Higher subsidies paid by the state for child care to help providers to increase quality. Help with preschool costs for middle-income families. Mandatory training for all child care providers and preschool teachers. Make the child care profession as attractive as other professions. Provide more child care options for newborns and toddlers.
Parents are concerned about health services.
Prevention of childhood problems has moved beyond the traditional focus on physical growth and illness to problems of development and behavior. The parents who spoke to the commission see health and learning problems as being interrelated. They want comprehensive family health services that reflect this expanded definition of health care. In Bellingham there was a lot of discussion about developmental disabilities and gaps in services for children with special needs. Involving pediatricians as front-line sources of information about community services available to parents.