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☆ ‘Just too burnt out’: Child care crisis crunches providers
▼ + stars: | 2024-06-15 | by ( Meena Duerson | Tami Luhby | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +7 min

Nationwide, the average yearly cost of care rose to $11,582 per child last year, according to Child Care Aware of America’s latest annual report. The basic costs of employing enough staff to comply with legal and safety requirements in child care centers are already high. The typical hourly wage for a child care worker in Wisconsin is $13.78, according to the US Bureau of Labor Statistics. Facing a “child care cliff”The historic $24 billion federal investment helped more than 225,000 providers nationwide — or more than 8 in 10 licensed child care centers — and affected as many as 10 million children. My First Adventure Child Care and Preschool serves 60 families but will close this summer.

Persons: Susan Elandt, ” Elandt, I’m, “ It’s, “, Elandt, what’s, ”, Lydia Higgins, Higgins, ” Higgins, she’s Organizations: CNN, Nationwide, of Columbia, US Bureau of Labor Statistics, The Century Foundation Locations: Waupaca , Wisconsin, Wisconsin, Waupaca

☆ Average annual child care costs twice as much as rent in 11 states and the District of Columbia
▼ + stars: | 2024-05-15 | by ( Tami Luhby | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +3 min

CNN —If you think the rent is too damn high, wait until you get the bill for child care. And the tab exceeded annual typical mortgage payments in 45 states, plus the District of Columbia, according to Child Care Aware. Nationwide, the average annual cost of care rose to $11,582 per child last year, up 3.7% from the prior year. Further exacerbating the shortage was the continued disappearance of licensed child care providers who operate out of their homes. Also, another $15 billion federal pandemic infusion for child care and development block grants, which states use to subsidize child care for working families, will expire this coming September.

Persons: that’s, Sandra Bishop, ”, Anne Hedgepeth Organizations: CNN, District of Columbia, of Columbia, Care, Nationwide, US Department of Health, Human Services, Care Aware’s, Century Foundation Locations: Illinois , Indiana , Iowa , Kansas , Massachusetts, Minnesota , Nebraska , Pennsylvania, Rhode Island , Vermont, Wisconsin

☆ Australia bushfires: Victoria orders 30,000 people to evacuate due to ‘catastrophic’ fire risk
▼ + stars: | 2024-02-28 | by ( Kathleen Magramo | Morayo Ogunbayo | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +3 min

Hot, dry and windy conditions have created “extreme to catastrophic fire dangers” in parts of Victoria and South Australia, according to Australia’s Bureau of Meteorology. Around 30,000 people had been ordered to evacuate parts of Victoria before midday Wednesday, when authorities warned it would be too late to leave. Bushfires in Victoria, Australia have been burning since February 22, 2024. AAP Image/David Crosling/ReutersSix homes have already been destroyed and authorities fear windy and dry conditions may fan the flames close to high-density residential areas. More than 100 state forests have been closed, the Forest Fire Management of Victoria said on social platform X.

Persons: Jason Heffernan, we’re, David Crosling, Victoria Organizations: CNN — Firefighters, Meteorology, Fire Authority, CFA, Melbourne, ” Firefighters, Fire Management Locations: Australia, Victoria, South Australia, Casterdon, Hamilton, Kanagulk, ”, Bayindeen, Melbourne, Wimmera

☆ Child care benefits at work: Employers are increasingly offering resources to parents with daycare needs
▼ + stars: | 2024-02-23 | by ( Jeanne Sahadi | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +7 min

And among those that do, less than a third selected any single benefit such as subsidized child care services (11%), child care referrals and consultations (28%); and back up child care (26%), which gives parents access to a daycare center or babysitter when their usual child care arrangements fall through on a given day. Among those, 37% offer access to backup child care, 16% subsidize child care and 10% provide onsite child care. Among respondents who said they were thinking of quitting their jobs, 41% said their compensation was not high enough to cover child care costs, and 30% said they didn’t have adequate child care. An onsite child care center like one from Bright Horizons can provide licensed and trained care providers and well-qualified early education teachers. Other options to ease working parents’ experienceFor many employers, though, an onsite child care center may be tough to swing.

Persons: ”, Jessica Chang, “ Covid, ” Chang, Mercer, It’s, We’ve, Stephen Kraemer, Kraemer, hadn’t, Carmen Perez, Perez, Seda, Chang Organizations: New, New York CNN, US Department of Labor, US Department of Health, Human Services, Century Foundation, “ Employers, Adecco Group, Bright Locations: New York, United States, California

We have people that are willing and able to work, but finding child care was an obstacle.”Republicans historically have been lukewarm about using taxpayer money for child care, even as they have embraced prekindergarten. Nebraska and Indiana have both pitched programs to make child care free for child care workers. Child care advocates say the investments are not enough and called on Congress to authorize a new round of money to keep the child care industry afloat. GOP resistance to child care spending dates to the 1970s, when President Richard Nixon vetoed a bill to establish a national child care system, invoking fears of communism and saying it had “family-weakening implications.” Many of those arguments persist. But during the pandemic, many child care workers left the industry for better-paying jobs, and some child care centers closed for good, exacerbating the problem.

Persons: Emily O'Brien, Lennon, O'Brien, Jolene, Doug Burgum's, ” O'Brien, —, Mike Parson, Brenda Shields, ” Shields, Pro Tem Caleb Rowden, Glenn Youngkin, Richard Nixon, “, Kristi Noem, ” Noem Organizations: Republican, Gov, Republicans, Democratic, Republican Gov, Pro, Virginia Gov, U.S . Chamber of Commerce Foundation, KWAT, Associated Press Locations: North Dakota, Forks, Bismarck, New Mexico, Vermont, Missouri, Louisiana, Alabama, Texas, Nebraska, Indiana, Idaho, U.S, South Dakota, Watertown , South Dakota, AP.org

☆ Strong economic growth but high unemployment: A look at Nevada’s economy
▼ + stars: | 2024-02-08 | by ( Alicia Wallace | Tami Luhby | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +13 min

In Las Vegas, the cacophony of voices, music, ringing slot machines and car horns that typically pulsed through the Las Vegas Strip was replaced by silence, the chirps of birds and the wails of sirens. In tourism-dependent Nevada, the unemployment rate rocketed even higher, topping out at 30.6% that month. “This is an unemployment rate that’s not driven by job losers, this is an unemployment rate driven by job seekers,” he said. Homes under construction in the Summerlin community, on July 31, 2023, in Las Vegas, Nevada. As of December 2023, the Reno metro area’s unemployment rate was just 0.2 percentage points above the nation’s 3.7% rate.

Persons: John Simpson, Steve, Sisolak, ” Simpson, It’s, ”, they’re, I’ve, Stephen M, Miller, Mario Tama, Bob Potts, there’s, There’s, Nevadans, Annie E, Casey Foundation’s, Jamelle Nance, Marty Elquist, ” Elquist, “, Andrew Woods, Nicholas Irwin, Start’s Simpson, Irwin, Ethan Miller, Maurice Page, Page, Tesla, ” Potts, Carolyn Cole, Potts, You’ve, you’ve Organizations: CNN, Las, Republican Party, of Labor Statistics, University of Nevada, Lee Business School’s Center for Business, Economic Research, New York, Nevada Governor’s, Economic, Las Vegas, New, Workforce, Children’s, Alliance of Nevada, Education, Development, Silver State, Center for Business, UNLV, Reno, ”, Homes, Nevada Housing Coalition, Harvard University’s, for Housing Studies, Silver, Means, Reno Industrial Park, Apple, Panasonic, Google, Reno Industrial, Los Angeles Times, NCAA, NFL, NFL Pro Bowl Locations: Nevada, Las Vegas, Reno, ” Nevada, State, New York, New, Las, New Mexico, Vegas, “ Nevada, Silver, UNLV . Nevada, California, Sparks, Las Vegas , Nevada, Florida, Hawaii, Clark County, Sparks , Nevada, New Orleans, Denver, Southern Nevada, Northern Nevada, Los Angeles

And inadequate child care intensifies other stressors affecting health as well. The cost of child care in this country is already astronomical. The task of finding care can also increase parents’ mental labor load, which can erode psychological health, particularly for mothers. And when one child care center closes or one babysitter cancels, the burden of finding an alternative falls to the parents. Child care precarity — a state of insecure and unreliable child care — has been linked to negative mental health outcomes for mothers for at least six years afterward.

Persons: —, precarity

NEW YORK (AP) — The proportion of U.S. kindergartners exempted from school vaccination requirements has hit its highest level ever, 3%, U.S. health officials said Thursday. Political Cartoons View All 1237 ImagesAll states allow exemptions for children with medical conditions that prevents them from receiving certain vaccines. But the percentage with nonmedical exemptions has inched up, lifting the overall exemption rate from 1.6% in the 2011-2012 school year to 3% last year. Hawaii saw the largest jump, with the exemption rate rising to 6.4%, nearly double the year before. One apparent paradox in the report: The national vaccination rate held steady even as exemptions increased.

Persons: kindergarteners, it’s, hasn’t, ”, Sean O’Leary, —, O’Leary, “, Shannon Stokley Organizations: Centers for Disease Control, Prevention, University of Colorado, CDC, West, American Academy of Pediatrics, Health, Associated Press Health, Science Department, Howard Hughes Medical Institute’s Science, Educational Media Group, AP Locations: COVID, Idaho, New York, Hawaii, Connecticut, Maine, U.S

After two years of receiving federal subsidies, 220,000 child care programs across the country were cut off from funding Saturday. The largest investment in child care in U.S. history, the monthly payments ranged from hundreds to tens of thousands of dollars, and stabilized the industry during the COVID-19 pandemic. She said taxpayers will end up paying more in the long run to welfare programs if the government doesn't make investments now in child care. There are just two child care centers in the entire county, and the community can't afford to lose either one, she said. If West Virginia wants to grow its economy, child care is part the infrastructure necessary for that to happen, Tiffany Gale said.

Persons: WILLIAMSON, W.Va, — Kaitlyn Adkins, wouldn’t, ” Adkins, Adkins, Williamson, she's, ”, Jackie Branch, didn't, Goldie Huff, They’ve, Branch, Melissa Colagrosso, “, Tiffany Gale, she’s, Gale, Gale doesn’t, she'll, —, “ They’re Organizations: Century Foundation, Washington , D.C, D.C, Democratic, Child Care, American, U.S . Bureau of Labor, Children’s, West Virginia’s Department of Health, Human Resources, — Locations: West Virginia, Washington ,, — Arkansas, Montana , Utah, Virginia, Washington, Williamson , West Virginia, Mingo County, U.S, Williamson, Fayetteville , West Virginia, West Virginia's

Bangkok, Thailand CNN —A teen suspected of shooting two people dead at an upscale shopping mall in Thailand has been charged with six counts including premeditated murder, police told CNN Wednesday. The 14-year-old boy was arrested on Tuesday shortly after the shooting rampage at the busy Siam Paragon mall in central Bangkok’s bustling commercial and tourist district. Thai Police General Torsak Sukvimol told reporters Tuesday the suspect “surrendered himself” after the shooting and still had ammunition when he was apprehended. Staff repair the glass doors of a furniture store where a 14-year-old suspect was apprehended after a shooting rampage in Bangkok. And the shooting of Chinese victims in downtown Bangkok may make some tourists think twice about traveling to Thailand.

Persons: Thailand CNN —, Kanchana Patarachoke, General Nakarin Sukhonthawit, ” Nakarin, Nakarin, Lauren DeCicca, ”, Torsak Sukvimol, “, Thanamorn Noonart, Thanamorn, ” Thanamorn, Bangkok’s Pathum, “ it’s, Jack Taylor, Torsak, Lillian Suwanrumpha, Thailand ”, Srettha Thavisin, ” Srettha, Srettha Organizations: Thailand CNN, CNN, Siam Paragon, Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Police, ” Police, Thai Police, Rajavithi Hospital, Video, Thai, Getty, Staff, Tourism Authority of, Survey, SAS, Institute for Health Metrics, University of Washington’s Locations: Bangkok, Thailand, Siam, Myanmar, Laos, Pathum Wan, Nakhon Ratchasima, Bangkok’s, Bangkok’s Pathum Wan, Thai, AFP, China, Southeast Asia, Tourism Authority of Thailand, Cambodia, Weibo, Switzerland, Philippines, Nong Bua Lamphu

☆ Bangkok shooting: Attack in Thailand shopping mall kills at least one person
▼ + stars: | 2023-10-03 | by ( Kocha Olarn | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +3 min

Bangkok, Thailand CNN —Police in Thailand arrested a 14-year-old boy, after a shooting at a luxury shopping mall in the capital Bangkok on Tuesday left at least one person and five others injured, the Metropolitan Police Bureau said. ET) at the Siam Paragon Mall in Bangkok, Police Colonel Noppadol Thiammekha, Pathum Wan Police Chief told CNN on Tuesday. Bangkok Emergency Center revised an earlier death toll, which stated that three people were killed in the shooting. Siam Paragon shopping mall is seen empty, after people were evacuated from the scene of the shooting. “We saw all the people run, run, run, we didn’t understand what was happening,” Yahav said.

Persons: Noppadol Thiammekha, Pathum, Yutthana Setthanan, Yutthana, Lillian Suwanrumpha, Jack Taylor, Shir Yahav, “, ” Yahav, ” Susinee, Srettha Thavisin Organizations: Thailand CNN — Police, Metropolitan Police Bureau, Local, Thailand’s, Investigation Bureau, Siam Paragon, Pathum Wan Police, CNN, Bangkok Emergency, Bangkok Emergency Center, Getty, People, Reuters, Survey, SAS, Institute for Health Metrics, University of Washington’s, Twitter Locations: Bangkok, Thailand, Siam, Chinese, AFP, Thai, Switzerland, Philippines, Southeast Asia, Nong Bua Lamphu

☆ Why the end of federal child care funding matters — whether or not you have young kids
▼ + stars: | 2023-09-28 | by ( Erik Ortiz | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +7 min

"It's going to be a child care apocalypse," she said. "If someone came to me today and said they wanted to open up a child care center, I'd say, 'Don't do it.' That amounts to about 3.2 million children losing child care. In June, the GOP-controlled Legislature in Wisconsin voted to end its Child Care Counts subsidy program, with funding to help child care providers expected to be exhausted by February. On the federal level, Democratic members of Congress have introduced bills this year to expand federal subsidies for child care providers and create federally funded, but locally run, child care centers.

Persons: Rossignol, shouldering, Julie Kashen, Kashen, Cathy Creighton, Creighton, Jade Lebel, Lebel, It's, Kat Brockschmidt, Rawasia Organizations: The Century Foundation, GOP, Republican, Democratic, Cornell University's School of Industrial and Labor Relations Buffalo Co, Employers Locations: Maine, Alaska , California, Minnesota, New York, Wisconsin, U.S, Montgomery County , Maryland

WASHINGTON (AP) — Democrats in Congress are pushing for a new round of money to keep the nation’s child care industry afloat, saying thousands of programs are at risk of closing when federal pandemic relief runs out this month. Without a new lifeline, child care programs serving millions of families could close or increase prices. A June report from The Century Foundation found that without additional money, about 70,000 child care programs would probably have to shut down after this month. The average annual price for U.S. child care in 2022 was $10,800 per child, according to Child Care Aware of America, a nonprofit advocacy group. President Joe Biden has called for expanded child care support, but his biggest proposal stalled amid a polarized Congress and Democratic infighting.

Persons: ”, Sen, Patty Murray, Bernie Sanders of, Catherine Clark of, Cynthia Davis, Davis, “, Joe Biden, Clark Organizations: WASHINGTON, —, American, Republican, Bernie Sanders of Vermont, The Century Foundation, D.C, Department of Health, Human Services, Century Foundation, Democratic, Democratic holdouts, Congress, Associated Press, Foundation, AP Locations: Catherine Clark of Massachusetts, . Arkansas , Montana , Utah, Virginia, West Virginia, Washington, Washington ,, America

☆ Majority of parents spend 20% or more of household income on child care, report finds
▼ + stars: | 2023-08-07 | by ( Ana Teresa Solá | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +2 min

Jenny Goff, right, reaches out to a child at Central Park Child Care Center in Vancouver, Washington. Ariane Kunze | The Columbian via APWhy child care costs are so highRising fees at child care centers are contributing to the growing costs of child care, as well as inflation and changes in parents' work status, according to Care.com. Many day care centers shuttered during the pandemic, leaving the few that stayed open with limited slots available. The new child fee is usually used to fund teachers' education, books and materials for the classes, she added. Financial advisors say there are several other ways parents can plan ahead to help cover child care costs.

Persons: Jenny Goff, Ariane Kunze, Sophia Bera Daigle, Daigle, Carolyn McClanahan, McClanahan, Care.com Organizations: Central, Child Care Center, AP, CNBC FA Council, Planning Partners, CNBC FA Locations: Vancouver , Washington, Jacksonville , Florida

☆ Pittsburgh's major airport is opening a child care center in a terminal to retain airport employees
▼ + stars: | 2023-07-30 | by ( Katie Balevic | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +2 min

Airports are providing child care for airport employees to keep them in the business. As airports try to retain employees, they've turned to providing child care for workers to entice them to stay in the business. The child care center, which is due to open in August, has 61 spaces available, NBC reported. It's available to the 6,000 employees at the airport, though the 475 airport authority employees will get first dibs, the outlet reported. Denver International Airport and Cincinnati/Northern Kentucky International Airport are considering following suit, the outlet reported.

Persons: they've, we'll, Thomas Romig Organizations: NBC News, Pittsburgh International, NBC, International, Reuters, Denver International Airport, Northern, Northern Kentucky International Locations: Pittsburgh's, California, Arizona, Cincinnati, Northern Kentucky

☆ Day care, margarine, car repairs: Here’s what’s costing Americans the most
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-11 | by ( Elisabeth Buchwald | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +2 min

New York CNN —Annual inflation unexpectedly declined to 4.9% last month, according to the April Consumer Price Index report, released Wednesday. Here are some of the notable price hikes Americans are confronting:MargarineCosting almost 24% more than last year, margarine earned the top prize for the biggest annual increase last month. The CarMD report found that the increase in repair costs isn’t coming from labor costs, which were down slightly last year. Day care and preschoolThe cost of sending your child to day care or preschool is up 7% compared to last year, the largest annual increase recorded, according to April’s CPI. Child care centers are seeing increased demand after more workers are being called back to work in person.

☆ Dorothy Pitman Hughes, pioneering feminist who co-founded Ms. Magazine, dies at 84
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-11 | by ( The Associated Press | ) www.nbcnews.com time to read: +1 min

Dorothy Pitman Hughes, a pioneering Black feminist, child welfare advocate and activist who co-founded Ms. Magazine with Gloria Steinem, formed a powerful speaking partnership with her and appeared with her in one of the most iconic photos of the feminist movement, has died. Gloria Steinem, left, and Dorothy Pitman Hughes attend the Ms. Foundation for Women Gloria Awards in New York in 2014. Hughes, a pioneering voice in child care, organized the first shelter for battered women in New York City and co-founded the New York City Agency for Child Development. She met Steinem in 1968, according to a biography on the Ms. Magazine website, when Steinem, then a journalist, was writing a story for New York Magazine about Pitman Hughes’ child care center. Hughes was born Dorothy Jean Ridley on Oct. 2, 1938, in Lumpkin, Georgia, her family wrote in an obituary posted by the funeral home.

☆ A GOP-backed Arizona college board candidate, who once said he wanted to protect children from 'the progressive left,' was charged for masturbating near a preschool, according to a police report
▼ + stars: | 2022-10-20 | by ( Lloyd Lee | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +4 min

When confronted by the officer, Kaufman said "I'm sorry. On Tuesday, Kaufman told a KTVK local news outlet in a statement that he would be suspending his campaign. In a now-deleted post, according to HuffPost, Kaufman wrote about his desire to keep "our children protected [from] the progressive left." Kaufman's campaign Facebook page also previously showed that he was supported by local Republican groups, including the Republican Liberty Caucus of Arizona. Another organization, The Republican Party of Arizona, told local news station KNXV in a statement: "Every American citizen has the right to fair treatment throughout the judicial system.

☆ Former day care workers at Air Force base accused of spraying children in the face with cleaning liquid
▼ + stars: | 2022-10-13 | by ( Julianne Mcshane | ) www.nbcnews.com time to read: +2 min

A federal grand jury handed down a 30-count indictment alleging that former Robins Air Force Base day care employees Zhanay Kiana Flynn, 27, and Antanesha Mone Fritz, 29, abused children in their care in January and February 2021. The indictment charged Flynn, Fritz and former day care director Latona Mae Lambert, 51, with one count each of failing to report suspected child abuse. “Properly caring for our Airmen and their families is of utmost importance," a spokesperson for Robins Air Force Base said in a statement. We are fully supporting the ongoing investigation and reviewing processes to ensure the appropriate measures are in place to safeguard our children.”An investigation into the allegations is ongoing by the U.S. Air Force Office of Special Investigations and Air Force Security Forces, with support from the FBI, according to the Justice Department. According to the Department of Defense, child care centers on military bases are randomly inspected at least four times a year and receive accreditation from the National Association for the Education of Young Children or a similar body.

Bangkok, Thailand CNN —Thailand recoiled in horror Thursday after at least 36 people were killed, at least 24 of them children, in a massacre at a child care center in northeastern Thailand believed to be the country’s deadliest incident of its kind. Among the dozens of victims are Panya’s wife and stepson, whom investigators say he killed before taking his own life. “He also used a knife to stab both children and staff at the center,” Paisan said. Police General Damrongsak Kittiprapas said that the attacker “mainly used a knife” to kill the children. TPBS/ReutersMedics arrive at the child care center on Thursday, where more than 30 people, mainly children, were killed.

☆ Marriott coaxing workers back to office with $600 million building
▼ + stars: | 2022-09-20 | by ( David Shepardson | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

Signage is seen at the Marriott Marquis hotel in Manhattan, New York City, U.S., March 23, 2022. REUTERS/Andrew Kelly/File PhotoBETHESDA, Maryland Sept 19 (Reuters) - Marriott International Inc (MAR.O) believes its new $600 million high-rise headquarters will entice workers to return after more than two years mostly working at home. Register now for FREE unlimited access to Reuters.com RegisterDuring construction, Marriott turned 20% of fixed workstations into "collaboration spaces." Capuano said employees are not required to be in the office but Marriott is "encouraging folks to be here several days a week -- and not just for meetings." Register now for FREE unlimited access to Reuters.com RegisterReporting by David Shepardson; Editing by Cynthia OstermanOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

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