Good Morning! It's Thursday, May 7th, 2020.

Here's today's news on issues affecting young kids: The Bipartisan Policy Center recently released a series of policy recommendations to support home-based child care, including how to make health and safety paramount. While much has been directed towards center-based care, family care providers are and will be a crucial element in the efforts to reopen the economy. In other news, while still a very small number, more and more children are showing signs of a rare illness known as Kawasaki disease, which is possibly linked to COVID-19. This and more in today's Morning Media.

TODAY'S MUST READ

The Los Angeles Times: Society must prepare for the mental health impacts of coronavirus on kids
Four-year-olds have playdates through closed windows, sliding their toy cars in unison on either side of the glass. (Kohli, 5/7/20)

The Washington Post: Melinda Gates: How rethinking caregiving could play a crucial role in restarting the economy
As workday interruptions go, it was a cute one. Midway through a video call with our foundation’s covid-19 response team, a naked toddler appeared in the corner of the screen. (Gates, 5/7/20)

SHARING IS CARING

Help Me Grow: The First 5 Center for Children's Policy has released a new report on California's Early Identification and Intervention System - like and retweet to share with your networks!

OPINION / EDITORIAL / BLOGS

Coronavirus

Business Insider: The mental health impacts of COVID-19 are especially real for millennials and parents. Here's what companies should do to help, according to a VP at WebMD.
A recent WebMD study shows how employers can best support workers amid the pandemic, and which groups need the most support.(Muldoon, 5/6/20)

Fortune: Now is the time to invest in preschool education. Here’s why
The U.S., like most of the world, is in the throes of a pandemic that has led to collapsing stock prices, plunging retail sales, and surging unemployment. (Barnett, 5/6/20)

The Hill: Why it's time to change Mother's Day
When Remi Michael was born three weeks ago in Lafayette, La., he was immediately taken away from his mother. Abi Bordelonor, who tested positive for COVID-19, was not allowed to hold him or see him in person. (Baldwin & Orgad, 5/6/20)

EARLY CHILDHOOD EDUCATION

Child Care and Coronavirus

First Five Years Fund: BPC Releases Policy Recommendations for State Child Care Funding
Serving small groups in a trusted setting, home-based child care may be a preferable option for millions of families concerned about their children’s exposure to COVID-19 in the coming months. (Uhing, 5/6/20)

First Five Years Fund: ChildCare.gov Adds Resources about Child Care and COVID-19
To help families across the country find information about child care, the Administration for Child and Families (ACF) hosts a national consumer education website, ChildCare.gov. (Hassan, 5/6/20)

LAist: Morning Briefing: Some Kids Head Back To Child Care
Some facilities started welcoming kids back this week, including the Young Horizons Child Development Center in Long Beach. (Dale, 5/7/20)

The Wall Street Journal: As Companies Reopen, Employees Scramble to Find Child Care
Coronavirus lockdowns have closed thousands of day-care facilities temporarily or permanently, leaving parents searching for solutions. (Weber & Feintzeig, 5/7/20)

New America: When Migrant and Seasonal Head Start Programs Close, Who Cares for Farmworkers' Children?
Over 90 percent of Head Start programs have temporarily closed since the COVID-19 outbreak began. These closures include nearly all Migrant and Seasonal Head Start programs, which provide early education, nutrition, and health services to agricultural workers and their families. (Franchino, 5/7/20)

Center for American Progress: Governors Lead the Way in Responding to Child Care Needs Amid the Coronavirus Crisis
Across the country, governors are leading the response to the coronavirus crisis. For most governors, that response includes taking initial steps to provide child care for essential workers and stabilize the child care industry so that providers can reopen. (Falgout & Hamm, 5/7/20)

At Home Learning/Resources and Coronavirus

The Daily Pilot: Fountain Valley storyteller produces online videos to keep children engaged with reading during pandemic
With schools and libraries closed due to the COVID-19 pandemic, Penny Runyan is hoping to keep children engaged with reading with online storytelling videos filmed out of her Fountain Valley garage. (Brazil, 5/6/20)

HEALTH

MedScape: Substance Use in Pregnant Women Underestimated
The use of alcohol, tobacco products, and drugs by pregnant women is a substantial problem that may be more prevalent than previously thought, according to researcher Kimberly Yonkers, MD. (Bowser, 5/6/20)

The New York Times: Women Are Less Likely to Conceive After C-Section Delivery
Among women who delivered by C-section, 68.9 percent conceived within the next three years, compared with 76.7 percent of women who delivered vaginally. (Bakalar, 5/6/20)

The Washington Post: Children are falling ill with perplexing inflammatory syndrome thought to be linked to covid-19
Number of cases remains small, but officials are on high alert because of severity. (Cha & Janes, 5/6/20)

LAist: Your Baby Might Hate Tummy Time But They Need It
When babies play while on their bellies, it can help them build muscle, learn to crawl and reach other developmental milestones, according to a study slated for publication in the scientific journal Pediatrics. (Dale, 5/7/20)

Medical Xpress: Sleep difficulties linked to altered brain development in infants who later diagnosed with autism
Infants spend most of their first year of life asleep. Those hours are prime time for brain development, when neural connections form and sensory memories are encoded. (5/7/20)

Coronavirus

The New York Times: How to Keep Children’s Stress From Turning Into Trauma
Parents can help children use the stress of coronavirus shutdowns as an opportunity for growth, experts say. (Steinberg, 5/7/20)

EurekAlert: Children & coronavirus infection (COVID-19): How to avoid post-traumatic stress disorder
COVID-19 is a pandemic that has forced many states to declare restrictive measures in order to prevent their wider spread. (5/6/20)

The New York Times: A New Coronavirus Threat to Children
Here’s what we know about the mysterious and frightening ailment that doctors are seeing in a small but growing number of very young Covid-19 patients. (Belluck, 5/6/20)

WTOP: More kids hospitalized with possible COVID-19 complication
Officials said on Wednesday that the number of children who have been hospitalized in New York City with symptoms consistent with a rare disease possibly linked to the coronavirushas nearly quadrupled to 64. (5/7/20)

Pregnancy and Coronavirus

VICE: Having a New Baby Is Hard. Doing It During Coronavirus Is a Nightmare
Isolation, a lack of in-person support, and the looming threat of job insecurity have created a perfect storm in which postpartum mood and anxiety disorders can thrive. (Zucker, 5/6/20)

Refinery 29: The First Seven Days: A Weeklong Diary About Giving Birth In A Pandemic
If you, too, are making meals out of old cereal, abandoning screen-time limits, and, you know, are occasionally terrified about what the future holds, you’re not alone. No Bad Moms is a series about not just lowering the bar, but ditching it completely. (5/6/20)

COMMUNITY AND FAMILIES

EurekAlert: Marketing claims for infant formula should be banned, argue experts
Current regulations do not effectively prevent potentially misleading claims. (5/6/20)

Coronavirus

The Conversation: Parental leave laws don’t do enough for single moms – but there’s a way to fixthat
As this crisis has unfolded, pregnant women have been forced to work without proper protective gear, with some choosing to quit rather than risk exposure to the coronavirus and contracting COVID-19. (Widiss, 5/6/20)

WHYY: Delaware teachers get training on how to spot child abuse virtually
When it comes to reporting child abuse, people who work as teachers, health care workers among other professions are required to report to authorities if they see evidence that a child is being abused. (Eichmann, 5/7/20)

Center for Health Journalism: Child abuse hotline calls are down during COVID-19, but abuse fears are up
James, a gregarious, rambunctious 8-year-old, ended up at the Harbor-UCLA KIDS Hub Clinic in early March for an evaluation of suspected physical abuse, shortly before schools closed due to the coronavirus pandemic. (Callahan and Mink, 5/7/20)

POLITICS

Pregnancy and Coronavirus

CALMatters: Legislators vote to close school spending loophole
A proposal to strengthen school spending transparency is among the few education bills that have survived a legislative session upended by the coronavirus pandemic. (Cano, 5/6/20)

The Atlantic: Essential, and No Longer Disposable
The pandemic is scrambling how Republicans and Democrats think about paying low-wage employees. (Brownstein, 5/6/20)

Immigration, Children and Coronavirus

Vox: US citizen spouses and children of unauthorized immigrants were shut out of stimulus relief. Now they’re suing.
They’re claiming they’re facing unconstitutional discrimination. (Narea, 5/6/20)

PARENTING

The New York Times: How Motherhood Changed My…
Sixteen women on their personal transformations. (5/6/20)

Coronavirus

The Washington Post: A working mom’s quarantine life
This Mother’s Day, eight women balancing careers and kids concede that thriving is out of reach. Surviving is enough. (Belluck, 5/6/20)

The Washington Post: Why the tooth fairy — and other imaginary friends — are essential personnel right now
During the first week of stay-at-home orders as a result of covid-19, the world thrumming with anxiety, my tween daughter lost one of her remaining baby teeth. (Cooper, 5/6/20)

The New York Times: Becoming a New Mom With ‘Old Depression’
I had to find new ways to compartmentalize my depression and process my emotions without denying my mental health needs. (Rosenberg, 5/6/20)

RELEVANT STUDIES AND REPORTS

California’s Early Identification and Intervention System and the Role of Help Me Grow

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Good Morning! It's Tuesday, April 7th, 2020.

Here's today's news on issues affecting young kids: A new study by theCenters for Disease Control and Prevention confirms that children make up only a small fraction of those hit by the coronavirus, although some have gotten very sick and one infant has died. While it is a mercy that children a mostly spared, they can also be unknowing carriers infecting their adult caregivers. In other news, experts are concerned that the stress families are feeling due to the pandemic and stay-at-home orders could put children at increased risk for abuse. This and more in today's Morning Media.

TODAY'S MUST READ

New America: Counting All Kids Amid COVID-19: How Early Education Advocates Are Supporting the Census
In late February, a panel of experts at the National Association for the Education of Young Children (NAEYC) Public Policy Forum highlighted the tremendous efforts underway to ensure that all children and babies are counted in the 2020 Census. (Franchino, 4/6/20)

SHARING IS CARING

ICYMI: Last week families across the nation, including our First 5 LA staff, celebrated Census Day by posting pictures of themselves filling out the Census form. Although Census Day has passed, it's not too late to raise awareness about the importance of filling out the Census!

OPINION / EDITORIAL / BLOGS

Coronavirus

The New York Times: The Coronavirus Could Cause a Child Abuse Epidemic
This crisis has created the conditions for a rise in abuse that could go unchecked. (Agrawal, 4/7/20)

The Washington Post: Let these children go
Under normal circumstances, the South Texas Family Residential Center, the largest immigration detention center in the United States, is a monument to injustice. During the covid-19 pandemic, Dilley has become a dangerous petri dish for disease. (Fluharty, 4/6/20)

Forbes: ‘Children Are The Hidden Victims Of This Pandemic’
Lockdowns and school closures threaten to deprive children of learning and all the other activities needed to sustain a healthy childhood. They also heighten risks of child exploitation, abuse and neglect. How UNICEF aims to keep child protection top of mind in the global fight against COVID-19. (Buechner, 4/6/20)

EARLY CHILDHOOD EDUCATION

Child Care and Coronavirus

EdSource: Essential workers now eligible for subsidized child care inCalifornia
Nurses, doctors, grocery store workers, police and other essential workers now have access to subsidized child care in California, regardless of their income. (Stavely, 4/6/20)

School Closures/Food Resources and Coronavirus

MindShift: Four Core Priorities for Trauma-Informed Distance Learning
Trauma-informed teaching cannot be simplified to cookie-cutter practices. (Newhouse, 4/6/20)

At Home Learning/Resources and Coronavirus

Futurity: Stuck at home: It’s OK if kids get bored
The closing of daycare centers and schools has sent parents nationwide into a mad scramble to teach their children at home, often while juggling work obligations remotely. (4/6/20)

LAist: Coronavirus Storytime: Here's Where To Find Celebrities Reading Children's Books Online
In mid-March, comedian and actor Josh Gad started reading children's books online (#GadBookClub) to give parents a brief respite from home schooling. We took a look around the web and found these other celebs sharing kid lit. (Ziemba, 4/6/20)

The New York Times: Are Your Children Stuck Inside? So Are These Kids
Books about quarantined, confined and adrift young people, from “The Cat in the Hat” to “Life of Pi,” for the cooped-up young people in your home. (Egan, 4/7/20)

HEALTH

Coronavirus

The New York Times: U.S. Children With Coronavirus Are Less Hard Hit Than Adults, First Data Shows
Nevertheless, a C.D.C. analysis of 2,572 cases found three deaths. Babies seem more vulnerable, but the data was incomplete. (Belluck, 4/6/20)
Also featured in Business Insider (McFall-Johnsen, 4/7/20), American Academy of Pediatrics(Korioth, 4/6/20), U.S. News & World Report (Galvin, 4/6/20), The Washington Post(Shammas, 4/6/20)

Yahoo News: Baby dies after mom with COVID-19 goes into premature labor: What we know about how susceptible infants are and how they’re treated
A newborn baby in Louisiana has died in a COVID-19-related death that is believed to be the first of its kind in the state, according to a local health official. (Kindelan, 4/6/20)

The Sacramento Bee: ‘A nightmare.’ Parents separated from newborns amid coronavirus share their stories
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention have advised mothers with coronavirus to be separated from their newborns. That means some parents have gone several days or more than a week without seeing their babies. (Stunson, 4/7/20)

Center for Health Journalism: What we're learning about how COVID-19 is impacting children
Children and teens seem to be the only bright spot in the COVID-19 pandemic. The first large analysis of pediatric cases in the U.S., released Monday by the CDC, found that children are less likely than adults to become severely ill or wind up in the hospital. (Smith, 4/7/20)

Pregnancy and Coronavirus

Healthline: Is It Safe to Follow a Vegan Diet While Pregnant?
This article explores the current research to determine the vegan diet’s safety during pregnancy and provides tips for how to do it properly. (Petre, 4/6/20)

PBS News Hour: What’s it like to be pregnant amid a pandemic? New and prospective mothers share stories
Across the U.S., expectant parents and those who have recently given birth are confronting an unanticipated layer of stress due to coronavirus. (Nawaz, 4/6/20)

U.S. News & World Report: Pregnant Women Need to Guard Against Coronavirus
Pregnant women with COVID-19 may be susceptible to pregnancy complications, an obstetrician-gynecologist says. (Preidt, 4/6/20)

New Hampshire Public Radio: What To Expect In The Time Of Coronavirus? For Pregnant Women, It's Uncertainty.
Pregnancy is already mentally, emotionally, and physically exhausting. But being pregnant right now, in the middle of this pandemic means managing a long list of additional fears and what ifs.(Chooljian, 4/6/20)

COMMUNITY AND FAMILIES

Coronavirus

PBS Newshour: Why child welfare experts fear a spike of abuse during COVID-19
Over the course of five consecutive days last month, Dr. Jamye Coffman saw seven children and infants who had been abused so severely that they required hospitalization at Cook Children’s Medical Center in Fort Worth, Texas. (Santhanam, 4/6/20)

CNN: Parents have a right to be stressed. But don't take it out on your kids
Just as prior generations were deeply affected by the Great Depression, the assassinations of Martin Luther King and the Kennedys and the horrors of 9/11, the Covid-19 pandemic may well be the defining moment in the lives of today's children. (Merrick & Sege, 4/7/20)

Equity

The Chronicle of Philanthropy: Foundations and Nonprofits See Crisis as Opportunity to Advance Equity
As the coronavirus started to spread, a group of grant makers led by the Ford Foundation circulated a pledge that read like a wish list for grantees focused on equity and social justice. (Daniels, 4/6/20)

Census

The Conversation: Census 2020 will protect your privacy more than ever – but at the price ofaccuracy
Census data can be pretty sensitive – it’s not just how many people live in a neighborhood, a town, a state or the nation as a whole. (Nagle, 4/6/20)

POLITICS

Coronavirus Emergency Policies

First Five Years Fund: FFYF joins Home Visiting Coalition in letter to Senate
Last week, FFYF joined with the Home Visiting Coalition Steering Committee to respond to a request for information from Senate Finance Committee Chairman Grassley and Ranking Member Wyden on evidence-based solutions to improve maternal health. (Mendoza, 4/6/20)

PARENTING

New York Magazine: The Best Nursing Pillows, According to Experts
According to Naima Beckles, a certified childbirth educator, doula, breastfeeding counselor, and the owner of birthing service For Your Birth, nursing pillows “help by allowing a baby to be propped up high and close to the breast. (Ro, 4/6/20)

The New York Times Parenting: Should You Breastfeed if You Have the Coronavirus?
Here’s how to navigate the emerging guidance on breastfeeding in a pandemic. (Caron, 4/6/20)

Scientific American: The Problem with Telling Children They’re Better Than Others
There is a superior way to motivate kids and make them feel proud about their accomplishments. (Gürel & Brummelman, 4/7/20)

ABOUT US

First 5 LA's Morning Media helps inform leaders and lawmakers about how young children are affected by issues, policies, and budget decisions. The Morning Media is published every Monday through Thursday, excluding holidays, and is edited by Katie Kurutz.It is for informational purposes only. First 5 LA does not endorse viewpoints or opinions shared in this publication unless specifically stated.

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Good Morning! It's Monday, April 6th, 2020. Here's today's news on issues affecting young kids: Over the weekend, Governor Gavin Newsom signed an executive order allowing the departments of Education and Social Services to approve state-funded childcare for essential workers, including health care professionals, emergency responders, law enforcement and grocery workers. While state-funded care is normally reserved for low-income families, the order will provide much needed relief for essential workers trying to balance work and family. In other news, parents able to work from home are feeling the conflict between child care, home school and work, and some are choosing to lower the bar, or throw it out all together. This and more in today's Morning Media.

TODAY'S MUST READ

LAist: Governor Approves Child Care Aid For Essential Workers
Gov. Gavin Newsom has signed an executive order that allows the departments of Education and Social Services to approve child care and after-school programs for children of health care professionals, emergency responders, law enforcement and grocery workers. (4/5/20)
Also featured in The San Francisco Chronicle (Whiting, 4/5/20)

The Hechinger Report: Our fragile child care ‘system’ may be about to shatter
Child care programs across the country are ‘afraid to stay open and afraid to close,’ caught between fear of the coronavirus and fear of financial ruin. (Mongeau, 4/5/20)

The Hechinger Report: Her daycare center was already on the brink — then coronavirus struck
The child care system is failing the very workers it relies on. And it’s about to get worse. (Mader, 4/5/20)

CALMatters: California eases child care regulations for critical workers
While some details are still to come, the governor's executive order could deliver some much-needed relief to essential workers straining to balance their jobs and children.(Aguilera, 4/6/20)

EARLY CHILDHOOD EDUCATION

Child Care and Coronavirus

The Washington Post: Keeping a child-care center open amid coronavirus
This has been one of the toughest times I have experienced in my 14 years of owning and operating an early-learning center. My accredited center serves 150 students aged 6 weeks to 12 years old. (Jost, 4/3/20)

The New York Times: What to Do if Your Day Care Is Still Open
And what to do if it isn’t. (For starters: Pay them if you can, but don’t fret if you can’t.) (Sohn, 4/3/20)

Vox: “We are on our own”: How the coronavirus pandemic is hurting child care workers
Many providers could go out of business — permanently. (North, 4/4/20)

Axios: Health care workers' child care crisis
State and local governments are working to help medical workers and emergency responders fighting against the coronavirus outbreak who no longer have child care and day care centers for their children, AP reports. (Fernandez, 4/4/20)

USA Today: Coronavirus is closing day cares; child care providers worry they may never reopen
Dominated by small businesses, the country’s child care “system” has long been at a breaking point. (Mongeau, 4/5/20)

EdSource: Child care in a locked downworld
A recent television news headline asked, “Can day cares stay open amid coronavirus outbreak?” The answer — yes — has confused many. It shouldn’t. (Dumars, 4/5/20)

The Long Beach Press Telegram: Amid coronavirus crisis, few are more essential than the child-care teams at Long Beach’s Boys & Girls Clubs, YMCA
Staffs have shifted to serving children of first responders and other workers in essential jobs. (Archbold, 4/5/20)

San Francisco Chronicle: A working parent’s shelter-in-place quandary: Keep paying for childcare you can’t use?
Like many working parents, Bethany Hendrickson O’Connell found a bit of novelty in the first week of sheltering in place. (Swan, 4/5/20)

CPR: Colorado Child Care Centers – And Parents Who Need Them – Squeezed During Coronavirus Outbreak
When Colorado Gov. Jared Polis shut down in-person instruction at schools to slow the spread of the new coronavirus, he made one exception. He requested that child care centers remain open to serve the children of essential workers, like doctors, nurses, police and people who operate utility services. (Griffin, 4/6/20)

School Closures/Food Resources and Coronavirus

The New York Times: What Students Are Saying About Public Preschool, Staying Healthy and Being Trapped Inside
Teenage comments in response to our recent writing prompts, and an invitation to join the ongoing conversation. (4/2/20)

Quartz: To the millions of parents who didn’t choose to homeschool: This is a unique opportunity
A staggering 1.4 billion children around the world are now at home instead of school, and will remain there until the danger of coronavirus eases in their respective countries. (Werber, 4/3/20)

At Home Learning/Resources and Coronavirus

The Atlantic: How the Coronavirus Is Influencing Children’s Play
Play is children’s language, and parents shouldn’t be concerned if the pandemic has been showing up in kids’ games lately. (Cray, 4/1/20)

Variety: Why LeVar Burton Is Launching a Live-Streaming Reading Series on Twitter: ‘I’m a Storyteller’
LeVar Burton, known to many Americans as the longtime host of PBS’s “Reading Rainbow,” wants to spread the love during the coronavirus crisis with a new story-reading series he’s launching on Twitter — for kids and adults. (Spangler, 4/2/20)

The Washington Post: A time of unprecedented fear for parents of adults with intellectual and developmental disabilities
Just a few weeks ago, in the distant-seeming life before coronavirus, Ellen Blackwell marked her son’s March 27 birthday on her calendar. (Gibson, 4/3/20)

Healthline: How COVID-19 Could Affect Kids’ Long-Term Social Development
The idea of long-term social distancing is daunting for everyone, but perhaps especially so for parents who have now become their children’s main outlet for social interaction. (Campbell, 4/3/20)

Huffington Post: Fun Online Classes For Kids To Learn, Create And Move At Home
Keeping bored kids entertained isn’t easy, especially if you’re trying to avoid them streaming shows or playing video games all day. (Gonzalez, 4/3/20)

The Huffington Post: How Children With Disabilities Are Getting Left Behind
Schools are struggling to educate 7 million students who receive special education services in the absence of physical classrooms.(Klein, 4/4/20)

PBS News Hour: Should parents lower the bar while working from home?
With the growing coronavirus outbreak, millions of parents in the U.S. are being asked to work from home while also caring for their children. Balancing the two may seem like an impossible task. (Green, 4/5/20)

Fortune: Virtual school is hard enough. It’s even more chaotic for a family of 9
During the coronavirus pandemic, families across the country are trying to figure out how to work from home, manage childcare, and adapt to virtual school. Jennifer Radcliffe and her clan are no different—except perhaps in terms of scale. (Hinchcliffe, 4/6/20)

The Los Angeles Times: The new reality of school at home: Overwhelmed. Isolated. Unfocused. Very Stressed
“Assignments that would normally take me two hours or 30 minutes are now taking me days to complete. I just … can’t focus,” he said. (Multiple Authors, 4/6/20)

HEALTH

Coronavirus

MedScape: Mother-Baby Separation for COVID-19 Not Evidence-Based, Experts Say
Some experts say the recommendation to separate mothers with confirmed or suspected COVID-19 from their infants after delivery is not supported by evidence and could cause lasting harm. (Brown, 4/5/20)

The New York Times: Should You Breastfeed if You Have the Coronavirus?
Here’s how to navigate the emerging guidance on breastfeeding in a pandemic. (Caron, 4/5/20)

The New York Times: Using Shelter-in-Place Time to Foster Better Family Food Habits
Rediscovering home cooking during our weeks spent at home can be an opportunity to foster better eating habits in our kids. (Brody, 4/6/20)

Pregnancy and Coronavirus

The Los Angeles Times: Pregnant women forced to get creative as coronavirus bears down on L.A. hospitals
Two weeks before her son was due, Layla Shaikley sat down to repack her hospital bag. (Sharp, 4/1/20)

Refinery29: What It’s Like To Be Pregnant In The Coronavirus Pandemic
For those who are pregnant, the unknowns of the coronavirus outbreak are especially stressful. (Longman, 4/1/20)

The New York Times: What Pregnant Women Should Know About Coronavirus
The risks, so far, seem no greater than for anyone else, but the research is thin and only applies to later stage of pregnancy. (Mandavilli, 4/2/20)

WBUR: 'It's Frightening': How New Moms Are Experiencing The Coronavirus Pandemic
"Being a new mom is scary enough. The fear of something happening to yourself or your child is much higher because this virus is so infectious." (Walters, 4/5/20)

USA Today: 'Grateful that we have this option': Some pregnant women turn to home births amid coronavirus pandemic
As hospitals around the nation are transformed into coronavirus battle stations where overwhelmed medical teams with limited supplies fight a new, incurable disease, more expectant mothers are deciding it's safer to give birth at home. (Nahorniak, 4/5/20)

The New York Times: Pregnant and Worried About Coronavirus? Experts Weigh In
We found answers to some of the most pressing questions posed by expecting mothers. (Caron, 4/6/20)

COMMUNITY AND FAMILIES

Coronavirus

The New York Times: Single Parents Are Struggling, but Enduring, Through the Pandemic
NYT Parenting readers share their stories. (Blum, 4/3/20)

Axios: Coronavirus reshapes American families
For the first time since the early 19th century, many parents and kids — and even grandchildren — are all under the same roof round-the-clock. And if past periods of emergency are any guide, this enforced togetherness could deepen our relationships for years to come. (Pandey, 4/4/20)

LAist: Coronavirus Is Keeping Foster Children Apart From Their Birth Parents
FaceTime, Skype, Zoom — that’s how children in L.A. County’s foster care system talk to their biological parents now that visitations have been suspended during the pandemic. (Huang, 4/5/20)

KPBS: How Multigenerational Families Manage ‘Social Distancing’ Under OneRoof
The Walker family never thought having an age range of 3 to 96 under the same roof would be risky. (Anthony, 4/5/20)

The Washington Post: Doctors, nurses leave homes to protect families from virus
To protect her family, Neuburger moved from her parents’ home, where she had been living with her son after a recent divorce, and into a camper. (Forliti, 4/5/20)

Coronavirus Impact on Census 2020

Mic: COVID-19's impact on the 2020 census will be felt for generations to come
The confluence of circumstances leaves advocacy organizations and census officials in a bind: How can they get an accurate count of populations who are already historically hard-to-count, without being able to do in-person outreach en masse? (Levy-Uyeda, 4/2/20)

POLITICS

Coronavirus Emergency Policies

The New York Times: What to Do if Your Day Care Is Still Open
And what to do if it isn’t. (For starters: Pay them if you can, but don’t fret if you can’t.) (Sohn, 4/3/20)

PARENTING

Coronavirus

Quartz: A support guide for parents raising babies and toddlers through the coronavirus crisis
It is a well-established fact that babies’ brains develop at warp speed in the first three years of life, laying critical cognitive, emotional, and social foundations. (Timsit, 4/4/20)

PR News: Communicating to Children About Coronavirus
If coronavirus is scary for adults, we can only imagine the confusion and uncertain fear it sparks in the minds of children. And with families sequestered in their homes day and night, it leaves little room for parents to vent their own frustrations or concerns without little ears overhearing. (Schuman, 4/5/20)

ABOUT US

First 5 LA's Morning Media helps inform leaders and lawmakers about how young children are affected by issues, policies, and budget decisions. The Morning Media is published every Monday through Thursday, excluding holidays, and is edited by Katie Kurutz.It is for informational purposes only. First 5 LA does not endorse viewpoints or opinions shared in this publication unless specifically stated.

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Share your ideas and feedback! The Morning Media aims to share the most relevant news of the last 24-hours, or on Mondays, of the last four days, but it helps to know what you find most helpful for your work. Send ideas, feedback or an article to First 5 LA Communications Specialist Katie Kurutz at kkurutz@first5la.org.

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Good Morning! It's Thursday, April 2nd, 2020. Here's today's news on issues affecting young kids: Today is Autism Acceptance Day and to mark it, "Sesame Street" has released new content featuring Julia, the character who has autism, and her relationship with her brother. Autism currently affects about one in 54 children in the U.S., reports ABC's "Good Morning America." In other news, KPCC/LAist Early Childhood Reporter Mariana Dale provides a widow into how some child care centers and families are coping with sheltering in place. This and more in today's Morning Media.

TODAY'S MUST READ

LAist: A New Industry Overnight': Early Education In A Distance Learning World
Teachers and parents everywhere are trying to make distance learning work, but early education poses some unique challenges, from short attention spans to concerns about too much screen time. (Dale, 4/2/20)

SHARING IS CARING

Equity During the Pandemic: Tune in today at 11 a.m. PST for the Moms Rising #EarlyEdChat focusing on how the coronavirus is impacting early learning in communities of color.

EARLY CHILDHOOD EDUCATION

Child Care and Coronavirus

The Long Beach Post: Long Beach wants to match out-of-work child care professionals with families who need them
With schools closed because of COVID-19, first-responders, grocery store employees and other essential workers have few places to put their kids. In response, Long Beach is promoting a website meant to match families in need with workers who can provide them in-home child care. (Osier, 4/1/20)

School Closures/Food Resources and Coronavirus

EdSource: Special education inconsistent in California school districts duringclosures
Some have already launched online learning, others still in the planningphase. (Jones, 4/1/20)

At Home Learning/Resources and Coronavirus

Bloomberg: Children Stuck at Home Are Getting More Screen Time Than Ever
The family’s schedule tries to cap the fun time on screens for the two kids to an hour between their educational activities, both also on electronic displays: a Zoom reading class, and an online drawing session. But the limit never sticks. With two working parents, “it is a necessity,” Krieger says. (Fouquet & Frier, 4/1/20)

Fresno Bee: Online education during coronavirus? Teachers and parents say it’s a mess in California
Tomica Neal is a single mom and full-time Fresno State student. Since the coronavirus pandemic shut down her kids’ Clovis school last month, she’s also become a teacher. (Velez, 4/1/20)

Forbes: Homeschooling Amid The Coronavirus Pandemic Just Got Easier
In the face of long term school closures, Common Sense Media, a nonprofit whose mission is to help kids, families and educators coexist in a world of technology, has brought together select education, tech and media partners to help support the difficult transition to e-learning. (Moon, 4/1/20)

HEALTH

Romper: What Nobody Tells You About Choosing Not To Breastfeed
It’s easy to feel like the expert consensus is that if you’re giving your kid anything other than breast milk, you might as well put some Diet Coke in their bottle and call it a day. (Oster, 4/1/20)

Futurity: Solid food too soon can change baby gut bacteria
Babies who start on solid foods at or before three months of age may experience changes in their levels of gut bacteria, according to a new study. (Benham, 4/1/20)

Medical Xpress: Do popular food pouches put the 'squeeze' on infant and toddler nutrition?
Squeezable food pouches for infants and toddlers are a popular item among parents as they are easy to use, transport and clean up. (Oates, 4/1/20)

The New York Times: High Blood Pressure of Pregnancy Tied to Developmental Problems in Children
Pre-eclampsia was associated with a slightly increased risk of epilepsy, autism and other neurodevelopmental problems in offspring. (Bakalar, 4/2/20)

Good Morning America: 'Sesame Street' to reveal new episode starring Julia, new resources to honor Autism Acceptance Day
In honor of Autism Acceptance Day, "Sesame Street" is highlighting how all children are amazing with new resources for families, and brand new content featuring Julia and the special relationship she shares with her brother Samuel. (Pelletiere & McLellan, 4/2/20)

Coronavirus

The Los Angeles Times: Infants and children in the time of coronavirus
The virus is more likely to be fatal in adults, but children who have tested positive for COVID-19 also have died. Underlying health conditions increase the risk of a severe illness. (McKoy, 4/1/20)

Pregnancy and Coronavirus

ProPublica: “I’m Terrified”: Pregnant Health Care Workers at Risk for Coronavirus Are Being Forced to Keep Working
Pregnant doctors, nurses and medical support staff have continued going to work, whether they want to or not, even as the latest research on coronavirus and pregnancy has caused a new sense of worry. (Martin & Yeung, 4/1/20)

Refinery 29: What It’s Like To Be Pregnant In The Coronavirus Pandemic
For those who are pregnant, the unknowns of the coronavirus outbreak are especially stressful. (Longman, 4/1/20)

The Los Angeles Times: Pregnant women forced to get creative as coronavirus bears down on L.A. hospitals
More babies are born in Los Angeles County than anywhere else in the United States. But with COVID-19 cases continuing to surge, many fear that the city’s hospitals might soon bar visitors from their maternity wards, as several in New York did briefly last week. (Sharp, 4/1/20)

CBS Sacramento: Giving Birth In A Pandemic
Expecting moms are making tough decisions right now. Some are choosing to change their birthing plans while others making adjustments. (4/1/20)

COMMUNITY AND FAMILIES

Coronavirus

LAist: 150,000 Diapers Donated For Low-Income Families
Baby2Baby, a nonprofit organization that serves children living in poverty, has donated more than 150,000 diapers and 3,500 cans of formula to the clinics to distribute to low-income families with newborns. (4/1/20)

The Washington Post: ‘We’re the forgotten’: She is living with 5 children in a motel and has advice for others who will end up there because of the coronavirus
She is living with her husband and five of her six children at a motel in Prince George’s County, Md., sharing a room with two beds that costs $77 a night during the week and $84 a night on the weekends. (Vargas, 4/1/20)

Yahoo Lifestyle: What are WIC items? Why should you avoid stockpiling them during the coronavirus pandemic
When you're shopping at your favorite local grocery store during the coronavirus pandemic, the needs of your family and loved ones are probably the first and only things on your mind. (Gibson, 4/1/20)

U.S. News & World Report: Why We Can't Ignore the Link Between COVID-19, Climate Change and Inequity
If we aren’t careful, the battle against coronavirus could have a negative impact on equity and climate change. (Sawin, 4/1/20)

POLITICS

Coronavirus Emergency Policies

Sierra Sun Times: During the COVID-19 Pandemic U.S. Senator Kamala D. Harris and Colleagues Urge Administration to Address Child Care Needs of Frontline Workers
Senator Kamala D. Harris (D-CA) on Tuesday joined Senator Maggie Hassan (D-NH) and 20 of their Kamala D. Harriscolleagues in urging the Office of Child Care at the Department of Health and Human Services to take additional steps to expand child care options for health care workers and others on the frontlines responding to the COVID-19 pandemic, as well as provide critical guidance to child care providers to ensure that they are taking appropriate action to minimize the risk of spreading COVID-19 at centers that remain open. (4/1/20)

Forbes: Enforcing Paid Leave Rights Under The Families First Coronavirus Response Act
The FFCRA provides a host of benefits, one of the most prominent being paid leave for employees so they can deal with the effects of the coronavirus. (Spiggle, 4/1/20)

Politico: Nunes: California canceling school year is ‘way overkill’
The Republican congressman previously contradicted the advice of public health experts by suggesting that Americans visit local restaurants with their families amid the pandemic. (Forgey, 4/1/20)

Chalkbeat: Open NYC’s child care centers to homeless students, comptroller says
Homeless students should be allowed to attend the city’s under-enrolled child care centers, set up for families of frontline workers responding to the coronavirus pandemic, New York City Comptroller Scott Stringer said Wednesday. (Amin, 4/1/20)

Center for American Progress: Congress Needs To Ensure Educational Equity in the Wake of the Coronavirus Pandemic
The $2 trillion stimulus package passed by Congress last week includes critically needed funding that will help America’s students, from preschool through postsecondary education, as the United States reckons with the effects of the COVID-19 pandemic, including shuttered schools from coast to coast and a potentially severe recession. (Multiple Authors, 4/2/20)

First Five years Fund: Here’s an Overview of Child Care Relief Included in the CARES Act
In addition to the proven benefits to a child’s learning and healthy development, quality child care is an essential pillar of America’s labor market and economy, allowing millions of parents to go to work or attend school each day. (4/2/2020)

PARENTING

Coronavirus

The Washington Post: Expert advice for sheltering in place with a tyrannical toddler
While we’re keeping our germs to ourselves, my sanity is deteriorating as I’m trapped inside with a bona fide Mama’s Girl. (Graham, 4/1/20)

Romper: How Quarantine Affects Your Toddler, According To Experts
If I could describe my toddler’s personality now that we’ve been social distancing for more than two weeks, it would be Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde. (Schreier, 4/1/20)

The Los Angeles Times: The bizarre reality of being new parents in the age of coronavirus
“Your mind goes to those places right now,” she said in a phone interview. “I don’t want Mateo to sense that, because babies feel it. So that makes me feel more helpless.” (Arellano, 4/1/20)

RESOURCES

Interactive Map: Early childhood education programs are essential for the millions of children and families they serve and play an important role during emergency public health and economic emergencies. Child Care Aware® of America has partnered with Yale University Professors Walter Gilliam and Eli Fenichel and their colleagues to promote and disseminate this interactive map that estimates the child care needs of essential workers during the COVID-19 pandemic.

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TODAY'S MUST READ

Good Morning! It's Wednesday, April 1st, 2020. Here's today's news on issues affecting young kids: It' Census Day, which the U.S Census Bureau uses to determine who is counted and where in the 2020 Census. First 5 LA and advocates across the nation are encouraging families to participate and post to social media using the hashtag #BeCounted. In other news, four children in immigration detention and seven employees of the Office of Refugee Resettlement have tested positive for coronavirus, prompting two federal judges to urge Immigration and Customs Enforcement to release families in detention. This and more in today's Morning Media.

TODAY'S MUST READ

LAist: LA County Issues Guidance For Child Care Providers
No more “circle time” – that’s one of the guidelines the Los Angeles County Department of Public Health issued for early care and education providers who continue to operate during the Covid-19 outbreak. (Dale, 3/31/20)

SHARING IS CARING

Be Counted: It's Census Day! Join First 5 LA in tweeting and posting to social media pictures and messages encouraging participation using the hashtag #BeCounted. Spread the word!

OPINION / EDITORIAL / BLOGS

Coronavirus

CALMatters: If we can safely distance at the grocery store, surely we can do the same at parks
For physicians and lawmakers working to halt transmission of the coronavirus, the crowds that had gathered understandably raised alarms. But rather than shut down our parks and trails, we need to deploy resources to safely manage these public resources: we need them now more than ever. (Aboelata, 3/31/20)

EARLY CHILDHOOD EDUCATION

Medical Xpress: New research suggests parents should limit screen media for preschoolers
New research from University of California, Davis, suggests that parents should delay introducing their children to any screen media, as well as limit preschool-age children's use of mobile devices, including smartphones and tablets. (3/31/20)

Child Care and Coronavirus

Philadelphia Inquirer: A Philly day-care owner laid off 100 people because of the coronavirus: ‘It was the worst day of my life’
The majority of Kinder’s 500 client families at five locations are low-income and qualify for city, state, or federal funding. (Laker, 3/30/20)

WHYY: Delaware restricts child care centers to essential personnel, coronavirus death toll rises to 10
Three more people in the state have died for a total of 10 deaths since the virus started. There are 64 coronavirus patients being treated at hospitals statewide, an increase of 18 patients since yesterday. (Eichmann, 3/31/20)

School Closures/Food Resources and Coronavirus

The Sacramento Bee: Coronavirus will keep California schools from reopening, state superintendent says
Schools in California will be unable to physically reopen this academic year due to concerns of the coronavirus, according to a letter from the State Superintendent of Public Instruction, who encouraged educators to pivot quickly to online as students are expected to shelter in place through May 1 and possibly beyond. (Morrar, 3/31/20)
Also featured in USA Today (3/31/20), San Francisco Chronicle (Tucker, 3/31/20)

Brookings Institute: COVID-19 and school closures: What can countries learn from past emergencies?
Over the course of my career, I have had the privilege of helping to translate the disparate actions and approaches of teachers and program leaders on the ground into an established field of theory and practice on education in emergencies. (Winthrop, 3/31/20)

The Hechinger Report: It feels a little hopeless’: Parents of kids with disabilities worry coronavirus quarantine will mean regression
Isolated at home with few services to help, a mother in San Francisco is terrified that her daughter’s progress will evaporate. (Preston, 3/31/20)

New America: What School Closures Mean for Students with Disabilities
The COVID-19 school closures, now expected to last 8 weeks or more, will impact more than 54 million students across the country (see Edweek’s tracking of closures by state). Of these students, more than 7 million have mental, physical, emotional and behavioral disabilities and receive special education services. (Silva, 3/31/20)

EdSource: I’m here for my students, despite the distance
Coronavirus creates need, opportunity for teachers to focus on social-emotional support. (Seril, 3/31/20)

At Home Learning/Resources and Coronavirus

New America: Online Learning Only Works if Students Have Home Internet Access. Some Don't.
While some states are settling into the second full week of online learning, important questions remain about not only the best methods and tools for remote instruction, but also about who can connect at home and who can’t. (Prescott, 3/31/20)

New York Times Parenting: Parents and Schools Are Struggling to Care for Kids With Special Needs
Coronavirus has meant rethinking education as we know it, and it’s OK to take it slow. (Levine, 3/31/20)

The New York Times: Stuck Inside? Here’s an Australian Kids’ Show Every Parent Can Love
“Bluey” is the country’s biggest children’s TV export since “The Wiggles,” speaking with rare frankness to young and old. (Sebag-Montefiore, 4/1/20)

HEALTH

Coronavirus

Harvard Health Publishing: Coronavirus outbreak and kids
Advice on playdates, social distancing, and healthy behaviors to help prevent infection. (3/31/20)

Good Morning America: Infants and COVID-19: What we know about how susceptible they are and how they’re treated
Public health officials in Illinois on Saturday announced the death of an infant in Chicago who tested positive for the novel coronavirus. (Kindelan & Singh, 3/31/20)

Pregnancy and Coronavirus

WebMD: Should I Have a Home Birth to Avoid COVID-19?
Pregnancy is often a time of high anxiety – even when there’s not a global pandemic going on. (Rupe, 3/31/20)

CBS Los Angeles: Pregnant Women, Newborns Not Showing More Susceptibility To Coronavirus
However, Dr. Mina Desai of the Lundquist Institute tells Suzanne Marques this is preliminary information based on limited evidence. (3/31/20)

The New York Times: Virus Disrupts Pregnancy Plans, Raises Anxiety and Questions
Some pregnant women fear giving birth with no loved ones by their side. Others worry about getting sick with COVID-19 and not being able to hold their newborns. (AP, 3/31/20)

The New Yorker: A Chaotic Week for Pregnant Women in New York City
Early on Sunday, March 22nd, Lauren Pelz got a text from a friend who’d heard that the NewYork-Presbyterian (N.Y.P.) hospital network had decided to bar partners from accompanying women in labor, due to concerns about the spread of COVID-19. (Bobrow, 4/1/20)

The New York Times: Some Pregnant Women Who Can Afford to Are Fleeing New York City
Expectant mothers who are fearful of giving birth in a city that has become a coronavirus hot spot are seeking other options. (Caron & Van Syckle, 4/1/20)

COMMUNITY AND FAMILIES

CNN: It's Census Day. Here's what you need to know about the 2020 count
The results of the 2020 census will impact the lives of people around the country. And everyone living in the US plays a role in shaping them. (Shoichet, 4/1/20)

Coronavirus

USA Today: Amid coronavirus pandemic, streams of children's music see double-digit increase
Brooks said streams jumped 12% week over week. Children's audio streams were up 5%, while video streams soared 22%. (Dinges, 3/31/20)

POLITICS

Coronavirus Emergency Policies

First Five Years Fund: Understanding New Unemployment Benefits Included in the CARES Act Passed by Congress
Last week, Congress passed the Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security (CARES) Act, which provides relief for families, small businesses, and major industries, including child care providers. (Uhing, 3/31/20)

Immigration and Coronavirus Emergency Policies

KQED: New COVID-19 Relief Benefits Leave Out Millions Of Undocumented Immigrants
Even though many undocumented workers collectively pay billions of dollars in taxes, they are excluded from unemployment insurance benefits — which require applicants to show federal work authorization. (Romero, 3/31/20)

Slate: Why Won’t the Federal Government Release Immigrant Children?
The coronavirus threatens to turn immigration detention centers into a “tinderbox scenario.” (Hlass, 3/31/20)

PARENTING

Coronavirus

The Wall Street Journal: For Divorced Parents, Coronavirus Means Extra Complication
Even exes who are amicably splitting custody of children don’t always agree on how much risk they will tolerate. (Petersen, 3/31/20)

Huffington Post: How To Care For Your Kids' Mental Health During The COVID-19 Pandemic
Experts share ways parents can help their kids cope with social distancing. (Bologna, 3/31/20)

The Washington Post: Advice for parents who are feeling isolated: ‘Ask for what you need, give what you can’
I reached out to friends around the world not only to commiserate, but also to crowdsource ideas for how best to build new models of human connection during what may become a prolonged period of separation. (Makhijani, 4/1/20)

The New York Times: 4 Ways to Help Your Anxious Kid
First, acknowledge ways the coronavirus has changed their lives. (Grose, 4/1/20)

ABOUT US

First 5 LA's Morning Media helps inform leaders and lawmakers about how young children are affected by issues, policies, and budget decisions. The Morning Media is published every Monday through Thursday, excluding holidays, and is edited by Katie Kurutz.It is for informational purposes only. First 5 LA does not endorse viewpoints or opinions shared in this publication unless specifically stated.

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Share your ideas and feedback! The Morning Media aims to share the most relevant news of the last 24-hours, or on Mondays, of the last four days, but it helps to know what you find most helpful for your work. Send ideas, feedback or an article to First 5 LA Communications Specialist Katie Kurutz at kkurutz@first5la.org.

Coronavirus

CALMatters: If we can safely distance at the grocery store, surely we can do the same at parks
For physicians and lawmakers working to halt transmission of the coronavirus, the crowds that had gathered understandably raised alarms. But rather than shut down our parks and trails, we need to deploy resources to safely manage these public resources: we need them now more than ever. (Aboelata, 3/31/20)

LAist: LA County Issues Guidance For Child Care Providers
No more “circle time” – that’s one of the guidelines the Los Angeles County Department of Public Health issued for early care and education providers who continue to operate during the Covid-19 outbreak. (Dale, 3/31/20)

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TODAY'S MUST READ

LAist: Already On The Margins, Child Care Providers Look For Coronavirus Relief
Child care providers around the state are closing as parents whose jobs are deemed "non-essential" have been told to stay home with their kids to stop the spread of coronavirus. (Dale, 3/24/20)

click to read more!

First 5 Glenn County

Morning Media

Good Morning! It's Thursday, May 7th, 2020.

California’s Early Identification and Intervention System and the Role of Help Me Grow

Good Morning! It's Tuesday, April 7th, 2020.

First 5 Glenn County