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The Early Learning Nation Collective is thrilled that you have decided to embark on a journey to become or grow an Early Learning Community.
Before you start, we recommend watching this informational video to help guide you as you use the Tool. You may also want to read through some key terms before you begin the Assessment.
Goal 4.1 Examples of Communities in Action
Louisiana
Louisiana’s Paid Family and Medical Leave (PFML) Coalition, comprising various state organizations, has recently achieved significant milestones. These include securing state funding for an actuarial study on a statewide PFML program, advocating for a comprehensive PFML bill in the 2023 legislative session, and securing paid parental leave for 70,000 Louisiana state employees. However, the coalition seeks improvements, as the current policy offers only six weeks of paid leave, must be used within 12 weeks, and does not cover private sector employees.
San Diego, CA
The San Diego for Every Child (SDEC) Guaranteed Income Project is piloting the region’s first guaranteed income program, sponsored by Jewish Family Service of San Diego (JFS). Designed to address economic disparity, eligible families with a child 12 or younger receive $500 a month for 24 months. JFS also established the Economic Mobility and Opportunity Department, launching three additional programs: the Black Women’s Resilience Project (BWRP), the Family Income for Empowerment Program (FIEP), and the Recovery Action Fund for Tomorrow (RAFT). These programs provide “no strings attached” cash aid to support families to promote economic opportunity and mobility.
Goal 4.1 Sample Action Steps
Level 1
- Gather information about how many families in the community currently benefit from SNAP, public health insurance, local or state paid family leave programs, universal basic income pilot programs, or mandated paid sick leave—and who is not eligible or not benefiting from those programs.
- Assess which employers in the community currently offer family-friendly employment policies (including paid family and medical leave, affordable and inclusive insurance options, fair scheduling practices, and access to lactation facilities), and which of their employees are benefiting from them. Leadership and incentives may be particularly necessary to get these benefits extended to workers in low-wage jobs, where the market may not push employers to provide them but where workers need them the most.
- Highlight the successes of businesses in the community that have family-friendly workplace policies and those that are partnering with early care and education providers to ensure that their employees have child care.
- Widely disseminate information about tenants’ and workers’ rights and legal protections throughout the community, in workplaces, and in public spaces.
- Ensure working families have access to legal support and advice to understand their existing rights and legal protections, and address any infringements upon their rights.
Level 2
- Make sure municipal and county governing bodies serve as a positive example by adhering to best practices in workplace policies, including by offering paid family and medical leave, child care benefits, and comprehensive, affordable insurance options to all employees.
- Increase the supply of affordable housing units that are large enough for families.
- Work with the business community to implement family-friendly workplace policies that improve workplace environments for all workers, particularly those who are least likely to have access to paid leave or other protections.
- Advocate for, pass, and implement fair scheduling or fair workweek laws at the local or state level. Predictability of work hours is particularly critical for parents of young children who need to schedule care for the hours they work.
- Extend health insurance to immigrant families that are excluded from state public health insurance programs.
- Prioritize family-friendly employers when awarding local contracts, rewarding employers that have policies and procedures in place to support their employees’ family-related needs.
Level 3
- Implement paid family leave for all workers.
- Guarantee child care for all children in the community, partnering with providers to ensure care is available that meets all families’ needs, including care in families’ home languages, second and third shift care, and before- and after-school care for elementary school students. This may require workforce investments, partnerships with the school district, and tax breaks and/or subsidies for providers.
- Invest in “baby bonds” or child savings accounts established at birth with an initial deposit from the city or county.
- Implement local ordinances, tax breaks, and/or subsidies that support family-friendly policies such as fair scheduling practices, paid family and medical leave, comprehensive health insurance coverage, and living wages.
- Incentivize employers to report on how many families ultimately use family-friendly policies and benefits in order to identify any obstacles to utilizing these policies and benefits by race, ethnicity, gender, income, or other characteristics.
- Implement a guaranteed income program that benefits families with young children to give parents more freedom in choosing how to care for their children in the early years.
Levels
Level 1
Level 1 describes the starting point and is the first thing a community will want to establish on their path to reaching that goal. In many cases, the first level involves assessing the current situation in order to identify strengths and areas of need.
Level 2
Level 2 describes a community that is taking proactive steps and making some progress toward the goal. This may include communities where progress has been made in pockets, but those efforts are not benefiting the whole community yet.
Level 3
Finally, Level 3 indicates that a community has invested time, energy, and resources toward reaching this goal and is integrating its efforts across the early childhood system and with other sectors.
Not Started
If you or your organization have not begun assessing or considering a goal, please mark your level as “Not Started.”