Advocacy for Good
There’s no question that early childhood care is essential to a city’s economic well-being. Not only does it allow parents of young children to participate in the workforce, but it also sets those children up for long-term academic, social and developmental success.
That’s why Milwaukee’s ECE Coalition, led by Milwaukee Succeeds, has made it a priority to advocate for increased resources for the ECE sector. Throughout 2021, the diverse group of providers, organizations, experts and leaders brought a unified voice to decision-making tables across the state in hopes of expanding access to quality, affordable child care – particularly for Milwaukee’s Black and Brown families.
The State of ECE in Milwaukee
According to research sponsored by the Greater Milwaukee Foundation, over half of Milwaukee’s Black and Brown children live in communities where there is inadequate access to high-quality ECE. And where it does exist, it is incredibly expensive, with the average Milwaukee family paying a third of its household income for one child’s care.
COVID-19 has worsened these conditions even further, with many providers struggling to recruit and retain staff and others at risk of closing altogether.
Supporting ECE with One Voice
The ECE Coalition has been working tirelessly to bring investments into the sector, while also raising public attention to the importance of ECE. In April, they advocated to the state legislature to invest in child care as part of the 2021-23 state budget, which ultimately included an increase of $29 million for the Wisconsin Shares child care subsidy. This investment helps make child care affordable for more than 9,000 low-income working families in Milwaukee County.
The Coalition has also informed and advocated for the state’s allocation of federal COVID relief dollars directed to ECE. This includes an investment to-date of nearly $46 million in Child Care Counts grants to providers in Milwaukee to help them remain open, keep staff employed, and safely serve children. Surveys suggest that over 40% of Milwaukee providers would have closed without these funds. Based on this success, significantly more federal relief funds will be directed through the Child Care Counts program in 2022 and 2023.
Similarly, on a local level, the Coalition developed recommendations on how the City of Milwaukee could invest federal relief dollars, securing sponsorship from Ald. Marina Dimitrijevic. In October, the Common Council voted to approve the Coalition’s $7 million proposal, which focused on recruiting and retaining ECE professionals. It included stipends for educators, as well as an investment in programs aimed at strengthening and diversifying the workforce pipeline, focusing on young men of color.
It’s clear that the Coalition’s unified voice is a powerful tool for change. As Emilie Amundson, Secretary of the Wisconsin Department of Children and Families, told the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel: “What groups like Milwaukee Succeeds have been able to do is build a table for all the factions and make our decisions together and swim in the same direction.”
