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Insights, Ideas, and Resources for Early Learning

Welcome to the Think Small Blog, your go-to destination for valuable insights, innovative ideas, and inspiring stories in the field of early learning. Dive into a treasure trove of articles crafted by our team of experts, dedicated to empowering child care providers, educators, and families.

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2024 Minnesota Early Childhood Reports

If 2023 was the year of legislative activity for child care in Minnesota, 2024 is the year of reports! As projects from the 2023 session get underway and existing projects ...

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Ramsey County Early Childhood Academy

It?s no secret that Minnesota is in the midst of a child care crisis. Quality child care in Minnesota has become hard to find, hard to secure, and even harder ...

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Policy Hour: Child Care Updates

This month?s Ann Kaner-Roth Policy Hour was focused on recent and upcoming work at the Minnesota Department of Human Services (DHS) with presenters from the Child Care Assistance Program and Child Development ...

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Guest Post: What Do We Know About Minnesota's Early Childhood Workforce?

By Christa Anders, Coordinator, B8 Early Childhood Workforce Team Minnesota?s early childhood educators are ?the workforce behind the workforce.???These women, and a few men, who care for young children so ...

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Early Learning Council Submits Recommendations to Governor

 Early Learning Council members are responsible for providing recommendations to the Governor and Legislature on how to create a high-quality, early childhood system in Minnesota that will help improve outcomes ...

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Northeastern Minnesota Addresses Child Care Shortage

The Policies in Play series takes a closer look at the recently passed state legislative policies that affect early care and education. We work with partners to find out what ...

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West Central Minnesota Child Care Providers Benefit from Forgivable Loans

The Policies in Play series takes a closer look at the recently passed state legislative policies that affect early care and education. We work with partners to find out what ...

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The Triple Bottom Line of Child Care

The Policies in Play series takes a closer look at the recently passed state legislative policies that affect early care and education. We work with partners to find out what ...

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Policy Hour: Reports Propose Solutions for Early Learning in Minnesota

Legislative Task Force on Child Care Access and Affordability Senator Melissa Wiklund, DFL-Bloomington, was one of the presenters at the February Policy Hour organized by Minnesota?s Future and hosted by ...

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Policy Hour Provides Updates on New Early Learning Legislation

The first Minnesota?s Future Policy Hour of the season focused on legislation passed this spring. The presenters provided updates on implementation of projects.

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Legislative Task Force Addresses Licensing

The Legislative Task Force on Access to Affordable Child Care discussed licensingrequirements and enforcement at?their meeting on September 21st. State and county officials provided insight into their roles and observations, ...

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