Verner Center for Early Learning awarded COVID Recovery Funds to Support Early Head Start Families Entering or Re-entering the Workforce with Flexible Extended Care
Asheville Citizen Times Article dated September 2, 2021
Verner provides Early Head Start (EHS) center-based and home-based programs to eligible families in Buncombe County. This COVID Recovery Funds award provides consistent extended center-based care for one year for EHS families beyond the normal 8:30 a.m. to 2:30 p.m. hours. Before receiving these funds, an EHS family would be required to seek a tuition voucher from Buncombe County Department of Social Services or pay out-of-pocket for extended, wrap-around care.
The need for extended hours is great. The pandemic has impacted every individual, family, school, and community in the U.S., but unfortunately the impact has not been evenly distributed. The nature of the EHS program is to provide comprehensive early childhood education services, primarily to families who are experiencing poverty and/or homelessness. These families have disproportionately experienced negative health and economic impacts due to the pandemic. These caregivers did not have the ability to work from home when child care centers and schools were closed, paid time off to use when they were sick or needed to care for their children, or savings to help them weather the layoffs and job losses that were primarily seen in low-wage job sectors.
Overwhelmingly, data is beginning to show that there is a significant workforce issue in the U.S. economy, as a result of the significant unemployment caused by the pandemic. A critical piece of getting people back to work and recovering the economy is for families to have access to reliable, high-quality child care that meets their needs while they are at work or continuing their education.
Verner Center for Early Learning provides high-quality early learning experiences to families with children 6 weeks to five years old and expectant and foster families in Buncombe County.
Verner provides Early Head Start (EHS) center-based and home-based programs to eligible families in Buncombe County. This COVID Recovery Funds award provides consistent extended center-based care for one year for EHS families beyond the normal 8:30 a.m. to 2:30 p.m. hours. Before receiving these funds, an EHS family would be required to seek a tuition voucher from Buncombe County Department of Social Services or pay out-of-pocket for extended, wrap-around care.
The need for extended hours is great. The pandemic has impacted every individual, family, school, and community in the U.S., but unfortunately the impact has not been evenly distributed. The nature of the EHS program is to provide comprehensive early childhood education services, primarily to families who are experiencing poverty and/or homelessness. These families have disproportionately experienced negative health and economic impacts due to the pandemic. These caregivers did not have the ability to work from home when child care centers and schools were closed, paid time off to use when they were sick or needed to care for their children, or savings to help them weather the layoffs and job losses that were primarily seen in low-wage job sectors.
Overwhelmingly, data is beginning to show that there is a significant workforce issue in the U.S. economy, as a result of the significant unemployment caused by the pandemic. A critical piece of getting people back to work and recovering the economy is for families to have access to reliable, high-quality child care that meets their needs while they are at work or continuing their education.
Verner Center for Early Learning provides high-quality early learning experiences to families with children 6 weeks to five years old and expectant and foster families in Buncombe County.
Early Head Start provides free services primarily for low-income families that meet the federal income guidelines (income is determined to be at or below the federal poverty level). Families experiencing homelessness, children in foster care, and families that are receiving aid from Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF), North Carolina’s Work First program, or Supplemental Security Income (SSI)