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Jotakave t1_j6hjjwl wrote

Wasn’t there an initiative a while ago for universal PreK in PA that didn’t materialize? Maybe looking at their efforts or what went wrong would be a good place to start. I think this idea is very noble but I wonder about the practicality and implementation issues. I’m also a librarian and I’ve seen things change since the pandemic. A lot of centers that I visit on my outreach are short staffed because they can’t afford to pay a $15/hr wage. I’ve ran into old daycare workers that now are working in target or elsewhere because it’s just easier and pays more. IIRC Quebec has some sort of universal daycare but I think that’s the only province in Canada to offer it, maybe another place to start looking for models. Good luck

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PorkrollEggnCheeze t1_j6iwht7 wrote

There's the PA Pre-K Counts program, which provides free pre-k to families making up to 300% of the federal poverty level. That's how my son went to pre-k last year. From what our family advocate told me when we signed up, the demand is greater than the amount of kids they're able to serve though.

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Jotakave t1_j6ixjzu wrote

Right. So even that year of preK is not available to all due to lack of funds or whatever. I can’t imagine what it takes to expand that service to earlier stages. I’m glad you were able to utilize the program. The campaign I was referring to is on prekforpa.org I’m not sure if your program was related to this organization.

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