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Child Care Resource Center
When our community works, what happens to our smallest children?
Did you know that in Erie County over 100 000 children have parents or caregivers who go to work or school every day? That means that every day hundreds of thousands of children are left in the caring hands of child care providers and Child Care Resource Network (CCRN) acts as the foundation of support for both providers and parents alike. CCRN is a non-profit agency that has been serving Erie County for the past 30 years, working tirelessly to ensure that parents can go to work or school and with peace of mind that their children in high quality, safe early learning environments.
When it comes to child care, quality matters. The research proves it. Young children in high-quality child care programs are more likely to have better outcomes in behavior, school, and health, ultimately leading to reduced arrests, higher employment rates and higher wages.[1] By the time a child turns 5, 90% of their brain is fully developed and when in high-quality child care this development is supported and nurtured.
Children are at the heart of what we do and we want to hear from you. Below you will find 3 questions that we are hoping to get your thoughts on. Your responses will be shared with our clients as they get ready to vote in our upcoming election. Please have your responses in by October 8th for publication. Join us as we strive to continue to keep children safe and ensure that our community has all the child care supports and resources it needs to foster a growing economy, happy families and a fruitful workforce.
Thank you for your kind consideration.
[1] https://heckmanequation.org/resource/early-childhood-education-quality-and-access-pay-off/
Questionnaire
1. Candidate Name: Howie Hawkins
2. Party Affiliation(s): Green
3. How would you help make Child Care more accessible for families in Western New York?
I would enact policies to make child care a human right that every family that needs it can access. Child care should be a public good like education and transportation infrastructure. As governor, I will propose legislation for universal pre-K to make full-time pre-K starting at age 3 part of the public school system in every school district and available to every family on a voluntary basis. In addition, I will propose child care legislation to ensure that every family who needs it can afford high-quality care for their children during all shifts and that child care workers givers are well-trained and paid a living wage.
4. What is the biggest issue facing families in regards to Child Care?
The cost of child care.
5. How does Child Care fit into the renaissance for Buffalo and surrounding areas?
It won’t be a renaissance for low-income and working families if they cannot afford the child care they need to take advantage of the educational, employment, business, and cultural opportunities that a regional renaissance would bring.