Douglas County has joined the national Best Place for Working Parents® network, offering real-time designations to businesses of all sizes whose family-friendly policies qualify through a first-of-its-kind, 3-minute online self-assessment. The Douglas ESD and Business Champions for Kids are launching Best Place for Working Parents® Douglas County to offer local business leaders the opportunity to […]

Caregiving is one of the most consequential drivers supporting the United States workforce. Yet, in 2022, it is being defined more by its faults than its strengths: a looming crisis requiring urgent attention. According to new Boston Consulting Group (BCG) research, the current care crisis is projected to shave $290 billion off of the United […]

Provided by the U.S. Chamber of Commerce, this article explores the tight labor market, worker shortages, and why current employees are switching jobs. For businesses to remain competitive, employers must attract and retain talent by going beyond pay and standard benefit. The innovative benefits the U.S. Chamber of Commerce touts for consideration include 1) Flexibility, […]

Both parents should have the option of parental leave. The typical parental leave policy says that the "primary caregiver" can have four months leave. In the vast majority of cases, that's a woman. If dads were encouraged to take longer parenting leaves, it would help with work/life balance for both men and women. If senior men […]

This summary presents the key benefits and best practices around parenting education that emerged from a literature review of parent education programs. Here is a great article on the benefits of parenting education including the best practices in parenting education. https://www.wilder.org/sites/default/files/imports/LitReviewSummary_10-16.pdf

Adverse Childhood Experiences (ACEs) are potentially traumatic events that occur in childhood. ACEs can include violence, abuse, and growing up in a family with mental health or substance use problems. Toxic stress from ACEs can change brain development and affect how the body responds to stress. ACEs are linked to chronic health problems, mental illness, […]

The circumstances a child is born into, coupled with longstanding patterns of discrimination, largely determine the life that child can achieve. Many children from low-income families, communities of color, and rural areas simply do not have the same possibilities – at home, in school, or in their communities – that other Oregonians do. In 2016, […]

A great article to share from the Child Development Institute It’s not always easy to stay close to your partner and kids while working full-time. Many people find themselves feeling like they have to choose between their job and their family – and often, in the end, both suffer. While there’s no foolproof way to […]

Here is a great article as part of a 4-part series from the Ounce. The importance of early childhood education and its impact on a child’s life is supported by decades of research in developmental science. Here at the Ounce, rigorous research and science informs all our efforts in providing and advocating for quality early […]