Yakima Herald-Republic education reporter Janelle Retka sits down with Lorena Miranda, a union representative in Yakima who runs an in-home child care program, to discuss the joys and struggles of becoming a provider and union representative on Wednesday, Feb 24, 2021, in Yakima, Wash.
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Faces of Child Care
Cecilia Villafana is a parent representative for Blossoms Early Learning Center in Royal City. She’s also a paraprofessional for kindergarten students with Royal School District. Read more
Meet Stephanie Burrier, a Richland-based mom of 6-year-old Charlotte and 10-year-old Benjamin. Read more
Lorena Miranda is a Yakima-based in-home child care provider, mother and grandmother. She’s also a representative of in-home child care providers for the state’s union, SEIU Local 925. Read more
Meet Rebecca Rogers, a 27-year-old from Yakima. She’s a single mom of two young boys, ages 4 and 8 months. Her family of three qualifies for the Working Connections Child Care program, a state system that helps low-income families pay for child care so they can continue working or pursuing work. Read more
Stories
While the child care sector in Central Washington and beyond has weathered turbulence in recent decades, targeted programs offer pockets of hope. Read more
Reliable child care in Central Washington and beyond has always been hard to find. But with the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic, providers considered essential to restarting the economy struggled more to keep their doors open amid mounting costs and plummeting paychecks. Read more
“We’re always full. We’re always full here,” said Lauria Oliver, owner of A Child’s Place child care centers in Yakima and Toppenish.Throughout Central Washington, lack of child care is a years-old problem with significant ramifications. Read more
Before he died in early 2020, Yakima's Cliff Plath established three state-of-the-art early learning centers in Yakima and Royal City. His work now serves as a model. Read more
The most sweeping child care law in Washington’s history is being lauded by many as an opportunity to revive a broken system. But while some cheer it on, most Central Washington lawmakers worry the new policy will further complicate things. Read more
For nearly four decades, an early learning program at Central Washington University has provided child care for the children of university students, faculty and staff. Read more
As of mid-January, 13% of providers statewide closed because of the pandemic, a loss of 712 licensed child care programs, according to Child Care Aware, a nonprofit that works with child care providers statewide. It has reduced capacity by 29,290 children. Read more
Vaccines for Washington child care providers could be a turning point – but first, they'll need to find an appointment. Learn more from reporter Janelle Retka in this special edition of The Growth Gap. Read more
Families that use child care services can file for tax credits that might reduce the amount of money they owe. Read more
While the federal deadline for individual tax filing was pushed back to May 17, the U.S. Treasury Department and the Internal Revenue Service has not postponed the April 15 deadline for quarterly filings. That means child care providers will need to finish filing this week. Read more
Some taxpayers still have to submit payments by April 15 despite a filing extension amid the pandemic. Read more
With school out for the summer and the state edging closer to fully reopening, demand for child care is on the rise throughout Washington, even as capacity remains low. Read more
Employers in Washington often find that child care in their communities determines their employees’ availability and commitment to the job. Read more
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WASHINGTON — When Sen. Patty Murray first got to Congress in 1993, one of a then-unprecedented seven women in the 100-member Senate, her colleagues weren’t interested in talking about child care. Read more
Newsletters
Hi! Thanks for joining The Growth Gap, my new reporting series and newsletter on how Washington state’s declining child care sector is edging out young learners. Read more
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Meet Janelle
I’m Janelle Retka, a 28-year-old illustrator and education journalist reporting for the Yakima Herald-Republic here in Central Washington and creator of The Growth Gap. I’m a proud auntie of three (soon to be four – looking forward to meeting you, Baby Lou!) and a dog mom to Marv, a now-4-year-old street dog I adopted while living and reporting in Phnom Penh, Cambodia, for a handful of years.