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Tarrant County uses pandemic funds to give big boost in child care

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Students at Meacham Early Education Campus, which serves up to 61 Head Start and Early Head Start families and 47 child care families each school year.

Alley Noodle Bar

The Tarrant County Commissioners Court made a big investment in child care to the tune of $45 million.

The money comes from the American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA), part of a larger $408 million that Tarrant County received in pandemic recovery funds.

On March 1, the commissioners approved a budget on how to spend that $480 million, and $45 million of it was allocated to child care purposes as follows:

• $2 million to strengthen child care businesses and quality
• $15 million to stabilize quality child care and increase whole child supports
• $28 million to expand infant-toddler access and infrastructure for highest need families

To help figure out how to spend all that money wisely, the county found a nonprofit partner and also helped in the formation of a larger committee.

Their partner is Child Care Associates (CCA), a nonprofit founded in 1968 that provides child care services for low-income families in Tarrant County as well as 19 counties in West Texas.

The committee is the Blue Ribbon Action Committee on Child Care, a collaboration between Tarrant County, the city of Fort Worth, and the city of Arlington.

The Blue Ribbon Action Committee consists of business, philanthropic, and community leaders across North Texas who came together in the thick of COVID-19 to try and reimagine child care in Tarrant County. Members include former U.S. Secretary of Education Margaret Spellings; Elva LeBlanc, acting chancellor of Tarrant County College; and nonprofit representatives from various foundations.

In a statement, Tarrant County Judge Glen Whitley calls it a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity.

“The pandemic both highlighted and intensified the need for affordable, high quality child care for families in Tarrant County,” Whitley says. “I’m thrilled that we’re applying these once-in-a-lifetime funds to expand and strengthen the industry, so that more parents have the support they need, and more children have access to transformational childhood development.”

Strengthen Child Care Businesses
The county’s $2 million investment expands $3 million in funding from Workforce Solutions for Tarrant County. This is in addition to $3.4 billion in historic funding from the Texas Workforce Commission to stabilize child care businesses statewide.

The money supports licensed child care providers and offers business coaching to help ensure they invest the funding for long-term success, says Blue Ribbon Action Committee co-chair Rose Bradshaw.

Stabilize Quality Child Care and Whole Child Supports
The county’s $15 million goes towards quality child care, enhancing child care educator salaries, and expands whole child supports to children in these programs. “Whole child” addresses needs outside the classroom such as healthcare and homelessness.

Expand Infant-Toddler Access and Infrastructure for Highest Need Families
The county and Child Care Associates will seek partnerships with municipalities, ISDs, higher education, and other public entities with a goal of doubling the county’s investment of $28 million and adding 50 new infant-toddler classrooms in high need neighborhoods.

Tarrant County Commissioner Roy C. Brooks says that toddlers and infants are a group that can really use the help.

“I am thrilled that Tarrant County and CCA together can expand Early Head Start services for infants and toddlers in some of our highest need neighborhoods,” Brooks says. “The greatest return on investment in education remains largely untapped – providing high quality early education and care services for infants and toddlers of families who need those services

Child Care Associates is one of the largest child development nonprofits in North Texas and has served more than half a million young children over the past 54 years. Through Head Start, Early Head Start and Child Care Management Services, they deliver early education programs to children and families of disadvantaged means, offsetting the high cost of child care for lower-income working families, and increasing the quality of child care delivered across Tarrant County.

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This week’s hot headlines

Photo courtesy of The Fitzgerald

Oysters from The Fitzgerald.

Editor’s note: A lot happened this week, so here’s your chance to get caught up. Read on for the week’s most popular headlines.

1. The 10 most delectable dining headlines Fort Worth devoured in 2022. Looking back at our most-read dining stories of 2022, we see Fort Worth’s adoration of a certain Texas grocery store that’s finally expanding into Tarrant County – it claimed two spots in our top 10. Readers also gobbled up news about new restaurants, a new high-tech McDonald’s, and Fort Worth’s very first Tastemaker Awards event honoring local culinary superstars.

2. Cheers to the top Fort Worth restaurants for New Year’s Day 2023 brunch. New Year’s Day falls on a Sunday this year. Even more, January 1 is National Bloody Mary Day. Here are some top spots to consider when making New Year’s Day brunch plans. We also have lists of best New Year’s Eve dining options, some cool NYE celebrations, and other top weekend events.

3. Texas antiques mecca Round Top beckons as a quaint winter escape. When the Round Top Antiques Show crowds depart, the old German town gets back to its Lone Star State roots of rustic charm, classic attractions, and colorful characters, perfect for a weekend stay. New retail, sundry shops, restaurants, and a microbrewery make Round Top a year-long choice for those needing an escape from traffic, high-rises, and clamor.

4. From scandals to staff changes, everything that happened in 2022 Dallas-Fort Worth theater. Change was afoot this year in Dallas-Fort Worth theater, from company openings and closings to staff shake-ups and even a union kerfuffle. Here’s all the big news that happened, onstage and off.

5. The 10 worst movies of 2022 range from comedic goofs to fantastic beat-downs. In the post- (ongoing? never-ending?) pandemic world, going to the movie theater is still a roll-of-the-dice for many people. These were our critic’s picks for the 10 worst films of 2022.

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We support families through a whole-community approach in our schools and neighborhoods, connecting families to a diverse array of community resources, parent information, events, and opportunities that are often free of cost or low-cost to parents and their children. Additionally, our working parents benefit from local businesses who are leading the way in family-friendly policies and practices.

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Within Tarrant County, the Fort Worth business community has implemented research-backed policies that are proven to help families and build a more loyal, productive, and strong workforce. As the 13th largest city in the U.S., our community must innovate to attract and retain a competitive workforce. Though the Best Place for Working Parents® initiative, Fort Worth employers have seen the benefit of implementing family-friendly policies that are ALSO business-friendly. See our top 10 policies that benefit businesses’ bottom line.

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90,000 Finnish boxes for babies won the world

• Vanessa Barford
• BB-Bi-Bi

”Context”: it will help you understand the events.

Image copyright Finish Baby Box Company

Image caption

Sleeping in a box is much safer for an infant than sleeping with parents

In Finland, every mother-to-be, regardless of her income or marital status, receives a special box from the state with a set of baby essentials.

Set includes rompers, overalls, mittens, nappies and many other baby care items.

However, it turned out that young mothers find use not only for diapers and rompers, but also for the box itself: put a mattress in it and you will get a wonderful crib. nine0097

Moreover, it is believed that Finland’s extremely low infant mortality rate is, at least in part, the result of the use of this very box as a bed in the first months of a child’s life.

The origins of the box

The Finnish government started giving out baby boxes as early as 1938. At first, only poor families could count on them, but gradually, by 1949, they were extended to all sectors of society.

Photo caption,

This is what the contents of a Finnish box looked like in 1949.

Heidi Liesivesi of the Finnish Social Insurance Institute says that at first the main purpose of the boxes was to convince women to get medical help.

“In order to receive a box or a mother’s grant, women had to visit a doctor or a state prenatal clinic before the fourth month of pregnancy,” she says.

Thus, the box not only supplied young mothers with everything they needed, but also taught them to use the services of hospitals and doctors in the country’s then-nascent social medical system. nine0097

In the 1930s, Finland was a rather poor country, and infant mortality was high: 65 out of 1,000 babies died before reaching the age of one. However, this sad statistic began to improve very quickly.

In 2015, the infant mortality rate in Finland is the lowest in the world: 2.3 per 1,000 births.

The triumphal procession of the box

In 2013, the Government of Finland presented such a box to the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge, who were expecting their first child. nine0097

Photo credit, Finnish Baby Box Company

Photo caption,

The three Finnish dads who founded the Finnish Baby Box Company

Shortly after the memorial gift, three young fathers from Finland started shipping boxes all over the world. Their example was followed by two mothers from the USA. Similar companies now exist in Britain and many other countries.

When you think about it, this idea is so simple, and apparently so effective, that many health professionals have adopted it, often with private providers. nine0097

The box is different

The contents of the box often reflect local realities. For example, in South Africa, the box itself is made of plastic, and local mothers use it as a bath, not a bed.

Image copyright, Thula Baba Box

Image caption,

In South Africa the boxes are plastic so they can be used as a bath obstetric clinics in the early stages of pregnancy. nine0097

And, as researchers at the University of Stellenbosch found, the Thula Baba Box, which is what the box is called in South Africa, led women to come to clinics earlier in pregnancy and much more often. As a result, childbirth mortality among HIV-infected women has declined markedly. In addition, cases of HIV transmission from mothers to newborn babies have also decreased.

Two young entrepreneurs, De Villiers and Herzog, are distributing boxes in South Africa. They want this scheme to be adopted by all regions of the country. Currently, only women in labor in the Western Cape receive it. nine0097

Karima Ladhani, a medical student at Harvard University, decided to adapt this idea to South Asia.

Image copyright, Barakat Bundle

Image caption,

The Indian “blessed bundle” must include a blanket and a mosquito net

The first “blessed bundle” in India (as this bundle for newborns is called here) was received by women in a rural hospital in the city Jagadia, Gujarat province.

Gujarati mothers receive, among other things, a kit of medicines and clean linen to prevent infection during and after childbirth, and mosquito nets to protect newborns from malaria. nine0097

The box is useful for everyone

Do not think that boxes are becoming popular only in developing countries.

London’s Queen Charlotte’s and Chelsea Hospital has begun distributing boxes to pregnant women supplied by US-based Baby Box Co. Doctors of the clinic believe that the main component of the program is the education of pregnant women.

Image copyright, Baby Box Co

Image caption,

Here’s what moms-to-be get at Queen Charlotte’s and Chelsea Hospital in London

“We assume that parents-to-be have the money to buy a cradle or basket for their newborns, which is not always the case,” said gynecologist Karen Josh, who organized the distribution of boxes.

She also believes that the box turned into a bed allows the child to be kept in the same room as the parents, but in a separate bed.

Queen Charlotte’s and Chelsea Hospital plans to distribute about 600 of these boxes to pregnant patients in the coming months. nine0097

American Box

In the United States, several pregnancy assistance programs are being rolled out at the same time. The largest campaign will be launched by the authorities of the city of Fort Worth in Texas.

Photo copyright, Baby Box Co

Photo caption,

As you can see, a Texas baby is quite comfortable in a box. US average – 5.9.

In the next two years, the city’s hospitals plan to distribute about 36,000 boxes. Health officials hope this will encourage parents not to take newborns to bed with them, which often leads to accidental death.

“We realized that most of our residents just don’t know how big of a problem infant mortality is. We want to give this box to every newborn so that every baby has a safe place to sleep,” said doctor Diane Daly. nine0097

She added that parents often take their children to bed with them, and sometimes, unfortunately, children die from suffocation.

A box for an oilman’s wife

In the Canadian province of Alberta, the idea was initially to distribute boxes exclusively to low-income families. However, it soon became clear that there were not so many poor people in Alberta rich in oil and gas.

The problem is that many men are employed in the oil industry and are often away for weeks or months, leaving the young mother alone with her newborn, often without the slightest idea of ​​what can and cannot be done. nine0097

Image copyright Baby Box Co

Image caption

Dowry box from Canada. Along with the box, moms also receive a “mentor” phone number

Boxes in Alberta are linked to a mentor program. Each mother, along with the box, also receives a mentor’s phone number, whom she can call at any time (but not more than 20 times) from the 32nd week of pregnancy until the day when the baby is six months old.

Another problem is that many family members or friends of the mother of the newborn see that she is doing something wrong, but prefer not to interfere. The government wants to change this. nine0097

This program is still at the very beginning, and to date, about 50 mothers have received boxes with phone numbers, but another 1500 are on the waiting list.

Baby repair manual

Image credit: istock

Image caption

In Canada, fathers are also taught how to care for their babies

Another new addition to the Canadian box is a special brochure on newborn care, designed exclusively for newborns fathers. It is written in the image and likeness of a car repair manual. Here, for example, with what words the instruction for burping after feeding begins: “We all know how nice it is to burp sometimes.” nine0097

The pamphlet reminds fathers of the importance of supplying their babies with “fuel” – mother’s milk – and advises them to “look under the hood” (change diapers) more often. “It is very important to keep a new car in order, clean and comfortable,” the authors advise young fathers.

The Finnish government is well aware of the popularity of their newborn boxes and often organizes special presentations at embassies around the world.

The box is not a panacea

Photo copyright, Milla Kontkannen

Photo caption,

A box is good, but knowing how to take care of a baby is still more important

It should be noted that not everyone considers a box a cure for all ills.