-Quality Educators
- Invest in School Health and Mental Health Staff and Clinics
- Eliminate or Minimize Suspension and Expulsion
Toolkit Part 3 (current toolkit)
- Create Family-Friendly Employment Policies
- Ensure Accessible Transportation to Early Care Programs, Schools and Health Services
- Provide Wraparound Services for High Quality Early Care and Education
- Expand Child Care Subsidies for Children; Raise Child Care Subsidy Rates; and Provide Higher Subsidy Rates to Providers in Underserved Communities
- Increase Standards and Compensation of Birth-through-Age-Five Educators
Toolkit Part 4 (coming in February 2024)
- Address Barriers in Health Insurance Coverage of IECMH Services to Ensure Adequate Benefits
- Create a Mental Health Professional Development System Focused on Infant and Toddler Clinicians
- Expand the NC Child Treatment Program
- Increase Professional Development in MH Treatment for Pediatricians and Family Physicians
- Integrate Mental Health Providers with Pediatric and Other Primary Care Practices
Toolkit Part 5 (coming in March 2024)
- Use Data to Track Community Needs and Service Provision
- Screen Children and Families for Social Determinants of Health and Connect them to Appropriate Services
- Expand Maternal Depression Screening and Treatment
- Invest in Two-Generation Interventions
- Include At-Risk Children in Early Intervention
Keep in Touch with NCECF and Support Our Work
Learn more about the Pathways Action Map and consider adding your work to the map! Share it with others in your network and community, whose work you think should be spotlighted. We want to utilize the Map as a resource to build awareness of innovation, make connections, and identify gaps and opportunities that can help guide policy making, advocacy, funding, and capacity building.
If you have any questions, or would like a guided tour of the Pathways Action Map, please contact us. We’d love to hear your ideas on how to continue to utilize this tool to support the success of all North Carolina children.
Please be sure to subscribe to our biweekly newsletter and consider making a donation today to continue a strong 2023 by helping us transform the lives of North Carolina families, from their earliest days, while also supporting a small growing, family-friendly team.
The NC Early Childhood Foundation is driven by a bold – and achievable – vision: Each North Carolina child has a strong foundation for life-long health, education, and well-being supported by a comprehensive, equitable birth-to-eight ecosystem. We build understanding, lead collaboration, and advance policies to ensure each North Carolina child is on track for lifelong success by the end of third grade.