A Note from the Executive Committee
March 20, 2020
Dear National Children’s Facilities Network (NCFN) Members,
Over the last several months we have been working to re-activate NCFN and build on the bipartisan support for increasing early care and education (ECE) resources. We had reconstituted the Executive Committee late last year and were about to send a relaunch email to share that news and build excitement and participation, and then COVID-19 became a reality in our communities. We’re already seeing the devastating effects that this pandemic has had on the ECE community – especially on parents, providers and teachers –, and we believe now is a critical moment for NCFN to elevate the important role that high-quality facilities and strong ECE business models play in promoting the health and safety of children and teachers.
We would like to be able to actively and substantively engage in ECE advocacy that reflects the perspective of Network members. Please respond to this brief survey that will help us capture NCFN member engagement in COVID-19 crisis response in states and local communities. See below for more updates.
We are thrilled to share our progress and continued efforts to re-activate NCFN and strengthen our collective ability to advance high-quality ECE facilities nationwide – during the current crisis and beyond. See below for updates on NCFN’s new leadership and sub-committee structures, as well as an update on the federal response to the pandemic.
Leadership
Over the past few months we have been working to reconstitute the Network’s leadership and administrative structure. As of November 2019, the newly elected NCFN Executive Committee includes:
Co-chairs
Angie Garling, Low Income Investment Fund & Nicole Barcliff, Local Initiatives Support Corporation (LISC)
Treasurer
Kirby Burkholder, IFF
Secretary
Jessie Maxwell
At-Large
Bevin Parker-Cerkez, Reinvestment Fund
The Low Income Investment Fund will also serve as the Network’s Fiscal Agent.
Subcommittees
We are also excited to announce the activation of three subcommittees focused on critical components of the Network’s success: policy, membership, and communications.
Policy
The policy subcommittee will focus on engaging NCFN members in legislative and regulatory advocacy related to ECE facilities financing and small business capacity building. The Bipartisan Policy Center’s Congressional Recommendations for Improving Quality and Availability of Early Care and Learning Facilities and other efforts that elevate facilities as a critical component of ECE are core components of our underlying strategy. This aspect of the Network’s operation has been ongoing. Most recently, in December 2019, NCFN submitted a comment letter (see attached) to the Administration in response to the Request for Information on Increasing Access to Affordable, High-Quality Child Care.
Please contact Nicole Barcliff (nbarcliff@lisc.org) for more information about the policy subcommittee.
Membership
The membership subcommittee will focus on growing NCFN’s membership – with a strong emphasis on member and cross-sector engagement – to ensure a diverse coalition of ECE financers and advocates are represented in the Network.
Please contact Bevin Parker-Cerkez (bevin.parker@reinvestment.com) for more information about the membership subcommittee.
Communications
The communications subcommittee will focus on developing messaging, materials, and strategies that re-introduce the Network to partner organizations, lawmakers, philanthropy, and ECE advocates who are interested in supporting the Network’s emphasis on high-quality, affordable facilities and building the business capacity of providers. Most immediately, the communications subcommittee will be creating a new NCFN website with updated messaging and information relevant to the Network’s priorities, as well as updating the Network’s social media presence.
Please contact Angie Garling (agarling@liifund.org) for more information about the communications subcommittee.
COVID-19
Congress has passed two initial stimulus packages in response to the pandemic that include important provisions like paid sick leave and additional food and nutrition assistance. We expect Congress to consider a third and broader stimulus package in the near future. Senate Democrats have already signaled support for including provisions that address child care, and Senator Patty Murray (D-WA) and Congressman Bobby Scott (D-VA) have introduced bicameral legislation to provide $600 million in mandatory funding over two years to support ECE programs impacted by the virus.
NCFN will be sharing federal policy recommendations on the best approaches to support the preservation, health, and safety of high-quality ECE facilities during the crisis. Your feedback via this survey will help us to craft our response. Please reach out to the Nicole Barcliff on the policy committee at nbarcliff@lisc.org, or any members of the Executive Committee for any comments or questions on the Network’s position.
We are excited to move this work forward with all of you and grow the Network to include even more practitioners and advocates focused on improving the spaces where children learn and teachers teach, and supporting sound ECE small business models. Please reach out to any of us if you have questions or comments about NCFN.
Best,
NCFN Executive Committee