Pennsylvania’s surging childcare costs

Childcare is becoming so expensive that some Pennsylvania parents have quit jobs or left the workforce entirely to care for their children. Driving the news: The average cost of center-based daycare in Pennsylvania in 2021 was $11,346, amounting to 10 percent of a married couple’s median income, according to a new report from the Annie E. Casey Foundation. […]

Pa. advocates call for education spending alongside release of ‘Kids Count’ report

The annual Kids Count examines children’s health, economic security and education. The latest edition, released Wednesday, confirmed what many educators, parents and child advocates already knew: The COVID-19 pandemic set back learning among the Commonwealth’s kids. “The long term impacts of the pandemic are not going to be one-time,” said Kari King, president and CEO of Pennsylvania […]

Latest National Rankings for Child Well-Being Show Pennsylvania at 22nd

HARRISBURG — Pennsylvania ranks 22nd overall in child well-being, according to the 2023 KIDS COUNT® Data Book, a 50-state report of recent household data developed by the Annie E. Casey Foundation analyzing how children and families are faring. When looking specifically at economic well-being, the state ranks 22nd, while it ranks 20th in health. The health […]

Pennsylvania Moves to Find Families for Teens in Foster Care

Recent changes in a Penn­syl­va­nia law expand efforts to find sup­port­ive fam­i­lies and care­givers for teens in fos­ter care. The new pro­vi­sion improves recruit­ment prac­tices for fam­i­lies and helps pre­pare young peo­ple to thrive as they age out of fos­ter care and into adult­hood. The changes took effect on Jan­u­ary 2, 2023. “This is a huge win for more […]