Throughout Alaska, 38,000 children under the age of 6 have working parents. In order for parents to work, many depend on child care. Yet, in too many communities, child care is difficult to find, more difficult to afford, and too often of questionable quality.
Our children, birth to age five, are best served by a unified, sustainable system; a system comprised of early care and learning, health, and family support.
The Alaska Early Childhood Advocacy Group has established a policy agenda for investing in Alaska’s young children: Alaska Early Care and Learning: Public Policy Priorities for 2016. Highlights include investing in:
- Quality early care and learning by increasing child care assistance to align with market rates and investing in Head Start and Pre-K programs to advance early learning opportunities for all children;
- Strengthening families by supporting Parents as Teachers that improves parenting practices and reduces the likelihood of child abuse and neglect; and
- Community engagement and early literacy by investing in Best Beginnings to provide books to Alaska’s children through Imagination Library and to promote parent and community engagement through locally based solutions.
To read the full policy agenda including investment priorities and policy recommendations, click here.
Help us support Alaska’s children by letting your policymakers hear from you today!