Susan's Blog
Here at Kids Co. we strive to not only provide the best in affordable child care, but to also advocate for high-quality child care for ALL children and familes. No child should be turned away for their family's inability to pay. In this blog, we share information about high-quality child care and the news, laws, and policy affecting the sector.
Susan R. Brown - Kids Co. Founder and CEO
Understanding E2SHB 1648: A Critical Step for Child Care Providers
E2SHB 1648 is an important bill that addresses key challenges in meeting child care workforce education requirements while maintaining high standards of care. This bill incentivizes existing staff to stay…
Washington State Must Pass Substitute HB 1648: A Community-Driven Solution for Child Care Staffing
Washington’s child care sector is in crisis. Chronic staffing shortages, fueled by the Department of Children, Youth, and Families (DCYF) child care licensing regulations, are pushing experienced providers out of…
The Child Care Collapse: Imagining Washington’s “Day Zero”
In the early 1990s, I was part of Seattle’s Worthy Wage Movement for child care providers, fighting a battle that felt urgent, if not quite apocalyptic. Back then, the Worthy…
Breaking the Poverty Cycle: Why Economic Stability is Essential for Child Success
Addressing Poverty: The Key to Positive Child Outcomes When we talk about creating positive outcomes for children, we often emphasize the role of high-quality educational programs. In practice, this often…
The Power of Social Emotional Learning in Child Care Centers in Fostering Job Skills Development
Technical skills alone have rarely been sufficient for career success. Employers increasingly seek individuals who possess a robust set of social-emotional skills—abilities that are nurtured from a young age and…
Kids Co. FY2022 Annual Report: GRIT
DEAR FRIENDS OF KIDS CO., We are thrilled to introduce Kids Co.’s FY22 annual report—GRIT. This past year has been a remarkable journey that can be best described in the…
Nurturing Minds: Child Care and Sir Ken Robinson’s Vision of Learning
In the realm of education, few voices resonate as deeply as Sir Ken Robinson’s. Renowned for his groundbreaking ideas on education and creativity, Robinson’s insights have left an indelible mark…
Empowering Tomorrow’s Leaders: The Importance of Social and Emotional Learning at Kids Co.
In the world of education, the “3 R’s” – reading, writing, and arithmetic – are the pillars of academic knowledge going back the 1830s when Horace Mann began to advocate…
The Fundamental Importance of Child Care to Society
Child care is not just a matter of necessity for parents; it is a crucial cornerstone of a thriving society. The well-being and development of our youngest generation hold the…
Seattle’s Bold Step: Empowering Child Care Workers for a Stronger Future
In a significant move that underlines its commitment to early childhood education school-age child care and the well-being of its workforce, the City of Seattle has awarded $13.5 million in…
The Child Care Crisis in Washington State – Explaining the Problem and Offering Solutions
Child care is not just a personal matter; it’s an economic and societal concern that affects us all. Yet, child care is treated like the unwanted step-child to the public…
Child Care Crisis = Economic Fallout
The child care crisis in America is not a new or obscure issue; it’s a topic that has been discussed and analyzed extensively in countless committees, articles, and reports. However,…