Quality, affordable child care holds the key to improved lives for all – better futures for children, greater economic opportunity for families, and increased workforce capacity for local and state economies. Unfortunately, today in the U.S., many struggle with the far-reaching impacts of a looming child care crisis. Despite recent job market growth, research shows [...]
There are numerous challenges facing the child care industry today. Many of these challenges—such as limited staffing, lengthy licensing process, convoluted administrative processes, and outdated technology solutions—are not new. Despite this reality, we continue to tackle the challenges with traditional approaches that do not meet the needs of the modern, evolving family, providers, or agencies. [...]
April has been designated as National Child Abuse Prevention Month to create awareness about the importance of strengthening families and preventing child abuse and neglect.
April has been designated as National Child Abuse Prevention Month to create awareness about the importance of strengthening families and preventing child abuse and neglect.
The recent passing of new rules by the Administration for Children and Families (ACF), Office of Child Care (OCC), signals a transformative shift that aims to streamline the child care application process and reduce bureaucratic hurdles making the process easier on families. Through my work as both a licensed clinical social worker and Director of [...]
While we celebrate National Social Worker Appreciation Month every March, it sets the stage for April – a month that marks the onset of National Child Abuse Awareness Month, where the volume of new reports concerning child abuse is projected to increase by double digits. Public Service Announcements and news stories will flood the public [...]
When I served as Deputy Labor Secretary for the state of Kansas, and now as I work with unemployment insurance (UI) agencies across the country, one of the most prominent and concerning issues facing states that I consistently see is regarding funding. Specifically, the federal administrative grant does not cover the actual costs of administering [...]
In the wake of the pandemic, states administering unemployment insurance (UI) faced a rapid and overwhelming workload due to the wave of customers seeking UI benefits. While the pandemic served as a stress test for agencies to meet demand, it also put a spotlight on their technology systems and identified significant weaknesses. States recognized these [...]
September is Child Welfare Workforce Development Month. While recognizing the need for ongoing development, we must make sure we are looking to developing ways to support child welfare workers by building capacity.
An unplanned and underfunded strain on unemployment insurance agency systems will inevitably happen again; the question is not if, but when. So how can you ensure you are maximizing the capacity of your existing trained staff and serving as many customers as possible with the resources you have every day?
