Blog Assignment: Sharing Web Resources

What specific section(s) or information seemed particularly relevant to your current professional development?

     There is specific information that is particularly relevant to me in the professional development and still is current in the early childhood programs that targets children and families who are at risk who live in a certain zip code to receive free child care services. Mean while other children and their families who are at risk are not eligible because they don’t live in that zip code area. Therefore, this is an issue that I fell needs to be address to the “No Child Left Behind Act 2009” and this seems to be a current trend that children ad families are struggling with as far as government subsides. For example, “there are roughly 650,000 Australian families who claim both government subsidies. We estimate that should the current trend continue, these subsidies would cover 6–8 per cent less in 2016 than in 2009, and it will continue to decline.” (par.5)
“We need to make the process much easier and more accessible for families. This will go a long way to addressing affordability issues we have within the sector, and encourage more children to enroll in early childhood.” (par.12)

Which ideas/statements/resources, either on the website or in an e-newsletter, did you find controversial or made you think about an issue in new ways?

     The unaffordable child care services that low- income families can’t afford the government has tried to subsidize but failed because not everyone meets the qualifications. The effects of the government failing is, according to Dr. Grace,(2011) “ If children don’t receive the benefits of good health, nutrition and mental and physical services from the economist and from the scientists and politicians young children growth and development livelihood then this country will be face an increased risk of engaging in violent crime and illegal drug use, and of experiencing chronic health problems in obesity in this country.” In Australia the citizens are facing a similar issue. “Analysis by Early Childhood Australia (ECA), the national children’s peak body, shows that government subsidies for early childhood education and care have steadily fallen behind the cost of service delivery. As a result, subsidies cover an ever smaller proportion of daily fees and parents face increasing out-of-pocket expenses.” In addition, “ quality early childhood education has many social and economic benefits, we don’t want it to be unaffordable. Children who experience quality early learning opportunities are more likely to thrive at school and have good social and emotional skills” said ECA CEO Samantha Page.”(par. 10)

What information does the website or the e-newsletter contain that adds to your understanding of how economists, neuroscientists, or politicians support the early childhood field?

      The  article gave me the understanding that influential voices of the Early Childhood Field are truly what guides how the field is developed in a nation. By providing a financial breakdown of the Child Care Benefit I was able to see first hand the economic impact of each child. “Child Care Benefit is paid directly to a service, and currently covers a maximum $3.99 per hour of childcare for households earning up to $40,000. The subsidy tapers down to zero for families earning $150,000 per annum. The subsidy increases every year based on CPI, which falls well behind the average increase in early childhood education fees which is currently 7 per cent.” In addition,  “We can directly target cost-of-living pressures on young families by giving serious consideration to the complex subsidy arrangement currently in place. The Child Care Rebate and Child Care Benefit are poorly targeted and make things much more difficult than they need to be for families.” (par. 7)

What other new insights about issues and trends in the early childhood field did you gain from exploring the website or e-newsletter?

       I learned that the economic impact of government subsides such as Early Childhood can impact the development of not only the child but the nation as whole. I learned that it is imperative that each member of the Early Childhood field be an advocate for the parents and children. I also observed that we have the responsibility to provide the opportunities for personal growth along with the child development in order to provide a life of enrichment. “We suspect that the substantial increase in early childhood fees is primarily due to annual wage increases, extended operating hours and higher fixed costs such as rent. These trends are common across service sectors and industries; early childhood education is not unique in this.” (par.8)

References
January – Media Release – Child Care subsidies falling behind
http://www.earlychildhoodaustralia.org.au/early_childhood_news/early_childhood_news/january-media-release-child-care-subsidies-falling-behind.html