Early Childhood Systems - Week 8

          There was not as much discussion in this course as I have had in others, but the discussions that took place helped in my learning about early childhood systems. I was glad to have a colleague in Head Start and learned more about the challenges they are facing through funding cuts. Katy being from Minnesota definitely brought new insights to the class through her own professional work and through Minnesota's efforts in helping families and children.

Three consequences of collaborative learning

1. Listening to different perspectives - All colleagues have a different perspective on issues. Even those of us from Louisiana worked in different sectors of early childhood so our challenges and issues were different.

2. You are not alone - It doesn't seem to matter what sector of early childhood you are working in, some of the challenges are the same. This does not make the situation better but it did help me to see the bigger picture of early childhood education.

3. Suggestions and/or ideas - Throughout all my courses as well as this one, hearing ideas or suggestions from others in a related job, brought a fresh approach to my work. One colleague from another course worked for QRS in another state. She and I shared many ideas. Learning through Katy's experiences was quite informative and gave me insight to how Minnesota has chosen to make early childhood a priority.

Goal

I will use the knowledge and insights gained in this class to advocate for an increased demand in quality services for children and families.

Thanks to all of you who were there for me every week. I hope the New Year brings you all the things in life that are important and special to you. May we all keep our chins up and forge ahead in our work for children and families.

Hypothetical Family Situation

          I am a married white woman in my early thirties. I have two children ages four and two, and I am pregnant for my third child. I recently found out that my unborn baby has a brain abnormality and will be born with cerebral palsy. My husband and I are immediately devastated about how we will be able to care for a child with a disability. Our other two children were typical developing children and we feel unequipped to care for this child. My husband begins to worry about finances. He works at a job making about eleven dollars an hour and I work as an administrative assistant making about nine dollars an hour. We are considered to be lower middle class. We fall into that financial category of making too much money to receive resources, but yet struggle to keep up with expenses and needs of our family. We wonder how we will pay for medical bills, and other expenses related to a child with disabilities. I am also concerned about the emotional well-being of my two other children and how this will affect their development. I feel overwhelmed and lost. My husband and I do not have much emotional or hands on support from either of our families. His parents are very ill and cannot physically help with the children. My parents are elderly and also cannot help with the children. Our siblings all work outside the home and feel that they have too much to do just taking care of their own children. They do not ever offer to swap babysitting services so we can each have some time away. In light of the new developments, I do not think our families will be much help.

          After doing research, we find out that our baby will need health services in the form of possible surgeries, and medicine. After our baby is born there will be a need for various services such as physical therapy, occupational therapy, and speech therapy. High quality early care and education will be essential in our baby’s development. Child care becomes an added concern due to the fact that we were recently denied subsidies to child care. Louisiana’s child care assistance program has lowered its gross income limits to $3030 per month (DCFS, 2013).  My husband and I bring in $200 above that limit. We are struggling with the challenge of paying for two children in child care. My four year old did not qualify for public preschool because of income limits and because he has no developmental delays. Because he scored too high on the assessment, he was denied enrollment in the public preschool program.

          Family leadership and support will be very important to my baby as well as the whole family. We will benefit from home visitations that help us care for a baby with a disability. Also, these families support services will be able to access our needs and be able to find resources for us. We will need education on policies and rights of families with children with disabilities. We will also need to network with other families. Cerebral Palsy of Louisiana will be helpful in making those connections with families and for providing necessary education.

References:

Cerebral Palsy of Louisiana (2013). Retrieved from http://www.cerebralpalsyla.com/

Department of Children and Family Services (2013). Retrieved from  http://www.dcfs.louisiana.gov/index.cfm?md=pagebuilder&tmp=home&nid=119&pnid=7&pid=136&catid=0