December 2021 Monthly Update
Dear Friends and Partners,
What a year 2021 has been! We at the Policy Institute for Children are proud and immensely thankful for all that we helped to accomplish for our youngest learners this year.
On Giving Tuesday, we exceeded our goal for 225Gives and, with your help, we raised $10,566! We couldn’t do our vital work without your support! In the new year, we will release the results of our statewide provider survey, On the Path to Recovery: The Evolving Impacts of COVID-19 on Louisiana Child Care Providers. Please plan to join us on Wednesday, January 12 at 11:00 am CT for a virtual press conference highlighting the report results, with more details to follow.
We also conducted our second statewide parent poll in October and surveyed Louisiana parents with young children to understand the child care arrangements of families with young children. Please join us on Tuesday, January 25 at 11:00 am CT for a virtual press conference highlighting the report results of our parent survey, Now More Than Ever: A Snapshot of How Louisiana Working Families Rely on Child Care.
As the Senate considers the Build Back Better proposal, we urge you to reach out to Louisiana’s senators, Sen. Bill Cassidy and Sen. John Kennedy, about the importance of early care and education to Louisiana families and businesses. We know that 90% of brain development occurs before age 5, which is why the return-on-investment is so high when we focus public funds on our youngest children. Child care is also essential to our economy, as it allows caregivers to go to work and businesses to have access to a reliable workforce. In Louisiana, we lose $1.3 billion a year due to child care breakdowns. While our Senators may not support all of the Build Back Better proposal, they need to hear from their constituents that Louisiana residents prioritize investments in young children.
As always, we offer our organization as a resource to answer questions related to our research around early care and education in Louisiana. Thank you for your commitment to Louisiana’s youngest learners! We look forward to continuing to advance policies that ensure Louisiana children are successful in school and in life in 2022.
We wish you a joyous holiday season and a prosperous new year!