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Montana’s Congressional Delegation Meetings Focus on
Child Care & Family Support
During the congressional recess in August, Zero to Five Montana helped facilitate a meeting between House Rep. Troy Downing and Helena child care owner Christine Miller-Fitzpatrick and providers at Larch Early Childhood Care.
Miller-Fitzpatrick shared about the importance of child care for working families as well as the critical role of the child care workforce. Her perspective as a child care business owner who has opened two new sites within the last three years and still continues to experience a high demand (especially for infant and toddlers) was important to share with Rep. Troy Downing ahead of his time back in Washington, D.C., where he will be making federal budget decisions.
Additionally, Zero to Five Montana met with Sen. Tim Sheehy’s staff about the importance of early care and education and discussed the impact of federal programs on Montana families.
Legislative Interim Update
When the Montana Legislature is not in session, committees and councils are still hard at work in the state capitol building. Zero to Five Montana is tracking interim committee meetings and staying engaged on topics touching early childhood and family well-being. Here are some highlights:
Children, Families, Health & Human Services Interim Committee
- The committee’s draft workplan includes the study of youth and family behavioral health prevention.
- DPHHS held two public comment periods on their 1115 Medicaid waiver, which is requesting approval to make changes to Montana’s Medicaid program (more information).
Early Literacy & Numeracy Advisory Council (Montana Board of Public Education)
- The Montana Board of Public Education reauthorized the Early Literacy & Numeracy Advisory Council in response to the passage of HB 338, which incorporates math and numeracy in early targeted interventions. The council has been working to include new requirements into the existing early targeted intervention statutes in 20-7-Part 18, MCA.
- More information about the council.
School Funding Interim Commission
- The School Funding Interim Commission meets every 10 years to study and reassess Montana’s public school funding system as well as recommend changes to deliver a basic system of free, quality public elementary and secondary schools.
- The commission finalized its workplan (workplan schedule), which includes three in person and one virtual meeting this fall to gather community input on school funding. (See below)
State Tribal Relations Committee
- The committee reviewed the new Indian Education for All (IEFA) legislation implementation which includes increased professional development and school accountability measures.
- The committee also began discussions on future study topics, including prenatal substance exposure and the Montana Indian Child Welfare Act.
- The committee draft workplan includes the Indian Language Preservation Program as a topic.
Education Interim Committee
Our team encouraged the committee to study early learning in Montana, particularly with the new Early Literacy Intervention Programming being offered throughout the state, to better understand the overall landscape and opportunities for improvement. This remains a critical area we’ll continue to elevate.
Economic Affairs Interim Committee
Our team encouraged the committee to consider studying family economic security policies, such as a state child tax credit. This remains an important policy area we’ll continue to elevate.
Looking Ahead
Education Interim Committee: Sept. 9 - The committee will review Early Literacy Targeted Interventions data from 2024–25 (showing strong student gains across programs) and discuss Indian Education for All (IEFA) implementation, school facility uses by communities, and special education rulemaking.
Dolly Parton's Early Literacy Program Grows in Montana
As an early-literacy champion, Zero to Five Montana was honored to join Governor Greg Gianforte and First Lady Susan Gianforte at the statewide celebration of Dolly Parton’s Imagination Library, held Aug. 27 in Bozeman.
Dolly Parton’s Imagination Library provides free high-quality and age-appropriate books to all children under age five. The books are customized with the child’s name and mailed directly to their home.
Imagination Library of Montana is an initiative of the Treasure State Foundation, founded by First Lady Susan Gianforte to promote educational initiatives in Montana. Nearly 27,500 Montana children are enrolled and more than 590,000 books have been mailed since the program’s statewide expansion two years ago.
All Montana children under five can enroll in Dolly Parton’s Imagination Library! Learn more at https://www.montanaimaginationlibrary.org/enroll
Have you joined the Montana Early Childhood Network yet?
The Montana Early Childhood Network is a diverse and unique group of Montanans interested in building a robust and supported early childhood system in Montana. Learn more and sign up at zerotofive.org/home/montana-early-childhood-network
Montana Early Childhood Account Board Accepting Applications &
DPHHS Hiring Early Childhood Account Specialist
Montana Department of Public Health & Human Services is hiring an Early Childhood Account Specialist, a role funded through the passage of HB 924 that established the Montana Early Childhood Account. They are looking for someone with strong facilitation, research, data collection/analysis, and report writing skills. Knowledge of the early childhood system is also a plus.
▶️ LEARN MORE & APPLY
Applications open for the governor-appointed board that will recommend funding priorities for the Montana Early Childhood Account established by HB 924. If you are interested in helping to inform funding decisions for early chilhdood services, consider applying! There are several roles, so check out the link below to learn more.
▶️ LEARN MORE & APPLY
Call for Participants for PEAK for Centers
Montana Child Care Business Connect is seeking additional centers to participate in our next cohort of PEAK for Centers, learning and implementing business practice improvements from the Program Administration Scale Third Edition (PAS-3).
For more information about PEAK cohorts contact Jason at JasonN@ZerotoFive.org or enroll here.
Shared Services
SHARED SERVICES SPOTLIGHT
Introducing Parachute – a child care management system (CCMS) offering discounts to Montana family child care providers and centers!
Join Montana Child Care Business Connect's Child Care Business Advisor Kendra Edlin in October for a training on this CCMS! Training dates & registration coming soon! Watch our events page for more info.
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TELEHEALTH
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 enroll for $12 per employee per month, email us at sharedservices@zerotofive.org
VENDOR DISCOUNTS
Montana Child Care Business Connect Shared Services Vendor Discounts help providers find what they need at a better rate. We have partnered for discounts with Constructive Playthings, Gee Whiz Education, Kaplan, Kaymbu, School Services of Montana, Lakeshore, Kodo, and Food & Supply Source. See our website for more information!
ONLINE TRAININGS
Tiny Trainings Webinars
Find recordings of our previous Tiny Training webinars on the MCCBC YouTube channel, or visit childcarebusinessconnect.com.
Monytana Child Care Business Connect 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.)
PARTNER EVENTS
(click the images for more info!)
IN THE NEWS
- MT early childhood education preps for potential federal funding shifts (Public News Service)
- Why the US must revamp its child care system: 'People are Hungry for More' (zero2eight)
- New Big Sky child care provider offers 24 spots starting September (Explore Big Sky)
This project is funded in whole or in part under a contract with the Montana Department of Public Health and Human Services. The statements herein do not necessarily reflect the opinion of the department.
