NC Early Childhood Foundation

We'd love to feature your initiatives and programs on our Pathways to Grade-Level Reading Action Map!

The Pathways to Grade Level Reading Initiative created a data and a policy framework to help drive action in our state towards grade-level reading for every child. Through our Data Dashboard and Action Map, our collaborative is guided by these tools with a focus on racial equity.

We are building awareness of innovation, making connections, and identifying gaps and opportunities that can help guide policymaking, advocacy, funding, and capacity building towards our children reading on grade-level.

Find out more about how your organization or collaborative can be featured on our Action Map - we are tracking initiatives around
maternal depression screening and treatment; family-friendly workplace policies; access to infant and toddler care; and family engagement, just to name a few.

Perspective | New online tools provide snapshot of NC early childhood landscape The dashboard can be used by policymakers, government agencies, community service providers, child advocacy organizations, and others.

Employers can now highlight their family-friendly workplace benefits by becoming a Family Forward NC Certified Employer. You can find out more about the process here:

https://familyforwardnc.com/get-certified-overview/

And watch a short webinar about it here:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=W6-0jMaM2MM&t=4s

It's serious competition out there to find employees. A family-friendly workplace can give your business or organization a strategic advantage to slow alleviate turnover and grow!

Family Forward NC Employer Certification Webinar - October 5, 2022 Learn about our Family Forward NC Employer Certification which designates employers that offer policies and practices that support the health and well-being ...

Our friends at Attendance Works teamed up with researchers at Johns Hopkins University to analyze federal student absenteeism data during the 2020/2021 school year. Those numbers showed that 10.1 million students missed at least 10% of the 2020-21 school year.

Analysis: States To ‘Likely See a Doubling’ of Pre-Pandemic Chronic Absenteeism It’s not unusual for federal education data to be a school year or two behind. But it doesn’t often come with a red warning label urging “abundant caution.” That’s how the U.S. Department of Education released chronic absenteeism data last month for the 2020-21 school year. But more recent...

We're Hiring a Project Coordinator - You'll Love Working With Us!

This is a part-time position (0.75 FTE) responsible for managing organizational functions and providing programmatic support to NCECF staff and initiatives. Applications are due by October 20.

Details are here:

Career Opportunities | North Carolina Early Childhood Foundation Project Coordinator The Project Coordinator is a part-time position (30 hours/week), responsible for managing organizational functions and providing programmatic support for NCECF initiatives and…

Can the Child Care Services Association’s National Early Childhood Educator Apprenticeship Program strengthen the child care workforce and increase compensation? It's one piece of the puzzle!

Perspective | Early Childhood Educator Apprenticeship Program: A pathway to build competencies and pay The CCSA T.E.A.C.H. National Center was awarded a Department of Labor registered apprenticeship model for early childhood educators.

Another reason to support young children having a strong start to reach their potential - the future workforce shortage!

U.S. Births Drop to Lowest Number in 30 Years: Implications for the Future | KIDS COUNT Data Center U.S. Births Drop to Lowest Number in 30 Years: Implications for the Future | KIDS COUNT Data Center

Thank you Henrietta for being a champion for young children and families. We couldn't have said it better! Great OpEd in the Rocky Mount Telegram.

More resources needed to address child care crisis There’s no doubt the last couple of years have been hard for children and families across the country and in our community.

Is your workplace family-friendly? Get recognized for it!

**BIG NEWS** Through our Family Forward NC initiative, we are launching a brand new employer certification — the Family Forward NC Employer Certification — and we’re hosting a webinar about it on Oct. 5, from 1-2 EST. Learn more about the certification, including how your organization can become certified.

Register here: https://bit.ly/3DBzMhS

Welcome! You are invited to join a webinar: Family Forward NC Employer Certification Webinar. After registering, you will receive a confirmation email about joining the webinar. The webinar will show employers how to achieve our Family Forward NC Employer Certification which designates employers that offer policies and practices that support the health and well-being of working families and children. By becoming a Family Forward NC Certified Employer, you show potential emp...

Love these approaches to stress management for kids - interacting with nature!

Using Nature Contact to Support Children Under Stress Contact with nature can help mitigate the negative effects of stress. Through nature-based encounters, we can provide children with strategies to use while they are in our care and beyond.

What's your county's supply of infant/toddler child care compared with the need? The answer is most definitely low!

A recent report by the Child Care Services Association showed that North Carolina child care providers have the space to reach only about a quarter of infants and toddlers with working parents.

Explore the county data:

Child care capacity in North Carolina compared with need, by county An NC Early Education Coalition report on child care access shows needs of families with infants and toddlers are far from being met.

EveryChild NC is hosting a rally this Saturday to support the Leandro plan, which provides a sound, basic education for every child in North Carolina.

Where: Halifax Mall, 300 N Salisbury St, Raleigh
When: 10 am - noon, Saturday, Aug. 27

Hear how you can take action. There will be music, food trucks, and more! The event will be a family-friendly morning of education, advocacy, and fun.

Our families, communities, and futures depend on the quality of education we provide for our children. When we give public schools the funding they need, it strengthens communities, making them better places to live, raise a family, and even start a business.

Fixing how we fund public schools will allow them to provide resources like nutritious meals, mental health support, and career training for the children that need them. This ensures a better future for our children and that we all live in healthy, thriving communities.

More details are here: https://bit.ly/3TfeLP9

Proud of our NCECF 2021 impact report - Responsive to the Evolving Experiences & Needs of Children & Families and the Systems that Serve Them.

Read about how listening to parents, child care providers, small businesses, communities, and families informs our work for lasting change of systems that must better support children and families.

And a big thank you to so many of our partners that make our work possible!

https://bit.ly/3QGkf3F