Alabama Families’ Experience with Child Care During the COVID-19 Pandemic Brief #1

The Alabama Partnership for Children (APC) conducted an online survey of working families between May 18, 2020 and June 9, 2020, and received over 500 responses. A report with full survey results can be found at: https://alabamapartnershipforchildren.org/parent-survey-results/. The results are pertinent to reopening child care programs safely, understanding the needs of families, and reconciling the competing needs of returning to work and providing child care.

This brief uses survey responses from the 434 families who report having at least one child under six years of age and who used some form of non-parental child care prior to the pandemic. Of the 434 respondents, 35% report a household income of $48,000 or less per year , 30% report $49,000–$99,000, and 35% report income of $100,000 or higher.

View the full brief here.

Dear Parents, Grandparents, Early Care and Education Providers:

We are inviting you to review a booklet about Safe Sleep for infants. We will ask you to tell us what you think about how the booklet looks and what it says. We need and value your opinion on these materials.

Safe Sleep materials are given out by your pediatrician, hospitals, nurses, child care and others when you have a new baby in your home. Safe Sleep tips are important for new parents, families, grandparents and caregivers to keep little babies safe.

Sharing your thoughts about this booklet will help us to communicate better with families in Alabama about Safe Sleep for babies.

The online review will take about an hour to do. Your answers will not be connected to your name.

You will need to have a smart phone or internet access to complete the survey.

To complete the survey, click here.

If you have questions, you can reach out to Tish MacInnis at APC by phone or email:

tmacinnis@APCteam.org or 334-271-0304

JOB DESCRIPTION
July 2020

TITLE: Statewide Coordinator, Reach Out and Read-Alabama
REPORTS TO: Executive Director, Alabama Chapter-American Academy of Pediatrics (AL-AAP)

About AL-AAP: A non-profit 501 (c) 3 organization, the Alabama Chapter of the American Academy of Pediatrics (ALAAP) is the only statewide member organization of pediatricians, with 850 members representing both academic and community pediatrics in both urban and rural areas. The organization was established in the 1930s and existed for almost five decades before becoming exempt as a 501 (c) 3 in December 1986 and adding executive staff in 1991. Governed by a 13-member board, the AL-AAP established a statewide Reach Out and Read coalition in 2006 as an arm to promote early literacy in pediatric practice. The AL-AAP executive office is in Montgomery.

About Reach Out and Read: Founded in 1989, Reach Out and Read is a national non-profit organization/program that gives young children a foundation for success by incorporating books into pediatric care and encouraging families to read aloud together. Reach Out and Read’s national network of trained pediatric providers use books as a diagnostic tool during regular check-ups, and teach parents how to engage their child with a book to promote positive parent-child interactions during the rapid brain growth between birth and age five, particularly in economically disadvantaged families who are at risk for adverse outcomes. The only national early literacy intervention delivered through pediatric care providers, the program has been the subject of 16 independent studies, the largest body of scientific research for any psychosocial intervention in pediatrics. Research shows that children served by Reach Out and Read are read to more often, enjoy sharing books more, and have better expressive and receptive language skills.

POSITION SUMMARY: The Reach Out and Read-Alabama Statewide Coordinator (SC) plans, implements, and leads the fundraising, outreach, technical assistance, provider training, and community relations initiatives of Reach Out and Read-Alabama, which is Alabama’s affiliate of Reach Out and Read pediatric office sites. The SC will lead the continued development of this well-established program.

A results-oriented, experienced, and entrepreneurial professional, the SC is the face of Reach Out and Read across the state, with a targeted primary focus on ensuring that this national model is implemented with impact on the families and children served, and on fundraising/grant-writing for sustainability and program growth.

The Statewide Coordinator has a unique opportunity to help shape the future direction of Reach Out and Read-Alabama with the guidance of the AL-AAP Board, ROR-AL Medical Director and, if/once established, the ROR-AL
Advisory/Partnership Council.

For the full job description, click here.

• Breadth and scope of HMG system Implementation and progress since 2018
• Capacity to reach children, families, community partners, and child health care providers
• Novel approaches and system enhancements currently explored by HMG affiliates

Download the report – Help Me Grow: Building Impact 2019

Ivey appoints new secretary for early childhood education department

Working Families and Child Care in Alabama
Online survey of working families conducted between May 18, 2020 and June 2, 2020
Alabama Partnership for Children (APC)

The APC offered the survey through multiple child care and workforce partner agencies as an online assessment of working families’ child care needs. The results offer us direction about what is needed to safely open back up child care, what families need, and concerns about returning to work and child care.

Background:
Prior to the pandemic, recent reports indicate that in “normal” times, there is a child care shortage in Alabama. The Bipartisan Policy Center’s report, Child Care Gaps Assessment: Alabama (April 2020), reports 214,150 child care slots needed based on children under 6 with all parents in the workforce. This was calculated during a time when Alabama had historically low unemployment and an estimated need for 500,000 newly skilled workers by the year 2025, according to the report of Alabama WORKS, Preparing Alabama’s Workforce for Opportunity and Growth. The report identified lack of access to child care as one of the top three barriers to labor participation and/or attending school or college.

The Gaps Assessment identified every available source of child care and provided an estimated 128,959 available slots – showing a gap of 85,554. Even when considering families who don’t access child care outside of their homes, having family members provide care or paying for “nanny” care in the home, we know that the steady reduction of child care slots available requires us to build and now re-build this necessary workforce support.

As reported by VOICES for Alabama’s Children in the Kids Count Data Book, between 2010 and 2019, the total number of licensed child care programs has gone from 2,340 down to 1,698. The heaviest loss is with Family Day Care Homes, providers who are licensed to care for up to (6) children in their homes. This is often the only option for rural families where there are not enough children to fill a child care center. There were 844 of these providers in 2010, and that number had shrunk to just 428 by 2019. Because 75% of Alabama is considered rural, an estimated 60% of children under the age of five live in child care deserts – census tracts where there is no child care or only enough to serve one-third of the need. Yet, for low- and middle-income families, the cost of child care is often up to 30% of household income, in some areas more than college tuition.

This was before the pandemic. A national survey by the National Association for the Education of Young Children (NAEYC) during April 2020, found that in Alabama, 90% of programs that responded were closed entirely, and an additional 5% were closed to everyone except essential personnel. Of the few programs open, all reported operating with less than 50% capacity. Also, 55% reported laying off or furloughing employees or reported being laid off or furloughed themselves. Another 33% anticipated such actions being necessary in the coming 1-2 weeks. This was in April, and we know that may programs have closed permanently.

The challenges of opening child care programs so that working families can return to work are multiple and have no easy solutions. Extra cleaning, extra equipment, limited numbers, and difficulty obtaining any of the needed supplies are the primary concerns, along with the critical concern of opening with limited enrollment and reduced funding.

View the full results here.