Montana's 69th Legislature Wrap-up Webinar May 13

That is a wrap on the 2025 Legislative Session! Join us May 13 at noon for a 2025 Session Debrief: Early Childhood in Focus, for a comprehensive look back at the session and its impacts for early childhood across the state. From health care to family support services, the Zero to Five Montana team will break down the key policy developments and what they mean for Montana’s youngest children and their families.

Register here!

We are working on a comprehensive post-session report, but in the meantime we wanted to express our sincere gratitude to everyone who participated in the legislative process and share some highlights, including the very exciting passage of:

• HB 924: A state finance law that establishes the Montana Early Childhood Account, a fiscally responsible, forward-looking trust that supports working parents, strengthens our workforce, and lays the foundation for a thriving Montana for generations to come. Did you sign our letter urging Gov. Gianforte to sign this bill into law? There is still time - sign on HERE! 
• HB 628: Revises the early literacy targeted intervention laws to include numeracy to the early literacy intervention program and would allows one “on-target” child for every five eligible children enrolled in a classroom or jumpstart program.
• HB 456: This bill qualifies child care workers with a household income cap that is less than two times the state median income who work in a licensed day-care center, or registered family or group day-care home to receive the Best Beginnings Child Care Scholarship.
• HB 245: Lifts the Medicaid sunset/termination date and continues Medicaid expansion. It also includes some minor changes to the HELP Link program (the Montana Medicaid workforce program) to provide voluntary workforce development assistance.
  HB 168: Ensures 3- and 4- year-olds with disabilities participating and being admitted into school district special education programs are eligible for inclusion in ANB calculations (i.e. school funding). 
• SB 181: Strengthens the state's Indian Education for All (IEFA) Program by increasing tribal consultation, using the expertise of Indian language and culture specialists, and enhances accountability in IEFA implementation.

We know you received a lot of emails during the legislative session, but please know that every advocacy effort makes a difference. Thank you so much for your dedication and commitment to Montana’s children and families over the past few months!

Join our Advocacy List!

Employer Forum for Child Care Solutions June 5

Join us and the Montana Chamber of Commerce for the Employer Forum for Child Care Solutions on June 5 from 10 a.m.-2 p.m. at the Delta Hotel in Helena. This event aims to build awareness of Montana’s growing child care needs and the critical role employers play in helping to address it; educate employers and community organizations on employer-supported child care models; and help create and advance locally driven solutions that increase child care access and support working Montana families. 

Attendees will hear from state and national experts as well as Montana business-owners, and will have the opportunity to engage in table discussions about community public/private child care strategies. The agenda will be posted soon at the link below.

Registration is free and lunch is included but spots are limited!

Montana Prenatal to Five Comprehensive Fiscal Analysis
Quarterly Update May 27

Join Prenatal to Five Fiscal Strategies, Zero to Five Montana, and the Montana Deparetment of Public Health and Human Services for an engaging and informative meeting exploring how Montana’s child care and home visiting cost model tools will support strategic recommendations for the prenatal to five system. As part of the comprehensive fiscal analysis process, this meeting will provide space to:

✅ Learn about initial findings and provide feedback on system recommendations
✅ Understand how to use the true cost of prenatal to five programs and services to support system planning
✅ Identify opportunities for enhancing service delivery, system sustainability, and access

We encourage participation from a diverse range of voices including educators, home visitors, families, program administrators, policymakers, systems leaders, advocates, and community partners. Your input is invaluable in identifying ways to build on our system’s strengths and improve funding strategies to better serve children, families, and providers across Montana.

📅 Date & Time: May 27, 2025 at 10 a.m.
📍 Location: Virtual (link to be provided upon registration.) The meeting will be recorded.

Learn more about the project and view previous webinars at www.prenatal5fiscal.org/montana.

Registration is open!
Montana Early Childhood Tribal Language Summit June 2-4

Tribal teams, educators, Native language and culture advocates, and individuals working in support of Native children and their families, are invited to come together to honor each other's work in teaching and supporting Native languages and cultures.

This year's summit is June 2-4 and will be held on the Montana State University campus.

Participants are eligible for CEUs and OPI Renewal Credits through the Montana Office of Public Instruction for attendance and participation. Register and request accommodations at MSU below.

Questions? Contact Laura Dominguez at LDominguez@fhi360.org

NEW on the MCCBC blog: 

Developing a business project is complicated. There are a million steps in converting an idea into an operating business entity. 

In this blog post, Senior Child Care Business Advisor Jason Nitschke explores why building a relationship early and engaging often with your community’s planning and zoning department is not only necessary, but vital, to ensuring you’ll be able to do what you’re proposing to do in the place you’re proposing to do it.

Shared Services

TELEHEALTH
Paying too much for medication? Have a large outstanding medical bill? AllyHealth's Saving and Transparency tool can help reduce medication cost up to 85% and also help negotiate medical bills over $500 to a reduced amount!

In addition, Telehealth and other services powered by AllyHealth support child care providers in Montana and their employees by offering multiple services to help ease daily tasks, all from the convenience of a smart phone 📲

If you'd like to learn more about AllyHealth and how you can get enrolled for $12/month, email us at sharedservices@zerotofive.org.

Please visit the Shared Services web page for more information and registration.

VENDOR DISCOUNTS
Vendor discounts are now available! See the website for more information.
 

Introduction to the Food Co-op

This training highlights food co-op options for Montana child care providers. Participants can find partners in their local communities to collaborate with to help reduce grocery and supply costs, learn alternative resources for menu planning, tactics to streamline grocery orders and opportunities to network.

This is a two-part training held May 14 and May 21, 1-2 p.m.
Providers must attend both sessions to receive 2 hours of CEU

Tiny Trainings Webinars

Struggling to keep up with the endless demands of running your child care business Time Management Systems for Business Efficiency is a powerful training series designed to help you get organized, reclaim your time, and reduce stress using proven methods like Time Blocking and the GTD Method.

Join us and learn practical, easy-to-implement strategies that will transform the way you work so you can focus on what truly matters!

• May 15: Time Blocking
• May 29: The Pomodoro Technique
• June 12: The 1-3-5 Rule
• June 26: The Getting Things Done Method (GTD)

Attendance in four classes will earn you 2 ECP credit hours.

Find recordings of our previous Tiny Training webinars on the MCCBC YouTube channel, or visit childcarebusinessconnect.com. 

MCCBC is offering courses through www.ChildCareTraining.org!

We’ve partnered with ChildCareTraining.org to offer low-cost courses with ECP credits. Click below to enroll! Courses are $8 per ECP credit and you can take them at your convenience!

(Be sure to go to Montana Courses then “Other Free or Reduced-Fee Courses” from the CCT Course Catalog to find the Zero to Five Montana courses.)

1. Small Business Resiliency
2. Employee Recruitment and Retention
3. How to Create a Business Plan
4. Marketing Community and Family Engagement in your Child Care Program
5. Twelve-Minute Risk Management
6. Parent and Employee Handbooks 
7. Understanding Income & Expenses (NEW!)

IN THE NEWS

• Jennifer Garner lobbies congress to save Head Start (The Today Show)
  • Take action to help save Head Start HERE​​​​​​​
• As federal dollars for Head Start slow, rural parents left without other options (The Hechinger Report)
• House advances legislation to study early literacy (Missoula Current)
• State aid for child care costs misses the mark in some tribal communities (Montana Public Radio)
• Opinion: The time is now for investment in early childhood (Caitlin Jensen - Helena Independent Record)