Kids Forward Podcasts Kids Forward

In this episode, Kate MacCrimon talks with Abby Abrisham, owner of Careplus Preschool in Madison WI.  Abby has been operating her family child care program since 1994. She talks about existing professional recognition systems such as WI’s YoungStar QRIS and the Registry.  She also elaborates how she redefines professionalism in child care she is committing herself, for the families she serves and new as well as future providers.
This podcast series is produced by Kids Forward with the support of the Partnership of America's Children and the Center for the Humanities at the University of Wisconsin-Madison through the Mellon Public Humanities Graduate Fellowship Program. These podcasts are dedicated to highlighting the stories of everyday people in our communities on policy topics that affect us all. For this series, we focus on family child care providers, nearly half of the early care and education workforce.

In this episode, Kate MacCrimon talks with Nicki Cooper, owner of Nicki’s Playpen, serving families in Madison WI. Nicki has been operating her FCC program since 1994. Nicki talks about her ways of maintaining a multigenerational relationship with families in her care as a critical part of her professionalism. She also shares her experience with the regulatory systems that have been disappointing and unsupportive, and how the Union she was involved in its formative years has made things different. 
This podcast series is produced by Kids Forward with the support of the Partnership of America's Children and the Center for the Humanities at the University of Wisconsin-Madison through the Mellon Public Humanities Graduate Fellowship Program. These podcasts are dedicated to highlighting the stories of everyday people in our communities on policy topics that affect us all. For this series, we focus on family child care providers, nearly half of the early care and education workforce.

In this episode, Kate MacCrimon talks with Denise Mirkin, owner of Honeybees Preschool Family Childcare, located in Madison WI. Until recently, Denise has operated her FCC program for about 37 years. Denise talks about her professional development journey that has allowed her to meet the variety of needs of the children in her care, far before YoungStar QRIS was introduced in Wisconsin. She notes how the existing professionalization system has been a little bit frustrating even for a seasoned provider like her.
This podcast series is produced by Kids Forward with the support of the Partnership of America's Children and the Center for the Humanities at the University of Wisconsin-Madison through the Mellon Public Humanities Graduate Fellowship Program. These podcasts are dedicated to highlighting the stories of everyday people in our communities on policy topics that affect us all. For this series, we focus on family child care providers, nearly half of the early care and education workforce.

In this episode, host Kate MacCrimmon explores all the things in family child care in Wisconsin with Corrine Hendrickson, owner of Corrine’s Little Explorers and Board President of Wisconsin Early Childhood Association (WECA). Corrine talks about how she got started with her family child care program in 2006, and her struggle to find support for children with special needs. She shares the challenges of COVID and how that has increased her work and stress load, but how it has also increased her connections to other providers. Corrine describes her grassroots advocacy and how she has worked with policymakers to create change for providers and children across the state.

This Family Child Care series is produced by Kids Forward with the support of the Partnership of America's Children, Alliance for Early Success, and the Center for the Humanities at the University of Wisconsin-Madison through the Mellon Public Humanities Graduate Fellowship Program. These podcasts are dedicated to highlighting the stories of everyday people in our communities on policy topics that affect us all. For this series, we focus on family child care providers, nearly half of the early care and education workforce.

In this episode, host Kate MacCrimmon explores all the things in family child care in Wisconsin with Silke O’Donnell, owner of Sunshine Family Day Care and AFSCME Union Board Member. Silke talks about her career as a provider and her desire to create a sanctuary for all the children in her care. She shares her personal sacrifices she has made during COVID including living separately from her family, and her work with AFSCME Union as a child care advocate and how close providers came to getting health insurance and retirement before Act 10. 

This Family Child Care series is produced by Kids Forward with the support of the Partnership of America's Children, Alliance for Early Success, and the Center for the Humanities at the University of Wisconsin-Madison through the Mellon Public Humanities Graduate Fellowship Program. These podcasts are dedicated to highlighting the stories of everyday people in our communities on policy topics that affect us all. For this series, we focus on family child care providers, nearly half of the early care and education workforce.

In this episode, host Kate MacCrimmon explores all the things in family child care in Wisconsin with Fernanda Leporace, owner of Paleta Family Day Care. Fernanda talks about her passion for caring for children and families and how her own child often pitches in with the children in her program. She describes how the fatigue from working long hours caught up to her and led her to decide to close one day a week so she had time to care for herself. Her connection to her colleagues and the long lasting relationships are what sustain her in this profession.

This Family Child Care series is produced by Kids Forward with the support of the Partnership of America's Children, Alliance for Early Success, and the Center for the Humanities at the University of Wisconsin-Madison through the Mellon Public Humanities Graduate Fellowship Program. These podcasts are dedicated to highlighting the stories of everyday people in our communities on policy topics that affect us all. For this series, we focus on family child care providers, nearly half of the early care and education workforce.