Milwaukee ECE Coalition Featured in Neighborhood News Service Article

On January 25, the Milwaukee Neighborhood News Service highlighted the incredible work of the Milwaukee Succeeds-led Early Childhood Education Coalition (ECE), who developed and advocated for the much-needed ECE Workforce Stipend Program. The program, which launched in November, allows eligible early educators to receive a $1,500 stipend over three installments, and has already received nearly 3,000 applications.

“We hope this investment shows positive trends toward stabilizing this sector, and I’m excited the City of Milwaukee tried something new," said Alderwoman Marina Dimitrijevic in the article. “We’re trying to fix a system that’s been broken for a while.”

Dimitrijevic, who championed the needs of the ECE sector during the city's ARPA discussions, said that this type of program may have the added benefit of providing a blueprint for future funding.

Daria Hall, Milwaukee Succeeds' ECE director, was also quoted in the article.

“We believe that this is just the beginning of early childhood educators getting what they deserve," she said.

The article goes on to paint a picture of the difficulties faced by Milwaukee's early educators, who are predominately Black and Brown and overwhelmingly female. Since centers operate on such thin margins, wages remain lower than other industries, which feeds into the high levels of turnover. Any funding coming in, such as the Child Care Counts program that began in 2020, are primarily being used for basic needs for the center and to provide some sort of financial bonus for staff. This wage stipend represents another way to reward educators for the demanding yet crucial work of caring for the city's youngest learners - yet there's still a long way to go.