Blog Category: Early Care and Education

Bill Explainer: Expanding Access to Child Care Assistance HB2206 (Filler-Corn)

The Speaker of the House Eileen Filler-Corn has introduced HB2206 to create a new short-term eligibility category for parents seeking financial assistance to afford child care. This legislation passed the…

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Take Action: Declare Racism As A Public Health Crisis in VA

Update: Passed by the House and now headed to the Senate next. Delegate Lashrecse Aird has introduced House Joint Resolution No. 537, a resolution to declare racism as a public…

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Organizational Sign-On: Support a Permanent Children’s Cabinet

The Governor’s Children’s Cabinet has been an incredibly useful method to support interagency collaboration and prioritize children’s issues. In the last two Governor’s Administrations the Children’s Cabinet has tackled plans…

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Bill Explainer: Child Care Stabilization and “True Costs” of Quality SB1316 (McClellan)

There are two truths in early childhood education: parents can’t afford to pay any more for child care and teachers can’t afford to earn any less. The imbalance in this…

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Campaign for a Trauma-Informed VA: Racial Truth & Reconciliation Social Media Toolkit

The VA General Assembly began January 13th. With a virtual session this year, traditionally advocacy is limited. Digital advocacy leverages technology to contact, inform, and mobilize a group of concerned…

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2021 General Assembly Session: Early Care and Education Priorities

There is no question that 2020 has dramatically changed the early learning sector in Virginia. As of late November, one-third of the licensed child care capacity in the state were still closed. Most of…

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Mom putting mask on girl

Sounding the Alarm: New Data Reveals Impact of COVID-19 Hardships

Guest Blog Post Contributed by John R. Morgan, Ph.D., former Voices Executive Director and current Chewning Research Fellow at the Virginia Early Childhood Foundation Widening racial-ethnic disparities likely to harm…

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Apply Now: Early Educators Advocacy Cohort

Early childhood educators, speak up during the 2021 General Assembly Session! Voices is recruiting a cohort of early childhood educators to participate in virtual advocacy visits during the upcoming General…

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Third Round of Child Care Stabilization Grants from CARES Act

On October 21, Governor Northam announced $65.8 million additional funding from the CARES Act to support the child care sector. These funds come on top of the $70 million previously…

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2020 Special Session Budget Update: House and Senate Make Decisions to Support Kids & Families

On Friday, Sept. 25, the Virginia House and Senate announced their priorities to restore funding in the state budget for children and families experiencing economic hardship and emotional trauma. While…

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