Maryland Family Network

Championing Early Childhood in Howard County! 🐥 📚

Today, MD Delegate Vanessa Atterbeary toured Emmanuel Methodist Preschool with MFN. She's a tireless advocate for expanding early care & education and supporting the educators who shape our children's futures.

Abilities Network is celebrating its 60th anniversary! They're honoring MFN for our support over the program's history, including the Child Care Resource Center and Growing Opportunities for Family Child Care (GOFCC). We hope you'll join them and us for a fun night and a chance to support their mission. Congrats Abilities Network!

Maryland Family Network has issued an RFP to contract for managed information technology (IT) services for a period of six months, followed by an option for two additional years. Help spread the word or apply at

Request for Proposal for Managed IT Services This Request for Proposal (RFP) is to contract for managed information technology (IT) services for a period of six months followed by an option for two additional years.

¡COMIDAS DE VERANO GRATUITAS!

El programa Comidas de verano de Maryland ofrece comidas GRATUITAS a niños y adolescentes de hasta 18 años. No es necesario registrarse ni identificarse.

Envíe un mensaje de texto con la palabra “FOOD” al 304-304 o visite el sitio web https://bit.ly/3d6uWcg para localizar el comedor más cercano.

Abilities Network Project ACT is deeply grateful for the generous support of Maryland Family Network over our program’s history. MFN’s belief in our mission has been instrumental in our growth and expansion, enhancing the quality of services we are able to offer and positively impacting the lives of countless children and families in our community and elevating the professional skills and support our valuable childcare providers receive. With funds from the Child Care Resource Center and more recently the Growing Opportunities for Family Child Care grants, together, we are promoting inclusivity and diversity, supporting child care providers to increase their business acumen and expand their skills in differentiating instruction, managing diverse classrooms, and supporting the needs of all children.

We celebrate MFN as one of our champions and for their unwavering support and partnership. We look forward to sharing more of our successes with MFN and continuing this important work. Project ACT Child Resource Centers Maryland Family Network

Thank you, Governor Wes Moore, for your continued commitment to Maryland’s children.

Can you lend a hand to the Baltimore City Early Childhood Advisory Council? They're surveying families and caregivers in Baltimore City with children aged 0-5. The goal is to find out the best ways to communicate strategies to support families. They're eager to hear from you!

ECAC Baltimore Families and Caregivers Survey 2024 The Baltimore City Early Childhood Advisory Council (ECAC) is a partnership of diverse early childhood educators, service providers, funders, public organizations, community advocates, researchers, and families. This survey is for families and caregivers in Baltimore City with children 0-5 to determ...

Thank you, Governor Wes Moore, for standing strong with child care!

Gov. Wes Moore: Fiscal responsibility is Maryland’s way forward | GUEST COMMENTARY This morning, my administration submitted a plan to make targeted and strategic budget cuts and grow our economy while simultaneously protecting the programs and projects that Marylanders care abou…

Do you have a few minutes to help the Baltimore City Early Childhood Advisory Council? They're surveying families and caregivers in Baltimore City with children 0-5 to determine the best communication methods to support their families. They need to hear from you.

ECAC Baltimore Families and Caregivers Survey 2024 The Baltimore City Early Childhood Advisory Council (ECAC) is a partnership of diverse early childhood educators, service providers, funders, public organizations, community advocates, researchers, and families. This survey is for families and caregivers in Baltimore City with children 0-5 to determ...

“Sticker shock” is very real for those looking for child care. LOCATE: Child Care, powered by MFN, helps parents search by price or other factors to help take the mystery out of the process.

“MFN has pricing data for…an astonishing 72% of providers.” Early Learning Nation

If Only Child Care Costs Were Transparent, Searches Would Be Simpler and Easier - Early Learning Nation In the midst of my search for a new child care provider for my one-year-old, I’ve braced myself for the hard numbers. In the United States, the cost of

Laura was on WJZ today talking about the prohibitive cost of child care AND what’s being done about it including Governor Wes Moore’s historic investment in child care scholarship.

Childcare can be prohibitively expensive. Here's how Maryland is helping parents with this vital ser The cost of childcare can be burdensome for parents, but a state assistance program is helping some parents access the vital service.

Making child care affordable to more families is of national concern. Thanks to Governor Wes Moore and champions in the Maryland Legislature, our state has made historic investments in the Child Care Scholarship Program. Center for Law and Social Policy recently released a report detailing access to the Child Care and Development Block Grant (CCDBG) with state-by-state and national data across race and ethnicity. Read the report below.

Child Care Assistance Landscape: Inequities in Federal and State Eligibility and Access | CLASP This national report and series of state fact sheets analyze variations in eligibility and access to Child Care and Development Block Grant subsidies in 2020.

On Saturday, June 8th, 38 family child care professionals graduated from Boost, a 9-month comprehensive program designed to support the business side of family child care. This third cohort included providers from Baltimore City and Baltimore, Prince George's, Anne Arundel, and Montgomery Counties. Participants ranged in experience from 6 months to over 20 years. Boost was coordinated by Maryland Family Network alongside the Baltimore Child Care Resource Center at the Family Tree, Child Resource Connect, and Montgomery County Child Care Support Services. Congratulations!

Governor Wes Moore told the Maryland Municipal League that child care is one of the four things that we can collectively do to grow our economy and ensure that it is "participatory." We agree!

'I love coming back to Ocean City': Gov. Wes Moore says town exemplifies 'Maryland spirit' "These are people who are optimistic about the future, take care of their neighbors, and take care of each other," said Gov. Moore about Ocean City.

We're so happy to know there are champions like you who care about the best interests of Maryland's children and families. Thank you so much for all you do! Congressman Kweisi Mfume

“Dads are most ordinary men turned by love into heroes, adventurers, story-tellers, and singers of song.” – Pam Brown

At MFN, we celebrate all the dads in our lives and thank them for being so incredible. Leave a comment below about what makes your dad or dads so great!

Enjoy a safe and happy !

Our programs support across Maryland.

Your donation in any amount helps us continue our work of strengthening families, building parent leaders, and advocating on behalf of all young children.

Donate (here: https://buff.ly/3dVIxss) today to help MFN uplift dads!

Please take our Child Care Survey!

(La encuesta también está disponible en Español)

We are using our survey to gather information from families on how they found child care, including whether they had assistance from Maryland Family Network’s 𝗟𝗢𝗖𝗔𝗧𝗘: Child Care.

Take the survey at https://buff.ly/3yQR5uY

Please take our Child Care Survey!

We are using our survey to gather information from families on how they found child care, including whether they had assistance from Maryland Family Network’s 𝗟𝗢𝗖𝗔𝗧𝗘: Child Care.

Take the survey here: https://buff.ly/3yQR5uY

🛑 STOP!

🛑 We're conducting a statewide strategic planning survey of our stakeholders. Designed to be taken by anyone, regardless of their familiarity with MFN. So, if you're reading this message, 𝒕𝒉𝒂𝒕 𝒎𝒆𝒂𝒏𝒔 𝒚𝒐𝒖.

🛑 Take the survey at https://buff.ly/3ypZyoP

ICYMI: "In 2018, the Maryland General Assembly launched a series of major improvements to CCS — at the time, one of the nation’s worst such programs — by raising subsidy rates, expanding family eligibility and capping parental copayments. While state and federal funds underwrote these improvements, the latest round relied heavily on federal pandemic relief dollars which have now expired.

So it is all the more astounding that the Moore administration committed $488 million in new and sorely needed state funds for CCS to cover Fiscal Year 2024 and FY 2025. Each year’s funding increase alone dwarfs the state’s largest prior allocation, raising the FY 2025 CCS budget to $328.5 in state funds and $412.4 million from all sources.

The magnitude of this state investment cannot be exaggerated. And it could not come at a better time for Maryland’s children, working families and child care providers. Governor Moore’s historic commitment to CCS walks the walk."

Read the full Letter to the Editor from our Executive Director, Laura Weeldreyer, via here: https://buff.ly/4ed1aCP

📸 credit:

🏆 The Baltimore Sun Readers' Choice is open and up for 2024!

🏆 Cast your vote for Maryland Family Network as your favorite Charity/Nonprofit!

🏆 Voting is open through June 7th, 2024.

🏆 Cast your vote at https://buff.ly/3wV8Ng3

Our annual Spring Conference kicked off today with a thought provoking keynote address from Crystal Bennett titled “When We Know Better...We Do Better” — Moving from Transactional to Transformational Services.

“It’s hard as hell,” parents talk about the struggles of attending college while raising young children. It’s one more reason why child care is good for families and our economy.

'It is hard as hell': For 1 in 5 students, the college experience includes raising a child For 1 in 5 students, the college experience includes raising a child. Scripps News met with several students who shared their struggles and triumphs while navigating school and parenthood.

"In 2018, the Maryland General Assembly launched a series of major improvements to CCS — at the time, one of the nation’s worst such programs — by raising subsidy rates, expanding family eligibility and capping parental copayments. While state and federal funds underwrote these improvements, the latest round relied heavily on federal pandemic relief dollars which have now expired.

So it is all the more astounding that the Moore administration committed $488 million in new and sorely needed state funds for CCS to cover Fiscal Year 2024 and FY 2025. Each year’s funding increase alone dwarfs the state’s largest prior allocation, raising the FY 2025 CCS budget to $328.5 in state funds and $412.4 million from all sources.

The magnitude of this state investment cannot be exaggerated. And it could not come at a better time for Maryland’s children, working families and child care providers. Governor Moore’s historic commitment to CCS walks the walk."

Read the Letter to the Editor from our Executive Director, Laura Weeldreyer, via here: https://buff.ly/4ed1aCP

🏆 The Baltimore Sun Readers' Choice is open and up for 2024!

🏆 Cast your vote for Maryland Family Network as your favorite Charity/Nonprofit!

🏆 You can vote for MFN through June 7th, 2024.

🏆 Cast your vote at https://buff.ly/4bRPzXs https://buff.ly/4bUaHwz

Take our Strategic Planning Survey.

We need 𝒚𝒐𝒖 to help us build a better future for Maryland families!

Find the survey at: https://buff.ly/3ypZyoP