The need for services Anyone who has a toddler of their own, or has spent any amount of time around a 2-year-old, knows that these tiny tots can be quite a handful! 11:1 The state-approved child-to-teacher ratio for 2-year-olds in Texas child care centers In Texas, the state approved child-to-teacher ratio for this age group in child care centers is 11:1. Can you imagine? Up to twenty-two energetic children being cared for by only two sets of hands! Now, picture the same scenario where many of the children struggle academically or have behavior challenges and there are a serious lack of resources available to their instructors. United Way for Greater Austin’s Success By 6 program works with 12 local child care centers that serve low-income children to help them meet and keep high-quality standards by providing an array of support services that positively impact students and teachers. Success this year This past year, more than 900 children and 180+ teachers benefited from UWATX’s Center Project, which leverages in-kind support to provide resources, teacher training and professional development, social-emotional learning and director mentoring. 900 children served 180+ teachers impacted 1,500 hours of skilled substitute care Through the substitute pool, UWATX substitutes provided more than 1,500 hours of care in these centers. Success By 6 knows that just because a classroom isn’t lead by the usual instructor, we cannot afford to let a day’s worth of valuable learning go to waste! After assessing more than 250 children, the Center Project results from […]
Read MoreChild care centers struggle with funding, wages
Today, we’re proud to release the results of the 2014 Early Care and Education Survey – a look at trends across the early care field in our community and is the only one of it’s kind in Central Texas. This year’s data show more of the same positive trends we saw in 2012, but also similar challenges. Teacher education varies widely depending on where you live Our data indicates that teacher education levels in early childhood education centers vary greatly between the regions of Travis County. In Central and West Austin, the percentage of teachers with at least a bachelor’s degree is nearly double the percentage than in other areas: Additionally, part-time centers reported that 58 percent of their teachers have a bachelor’s degree in early childhood development—or related field—versus only 26 percent in full-time, nonprofit centers and 15 percent in full-time, for-profit centers. The survey also found teacher retention has decreased over the past two years and turnover rates have increased significantly for both full-time and part-time centers. Parent fees make up the bulk of funding for child care centers – including in low-income areas The survey found that centers, across nearly all regions in Travis County, depend on parent fees for the largest portion of their income. Centers located in East and South Austin use approximately equal percentages from parent fees and public subsidies. This may be part of the reason why the cost of child care is so high – approximately the same as the cost of tuition […]
Read MoreCommunity Spotlight: Dove Springs
A Neighborhood in Need The Wynn Family lives in Dove Springs, an Austin neighborhood that is southeast of the intersections of I-35 and Ben White, near the airport. The Dove Springs community has a unique set of needs and relies heavily on community services. In fact, one out of every five individuals in Dove Springs uses SNAP to meet their food needs. 20% of Dove Springs relies on SNAP for food needs Anisha and David Wynn are the proud parents of four children, Kayla (13,) D’Maree (8,) D’Maya (5) and De’Ana (3.) To support their family, Anisha and David both work full-time for The City of Austin, each logging as many as 60-hours-per-week. However, making ends meet can still be a challenge. In Austin, a family of four has to make an average of fifty thousand dollars per year just to break even. With the expenses of groceries, rent, child care, car insurance and gas, this family of five has an even tighter budget and there’s rarely enough at the end of the month to save. UWATX Connects Families to Resources Anisha and David worry about what a lack of fiscal security could mean for them in the long run, and what they’ll do if an emergency occurs. Many Austin families, much like the Wynns, are only a few unexpected expenses away from falling behind on their bills. Should a car break down or a child become injured, they may be unable to recover financially. Fortunately, they both work at companies where […]
Read MoreA place for families: the Dove Springs community
As Austin grows, many neighborhoods are becoming more predominantly headed by single professionals or other household structures – but Dove Springs remains a place for families. Unfortunately, our friends and neighbors struggle with unemployment and health care challenges, and are still recovering from last year’s flooding. Dove Springs is a younger community with many families and a growing Hispanic/Latino population The Dove Springs community has very strong Hispanic and Latino roots. The neighborhood has largely been settled by the Hispanic and Latino population for more than a decade and currently 4 out of 5 residents claim that ethnicity. Unlike other neighborhoods that have more seniors, students or young professionals without children, Dove Springs is full of families – which are define by the US census as a household with two or more people related by birth, marriage or adoption. A lower percentage of family households in Dove Springs are married-couple families (59 percent vs. 68 percent in Austin overall) and a higher percentage are headed by single fathers (13 percent vs. 9 percent) or single mothers (29 percent vs. 22 percent), similar to the St. John’s and Manor communities. People who live in Dove Springs are also typically younger than other City of Austin residents with a full third of residents being under the age of 18. Many Dove Springs residents are struggling with unemployment Over the last couple of years, the unemployment rate for Dove Springs has been higher than the unemployment rate in the City of Austin: Dove Springs residents […]
Read MoreMaking Ends Meet in Manor
Meet the Maldonado Family – they live in the Manor area in Austin, Far East on 290. Benito, Sr. and Leonor are parents to Benito, Jr. (15,) Brenda (12) and Blue Emmy (1 mo.) Like the Salazar Family, they face a unique set of economic challenges and rely on their community for support. Benito, Sr. works two jobs to make ends meet for the family, but it can still be a struggle to manage everyday expenses in addition to the cost of housing and utilities. It takes about fifty thousand dollars for just a family of four to break even in Austin, so the Maldonados rarely have enough money at the end of the month after covering their rent, food, childcare, car insurance, bills and more. The Maldonados aren’t alone – half of all people in the Manor neighborhood spend 1/3 or more of their income on housing. And as temperatures rise during the blistering Texas summer, it can be tricky to keep up with high utility bills. Luckily, the Maldonado family is able to utilize our Navigation Center, where dialing 2-1-1 will connect them to local resources that can help them pay these high bills so that their utilities are not disconnected. $50K For a family of four to break even in Austin 50% Renters in Manor who spend 1/3 or more of income on housing The Maldonados have considered using payday loans when they’re behind on bills, but this can cost them $1,000’s in annual fees to predatory […]
Read MoreWLC Spotlight: Daniela Knight
With Parents’ Day 2014 just around the corner, it is UWATX’s pleasure to introduce Daniela Knight, mother of two, Registered Dietician, and recent inductee and executive committee member of Women’s Leadership Council (WLC). Daniela served as a Board Member of Austin NCL in addition to owning Austin Nutritional Education where she provided her expertise on diabetes control, weight loss and healthy eating habits. She also impacted the community through her outstanding work as a Senior Health Educator with The Austin Diagnostic Clinic and as a Clinical Dietician with the Round Rock Hospital. Daniela is excited to be a part of WLC, the most powerful, female-driven philanthropic force for improving early childhood education in Central Texas. For Daniela, being part of WLC is a chance to “get more invested in the community and connect with a diverse group of successful women” Based on her personal experience as a parent, Daniela has seen first-hand how education and stimulation at a young age can positively impact a child’s success later in life. She views her involvement with WLC as a chance to become even more invested in the community and connect with a diverse group of successful women as powerful force for change. In the past, Daniela and her family were able to contribute to the community through activities with Girl Scouts, Booster Clubs and National Charity League. As her youngest child prepares to graduate from high school, Daniela is exploring new ways of giving back through WLC. Daniela hopes to utilize her public speaking […]
Read MoreIt takes a lot to thrive as a working family
This is the Salazar family – they live in the St. John’s neighborhood in Austin, near the intersection of I-35 and 183. Like many Austin families, they juggle many challenges – tight budgets, long hours and trying to provide the best for their family – so the Salazars need support from their community. Claudia, the mother, decided to stay at home to care for their children and avoid the high costs of child care while her husband provides for the family by fixing cars. Between transportation to get to work on time, food, bills and rent – there’s barely enough left at the end of each paycheck. During the summer especially, as the temperatures rise, so do water and electric bills – so a time that most families enjoy together is a time of stress in the Salazar home as their finances get even tighter. The Salazars have even considered taking out payday loans just to get along – but these can cost thousands in fees and leave them with even more challenges. But the Salazars can turn to United Way to access safer banking options so they can avoid payday lenders – or call our Navigation Center to connect to summer food programs. In a couple of years, their daughter Kylie will enter middle school where many students begin to fall behind. The Salazar’s know that for Kylie to stay on the path to graduation, she’ll need support from both of them, she’ll need to not worry about food or how she’ll get […]
Read MoreLatest news: Austin American-Statesman view on pre-K
On Monday, the Austin American-Statesman featured our work in early childhood education and the unique challenges for our young children in Austin. The article highlighted our School Readiness Action Plan – an ambitious three-year plan to increase the percent of children who enter kindergarten ready for school to 70 percent by 2015. As a follow up, today the Austin American-Statesman Editorial Board published their view on early childhood education, saying “…pre-K programs [are] a necessary asset for Texas children.” You can read the full article below: Better pre-K means better future Texans By AAS Editoral Board Wednesday, July 9 Pre-kindergarten is vital for the success of any child’s education. Aside from getting students ready for kindergarten, pre-K reduces use of special education services, lowers grade retention and improves high school graduation rates. Studies also have shown that children who attend high-quality pre-K programs have higher earnings as adults and are less likely to be dependent on welfare.Yet in Travis County, about half the area’s youngest students aren’t ready to enter kindergarten despite many efforts by local school districts, nonprofits and foundations, the American-Statesman’s Julie Chang reported Monday. An influx of new students every year, poverty and language barriers complicate the mission. With more academics being presented in kindergarten, children need a pre-academic foundation before entering that grade. In pre-K, kids not only learn new words, numbers and problem-solving skills, but they also learn social skills such as how to pay attention in class and interact with other students. Despite the difficulties, […]
Read MoreTwo years in, we’re seeing results for young children
A kindergarten-ready child:• Interacts positively with children and adults• Is curious and loves learning new things• Can focus and pay attention to adults, other children, a book or task• Is generally happy and can manage his or her emotions• Has age-appropriate language, thinking, and physical skills Today, we are releasing the Year 2 Update of the School Readiness Action Plan – a report to the community highlighting the changes we’ve made in the landscape of early childhood services over the past two years. In 2012, our team in the Success By 6 program at UWATX led a strong coalition of early childhood advocates, experts, parents, and business leaders to work collaboratively to transform the early childhood system in Travis County and together, we created and published the 2012-15 School Readiness Action Plan. The plan catalyzed a movement – with multiple work groups, policy advocates, and service providers championing improvements in services for young children and their families. We are proud to present our second annual progress report to the community so that individuals can join our celebration of successes and help us overcome the barriers that continue to impede our work. What we’ve done so far: 1. Provided new tools for parents to get informed To help parents get relevant information about their babies and toddlers, we promoted low-cost electronic messaging systems, like Text4baby and ReadyRosie that send regular messages to parents calibrated to the age of their child. As a result of our efforts, enrollment in Text4baby has increased by […]
Read MoreExciting: we’ve helped 1,500+ new moms get informed about child development!
Through our Success By 6 program, UWATX makes sure every child is ready for kindergarten. To realize that ambitious goal, we’re both working to improve child care services and also through parent education. Recently, we have focused increasingly on using leading-edge strategies to spread information about early childhood development to parents in the Austin community. Not only do we foster our own innovative programs like Play To Learn, which fosters school readiness at home, but by partnering with other pioneering services to make sure our community is taking advantage of everything that’s out there. One of these services is Text4baby. “Text4baby helped show me how to interact with my baby – playing with baby, reading with baby, making baby laugh. When I started seeing my baby do the things that I was told I should be seeing her do I felt relieved and happy! I really got so much out of the service.” –April R. Austin mother and text4baby user Text4baby reaches parents as early as possible—during pregnancy. It’s a free text messaging service that provides timed and relevant information for pregnant women and new mothers on prenatal care, labor and delivery, breastfeeding, vaccination, immunization, and more. Critical brain development occurs during a child’s first few years of life—through these early interventions, we have an even better chance of making a more positive and profound impact on these children’s lives. Since our partnership began in 2012, we have seen a 78% enrollment increase for text4baby in Travis County – that means 1,578 moms have signed up for […]
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