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Mark your calendar!
Upcoming Legislative Committees
- March 5: Economic Affairs Interim Committee - child care is on the agenda! (livestream)
- March 11: Education Interim Committee (livestream)
- March 12 & 13: Children, Families, Health & Human Services Interim Committee (3/12 livestream & 3/13 livestream)
- March 13: Interim Budget Committee Section E-Education (livestream)
- March 18: Board of Public Education (livestream)
Zero to Five Montana & Upcoming Partner Events
- Montana Child Care Business Connect Tiny Trainings (see below for more info!)
- First Children's Finance Trainings (more info below!)
- March 6 - 7: Montana Chamber Blazing Trails: Montana Women in Business Summit
- March 13-14: FCCLA State Leadership Conference
- April 5 -7: UM Early Childhood Education Summit
- April 6-7: Montana Family Child Care Network Family, Group, & FFN 2024 Conference
- April 10-12: MCCBC Business Accelerator Mentorship Cohort 2 Kickoff & Cohort 1 Celebration
- April 24-25: Montana Economic Developers Association Conference
- Aug. 7-8: Montana Child Care Business Connect Annual Summit in Helena
You can help encourage government officials to work together to move the child care rules package forward by
sending a quick message to Gov. Gianforte.
Interested in providing or accessing
new early literacy services next year?
With the passage of HB 352 last year, school districts across the state are preparing to offer classroom-based early literacy services to 4 year-olds, a summer “jumpstart” program, and/or a home-based early literacy service.
Learn more by:
- Checking out resources on this page: Early Literacy | Zero to Five
- Reaching out to your school district to learn if they’ll be offering early literacy supports
- Attending the UM Early Childhood Summit
Welcome, Callie & Sarah!
We are SO excited to introduce you to our newest Zero to Five Montana team members:
- Callie Parr, Early Childhood Tribal Coordinator
- Sarah Froehlke, Early Childhood Policy Analyst
Callie Parr
Callie found her passion for early childhood after becoming a mother herself and recognizing the true impact access to early learning opportunities, prevention through early intervention, and other supportive programs can have on young children and families. Her family comes from the Little Shell Tribe and looks forward to building strong relationships with communities, parents, and leaders throughout the state of Montana and advocate for all children and families.
Sarah Froehlke
After graduating from the University of Notre Dame with a degree in political science, Sarah served as an AmeriCorps member in Spokane at the Childbirth and Parenting Assistance Program. Since then, her interest in early childhood led her to pursue a master’s degree in International Relations and Early Childhood Development from the Fletcher School at Tufts University.
Sarah’s experience ranges from working on national security policy legislation in Washington, D.C., to designing education programs in Kigali, Rwanda, to providing 1-1 support for children with Autism in Centennial, Colorado.
Montana employers:
Reach Higher Montana needs your help!
Join Us for a Webinar:
Introducing Our New Cost of Care Modeling Tool
Prenatal to Five Fiscal Strategies will provide a step-by-step walkthrough of our brand new Cost of Care Modeling Tool. This tool has been carefully developed to help child care providers like you gain a deeper understanding of the costs associated with running a child care business, ultimately enabling you to make informed decisions and improve your financial sustainability.
Date: March 13, 2024
Time: 1:30- 2:30 p.m.
By participating in this webinar, you will:
Learn how to effectively utilize the Cost of Care Modeling Tool to assess your business expenses and better understand your financial position.
Explore the various components that make up the cost of child care, including staffing, supplies, utilities, and more.
Engage in an interactive Q&A session with our team, allowing you to seek clarification and gain additional insights.
Upon registration, you will receive a confirmation email with further details, including the webinar access link. A recording will be available for those who cannot join us live; however, ECP credit will only be available to those joining the live webinar
Join Our Team!
We are seeking a Workforce Business Consultant to work in collaboration with our Montana Child Care Business Connect program.
The Workforce Business Consultant must have a strong background in recruitment and retention strategies in the child care industry, as well as exceptional project management skills. The ideal candidate will possess a deep understanding of the child care business landscape, coupled with the ability to implement and execute workforce solutions that drive efficiency and enhance overall organizational performance.
APPLY NOW! | Business Accelerator Mentorship Program
Montana Child Care Business Connect is launching a program to support the growth of licensed/registered child care in Montana. This hybrid mentorship-business accelerator targets new licensed/registered child care operations across the state, providing a 6-month, intensive framework to help business owners start their child care business. The program is free, thanks to a generous grant from Montana DPHHS, and includes business resources, ECP-compliant training, networking and support, and mini-grants to support your business!
To be eligible to mentor a business, you must have experience in small business start-up and operations (specific licensed/registered child care experience preferred but not required).
To be eligible to be a protégé and receive mentorship, you must be starting a new licensed/registered child care business in Montana (concept to first year of operations).
If you are considering opening a new licensed/registered child care business or if you want to mentor new business owners, consider applying today!
APPLICATIONS CLOSE MARCH 8!
We Want to Highlight Your Business!
We are featuring DPHHS Child Care Innovation and Infrastructure Grant recipients to highlight the amazing work being done across Montana. To feature your project and business, please provide us with the following information:
- Logo: Please send a high-resolution version of your organization's logo.
- High-resolution photos: Share high-quality images that showcase your project's progress.
- Project description: Please send a paragraph or two about where you started, the progress you have made and any notable achievements along the way.
Please send the requested materials and information to Communications and Outreach Coordinator, Heide Borgonovo (heideb@zerotofive.org). If you have any questions or need further assistance, please reach out!
Education & Events
Tiny Trainings Series 4
- March 14 | Performance Management
- March 28 | Conflict Resolution
- April 18 | Using Technology for Efficiency
All webinars will be via zoom from 1:30-2 p.m.
Recorded Webinars Available
Missed a Tiny Training webinar? Subscribe to our YouTube channel to access past recordings. Or, visit childcarebusinessconnect.com.
First Children's Finance Trainings
March 21 | Managing Enrollment in Your Child Care Facility
6:00-8:00 PM
April 23 | Developing Scholarship & Tuition Assistance Programs
6:30-8:30 PM
Annual Survey Gift Card Winner!
We want to thank all of the participants who took our annual survey this year! The Amazon giftcard winner is Christina Carmichael with My Sister's Keeper Childcare LLC in Ronan!
In the News
- Investigating child care (The 19th)
- Child care benefits at work: Employers are increasingly offering resources to parents with daycare needs (CNN)
- Care givers value child care benefits over 401k, national study shows (Forbes)
- New studies illuminate why we should invest in new parents (Early Learning Nation)
