Seward Early Childhood Care and Education Town Hall

Thank you to all who attended the recent Town Hall on Early Childhood Care and Education! It was great to see families, providers, and businesses represented in the audience.

Some barriers that were identified during the discussion regarding Early Childhood Care were:

~ Inconsistent process for providers to become licensed

~ Flexibility in hours of care during provider's operating hours

~ Lack of licensed providers for families who utilize Child Care Assistance

~ Ability for providers to accommodate families with multiple children

Some barriers that were identified regarding quality of life for families in Seward were:

~ Affordable housing

~ Timing of public activities

Items discussed to work towards possible solutions were:

~ Business Co-op Child Care/Preschool

~Future of the Qutekcak Native Tribe Big Bay Beginnings' building

~Advocating at the State level for affordable quality Child Care

Thank you to all who filled out the Family Surveys or provided citizen comments at the event. We will be collecting Family Surveys until February 10th. If you know of a parent or guardian of children 5 and under, please share our contact information so that we can provide them with a survey.

Casie Warner, Bloom Director

907-491-0544 (cell)

bloom.sewardak@gmail.com

or

Christiana Smith, Program Coordinator

907-362-4949

spcprogramcoordinator@gmail.com

We will be presenting the data at a future event in February where we will discuss and work towards achievable solutions, so stay tuned.