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Karen Schulman, Senior Policy Analyst

Karen Schulman is a Senior Policy Analyst in NWLC's Family Economic Security division. She researches and writes about child care and early education policies. She received her bachelor's degree from Williams College and her master's degree in Public Policy from Duke University. Prior to joining NWLC, she worked at the Children's Defense Fund. She enjoys spending time with her nieces and nephews and is glad they will grow up thinking there is nothing unusual about a woman being Speaker of the House or running for President.

My Take

Arlington Shows Support for Children by Maintaining Strong Child Care Standards

Posted by Karen Schulman, Senior Policy Analyst | Posted on: April 04, 2013 at 01:45 pm

Arlington, Virginia has turned back a proposal to eliminate the county’s important child care health and safety standards, thanks to strong advocacy efforts and recognition by County Board members of the importance of protecting our youngest children. The county manager, as part of an effort to address a budget shortfall, had proposed to save $250,000 by eliminating the local Office of Child Care Licensing. But letters and phone calls from the public and research from early childhood experts convinced the County Board that the short-term savings were far outweighed by the benefits of safeguarding children’s well-being.

Arlington County’s child care standards are crucial for ensuring the health and safety of children because Virginia does not set adequate standards of its own. For example, Virginia does not regulate providers caring for fewer than six unrelated children, while Arlington regulates any providers caring for more than three children.

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One More Step Forward on President Obama’s Early Education Proposal

Posted by Karen Schulman, Senior Policy Analyst | Posted on: February 15, 2013 at 10:42 am

Yesterday, as President Obama visited an early learning center in Decatur, Georgia, the White House released a fact sheet with more details about the early education proposal the President announced in his State of the Union address. Under the President’s comprehensive plan, the federal government and states would work together to increase access high-quality early learning opportunities for children from birth to age five through expansion of voluntary home visiting programs, prekindergarten, Early Head Start, child care, and full-day kindergarten.

The President proposes to provide funding to states to help them make prekindergarten available to all four-year-olds in families with incomes below 200 percent of poverty ($39,060 a year for a family of three). The federal government would offer incentives for states to provide prekindergarten to middle-income families as well. Prekindergarten programs would have to meet a set of quality standards, including having qualified teachers paid comparably to K-12 teachers, small class sizes and low child-teacher ratios, and comprehensive health and other support services. The programs could be provided in a range of settings, from schools to child care centers to other community-based programs, as is currently the case for many state-funded prekindergarten programs.

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President Obama Leads the Way on Early Education for All Children

“So tonight, I propose working with states to make high-quality preschool available to every single child in America.”

In his State of the Union address Tuesday night, the President called for making prekindergarten available to all children through a federal-state partnership. He made a compelling case for this investment in early education, noting the benefits for children, parents, and our nation’s economy. He explained how early education could help children succeed in school and in life. He talked about the importance of helping parents struggling with the high costs of preschool. And he discussed his proposal as a key part of building the strong workforce we need for our future economic prosperity.

The President demonstrated his commitment to early education not only by mentioning it in his State of the Union address, but also by inviting Susan Bumgarner, an early childhood educator from Oklahoma—a state that makes prekindergarten available to all four-year-olds—to be a guest of the First Lady during the address. Susan Bumgarner is one of the many early education teachers (most of whom are women) across our country who are helping our children grow and learn so they are ready for school.

We are excited about this proposal and about working to make it a reality for children and families. We look forward to hearing more details, as there are many questions about exactly what form it will take and how it will work. For example: What role will states play in making prekindergarten available?

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A Look at Often-Overlooked Child Care Assistance Policies

Posted by Karen Schulman, Senior Policy Analyst | Posted on: December 20, 2012 at 12:54 pm

The National Women's Law Center's annual report on state child care assistance policies, Downward Slide: State Child Care Assistance Policies Report 2012, examined policies that are critical in determining families' access to child care assistance and the extent of help they receive from that assistance — income eligibility limits, waiting lists, parents copayments, provider reimbursement rates, and eligibility for parents searching for a job. The report found that families in 27 states were worse off in February 2012 than in February 2011 under one or more of these child care assistance policies, and families in 17 states were better off under one or more of these policies. Yet this tells only part of the story. Many other policies affect whether families can get help affording high-quality child care. These policies are particularly important to highlight since a number of states have recently made changes to them — some positive, some negative. The Center's new fact sheet, On the Edges: Child Care Assistance Policies that Affect Parents, Providers, and Children, describes some of these policies and provides a few examples of recent state policy changes.

Some states have adopted changes to their eligibility policies that make it more difficult for families to receive child care assistance. For example, Kansas began requiring that most adults receiving child care assistance be employed a minimum of 20 hours per week (unless they meet criteria for exemption). Nevada no longer provides child care assistance for parents in education or training programs (except for minor parents working toward their high school diploma or GED). These policy changes can create barriers for parents who are just starting a job and only have limited hours or parents who are trying to get the education they need for better-paying, more stable employment — parents who are trying to gain more secure financial footing, but who can only do that if they have child care that allows them to work.

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Higher Rates for Higher-Quality Child Care Still Too Low in Most States

Posted by Karen Schulman, Senior Policy Analyst | Posted on: October 25, 2012 at 04:45 pm

A growing number of states are adopting Quality Rating and Improvement Systems (QRIS) as a strategy for strengthening the quality of child care. QRIS are designed to assess the quality of child care providers, give providers encouragement and incentives to improve, and help parents weigh their child care options.

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