ECE Ambassadors and Advocates Address Joint Finance Committee
One voice, one mission.
For Milwaukee Succeeds and our partners, that means using our collective power and inspiring stories to spur action and drive change. This singular voice rang clear on April 5 during the Joint Finance Committee listening session in Waukesha, where early childhood education (ECE) advocates from across SE Wisconsin called for continued investment in Child Care Counts.
Parents, early educators, businesses, civic leaders and more turned up to the hours-long event to speak out about their struggles. Combined, their experiences painted a stark picture of the widespread child care crisis across the state.
“I became a parent for the first time in 2020,” shared ECE Ambassador Callie Colbo during the event. “I contacted eight different child care centers. All of them had a waitlist ranging from three to nine months. None of them could guarantee an opening by a specific time. I left the workforce and became a stay-at-home mom.”
Callie was one of four ECE Ambassadors to use her recent training along with her experiences navigating the ECE sector to appeal to the committee. Taken together, the ambassadors’ stories touched on the importance of supporting the ECE workforce, the need for equitable access to high-quality ECE and the difficulties that come from being a working parent in Wisconsin today. They backed up their experiences with data, drawing on all that they’ve learned from Milwaukee Succeeds staff and partners to present a comprehensive picture of the state of ECE.
“Due to the low pay, I can’t afford to become an early childhood educator,” explained Ambassador Sarah Strehlow. “It’s insulting to learn that employees at fast food restaurants make more than child care workers.”
“Learning that the cost of child care for three weeks was more than our mortgage payment almost made me give up on my education,” said Ambassador Diana Rico. “I know many parents like myself who have opted to leave the workforce due to the financial burden of child care costs.”
Milwaukee Mayor Cavalier Johnson spoke directly after Diana, reiterating the vital importance of an investment in Child Care Counts.
"When our youngest residents, when our kids receive enriching care, we're building a stronger future," he said. "When more parents can re-enter the workforce, we're strengthening our future as well."
Business leaders were also on hand to speak about how the lack of access to child care is impacting their workforce, while early educators shared the disastrous consequences that could come from the dissolution of Child Care Counts.
So far, the federally funded program has brought more than $96 million to Milwaukee providers, allowing them to stay open, recruit and retain staff, and reduce costs for families. If this funding disappears, these struggling providers will be forced to make some difficult decisions, choosing between raising rates for families, cutting wages for staff or closing altogether.
The data-informed ask, which Ambassadors and advocates rallied around, includes $300 million to continue Child Care Counts once federal relief funds run out in January. With Republicans in the legislature vowing to throw out Gov. Tony Evers’ proposed budget, the Joint Finance Committee is now responsible for building its own budget from scratch over the next several months. The Waukesha listening session was the first of four to be held across the state. The subject of ECE made a noticeable splash, with the media reporting on the impressive turnout and coordinated calls for action.
Additional sessions will be held throughout the month of April, with a new version of the budget expected to be delivered to Gov. Evers in June.
If you’d like to join advocates and Ambassadors in raising your voice for ECE, consider sending a letter to your legislators! The statewide Raising Wisconsin coalition has created easy-to-use templates for families and providers to simplify the process. It only takes a few minutes to share your story and strengthen our calls for change!
