Blog, News & Events

On Monday, the 20th of May we saw the Minnesota Legislature session come to a close, and with that comes the end of my time as this year’s Todd Otis ...

As the 2024 legislative session winds down, the pile of ideas on the cutting room floor is growing and, unfortunately, it includes early literacy. It was a bumper biennium with nearly ...

Last year we shared a blog post and timeline for early care and education projects underway in Minnesota. In this post we’re checking in on the Child Care Regulation Modernization ...

May is Mental Health Awareness Month and serves as a poignant reminder of the critical role mental health and well-being play in our lives. Promoting and supporting mental health is ...

Are you intrigued by advocacy but not sure how to start? This guide is for you!  As an early childhood professional and/or parent, you have invaluable first-hand experience and knowledge ...

Inviting elected officials to tour your child care program is one of the most advocacy effective strategies. It’s an opportunity to both build a relationship with your elected official and ...

In Minnesota and around the country, many children are not on track to read proficiently. The latest Minnesota Comprehensive Assessment (MCA) results show just 48% of 3rd graders met or ...

If you’ve learned about efforts to make quality child care available and affordable for Minnesota parents and are wondering what it would take to make the results you see on ...

If you’ve used the Child Care Cost Calculator and you’re left wondering:  How the heck would all of this work?  This blog post is for you!    Think Small created the ...

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 ...

There is broad agreement that Minnesota’s current early care and education system is not working well for parents, children, or providers. Costs for parents are too high to bear.  The ...

Children’s brains in the first five years of life are rapidly forming new connections and building the foundation for future learning. Caregivers in a child’s life play a crucial role ...

A great way to stay connected with early childhood policy is by making sure you’re signed up to newsletters from organizations and projects you care about. It can also keep ...

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 ...

  CCAP helps families pay for child care costs while parents go to work or school. It is a complex program that receives federal and state funding.  Minnesota counties administer ...

CCAP helps families pay for child care costs while parents go to work or school. It is a complex program that receives federal and state funding.  Minnesota counties administer the ...

  CCAP helps families pay for child care costs while parents go to work or school. It is a complex program that receives federal and state funding.  Minnesota counties administer ...

  In the summary of what passed this legislative session, one of the important items was changes and funding for the Child Care Assistance Program (CCAP). CCAP helps families pay ...

Update: As you will see from the video and photos below, we first met with Creative Kids to do this story on a warm September day. While the situation remains ...

It’s always a pleasant surprise when healthy and money-saving treats show up on your doorstep. The ‘You Matter’ snack packs come from Health Fair 11, a non-profit dedicated to improving ...

There’s the saying, “it’s all about who you know.”  When it comes to gaining support for your issue, meeting in person with your legislator is one of the most effective ...

Lori Williams started offering child care from her home when her son was about a year old. He’s 30 now. “I had planned to go back to work as an ...

Erin Echternach is back at the office now… her 14-month old son, Aiden is once again attending his much-loved family child care program. But it wasn’t always smooth sailing. “It ...

Annie Dunham is a Center Supervisor at Radiant Montessori, an early childhood program that typically provides care and education to more than 100 students in the Maple Grove area. Due ...

Nearly 300 child care providers in the metro area picked up hand sanitizer & bleach beginning in April. The hard-to-find products were made available to child care programs at no ...

By Viktoria Bjerke from Belle Plaine, Minnesota My name is Viktoria Bjerke. I am 24 years old, married, and I have two children, ages one and two. We are a ...

By Kathy Benjamin from Moorhead, Minnesota I am a single parent of three children. All three were in daycare at one point.  I was already receiving child care assistance from ...

Todd Otis’ lifelong advocacy career in Minnesota, and his work as a change-agent in early childhood, has had a significant and long-term positive impact on early childhood public policies, systems, ...