A Pennsylvania nonprofit is praising Gov. Josh Shapiro's new budget proposal, which includes a funding increase for early childhood education.

The budget boosts support for child care, pre-K, early intervention, and other programs - and addresses staffing shortages.

Pennsylvania Partnerships for Children President and CEO Kari King said low wages fuel child care worker shortages, with pay of just over $15 an hour.

She said she hopes the governor's proposed $55 million funding package for child care workers will strengthen programs statewide.

"It's actually a new appropriation that's being referred to as the 'child care workforce recruitment and retention fund,'" said King. "The estimate is that about that $55 million would provide just about $1,000 to child care workers that would qualify."

The budget proposal contains an additional $17 million for Pre-K Counts, while funding for the Head Start Supplemental Assistance Program would remain unchanged.

The state House and Senate must vote on the budget by June 30.

King noted that her group appreciates the Shapiro budget proposal, which includes an increase of just over $16 million for what's known as Early Intervention Part C.

She explained it's for families regardless of income, and it supports physical and language development from infancy through a child's entry into Kindergarten.

"We're focused on, right now, kind of the earliest part of that, what we refer to as infant and toddler early intervention," said King. "This is where you can have services for your child, if you're seeing they're not physically developing as you would expect - some things like walking or being able to sit up, [or] as their language develops."

King added that $10 million in the budget is specific to helping the child care sector and its workforce through a rate increase. And the budget for Early Intervention Part B, for toddlers ages 3 to 5, includes a proposed increase of more than $14 million.

A Florida bill that would roll back child labor restrictions cleared a Senate panel this week, sparking debate over whether it empowers families or risks pushing vulnerable teens out of school. The proposal, which would allow 16 and 17 year-olds to work longer hours on school nights and in some hazardous jobs, drew sharp criticism from advocates who warn it could worsen chronic absenteeism and dropout rates.

Tsi Smyth, vice president for public relations with the nonprofit advocacy group Voices of Florida, says the changes will affect some students more than others.

"This is going to disproportionately affect students that are growing up in poverty, and you are going to relegate them to a lifetime of poverty," he explained.

Sen. Jay Collins, R-Tampa, sponsored Bill 918 and says it would match state rules with federal standards. It would allow 16 and 17-year-olds work 40 hours a week during school, up from the current 30-hour limit, and allow some currently banned jobs such as roofing. The measure passed along party lines, with Republicans in support. It now moves to the full Senate.

Collins said that most teen jobs are in safe places such as grocery stores, and his measure provides valuable work experience.

"Ultimately, we're not talking about 'The Jungle' by Upton Sinclair. We're talking about them working at Publix, at Piggly Wiggly, or jobs within the industry," he continued. "This is a far cry, I think often we demonize the employer cause it's going to take advantage of the children. This is a parental rights thing. Parents know their kids best."

Opponents including Sen. Carlos Guillermo, D-Orlando, warned it could lead to abuse.

"This bill is going to lead to exploitation of minors, exploitation of children, and I get the parental-rights conversation but there's no reference to parental rights in the bill," he explained.

The House bill faces one final committee vote. With Republican supermajorities controlling both chambers, passage appears likely, making Florida the latest GOP-led state to relax child labor laws. Business groups back the measure, but opponents warn it risks teen safety.

Maryland ranks second in the nation for charging children who have committed crimes as adults. But one expert says a more trauma-informed response in the justice system would better serve those young people. In fiscal year 2023, more than 3-thousand Maryland youth were charged with committing a violent crime - or a nonviolent felony. Another 8-thousand were charged with misdemeanors.

Joseph Ribsam, director of child welfare and juvenile justice policy with the Annie E. Casey Foundation, said it's common for juveniles in the justice system to have traumatic experiences. He adds trauma screenings of juveniles before they even head to court would allow the justice system to know the best way to help them.

"Oftentimes, the type of offenses that we think of that would be required to separate a young person from community are also the same types of offenses that are displayed when somebody's engaged in dysregulated behavior, which is the type of behavior that somebody who's been exposed to trauma significantly would engage in," he explained.

A report by Human Rights for Children finds Maryland ranks behind only three other states in the number of people who were imprisoned for crimes they committed as children.

According to a 2021 study, 23% of detained girls and nine percent of detained boys meet the diagnostic criteria for post-traumatic stress disorder. Ribsam said some actions taken by the justice system do not help address trauma - and at times even exacerbates the problem.

"If you really start to understand what are the drivers of the behaviors, you can find the right solution, and might find that the right solution doesn't even need to involve a justice system at all. It does start with actually understanding the needs, and not always presuming that behaviors are best solved with punitive responses," he continued.

Ribsam added that increased access to treatment and therapy would best serve juveniles in the justice system, too.

Concerned parents are pushing the authorities to help parks and day cares remove sand from sandboxes contaminated with ash after the Los Angeles fires.

The City of Pasadena sent crews to remove the top two inches of sand from sandboxes in local parks. Los Angeles County recommended the same thing but so far is not funding the remediation.

Juana Sanchez, a mother of two toddlers in Eagle Rock, said she has been calling authorities, to little avail.

"I called my local park to hear what steps were taken to remediate ash," Sanchez explained. "I was told, well, our park has been raking the sand daily and power washing all durable surfaces. That just effectively disturbs ash so that it's no longer visible."

When asked about sand removal, the Los Angeles County Department of Health said no one was available for an interview. Sen. Sasha Perez, D-Los Angeles, who represents areas affected by the Eaton fire, has called for more soil testing.

Sanchez pointed out small day cares that survived the fire may not be able to afford to clean up their sandboxes and play yards.

"Can someone quarterback this? Can someone show leadership on this issue?" Sanchez asked. "My concern is that right now, it's like a political hot potato that nobody wants to touch and that we'd rather pretend doesn't exist."

Cristina Alvarado, executive director of the Child Care Alliance of Los Angeles, said many small day cares serving low-income communities of color are facing big bills in their quest to reopen safely.

"In terms of cleaning, there are some grants available," Alvarado noted. "We are also going to be giving some stipends, you know, to child care providers, as much as we were able to obtain from donors. I think that there, there are efforts to help them clean. I know that we've been talking to some of the big toy manufacturers to see if they can donate sand for the sandboxes."

The Child Care Alliance has also distributed buckets of cleaning supplies and air purifiers to day cares downwind of the fire zone.


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