💔⚖️ Parent Divorce Rates? - Surprising Trends Impacting ECE

Today’s Issue: Ouch, Pasta Tariffs; Why Are Parents Divorcing?; ECE in the News = 1 cup of coffee.

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Bye Bye Spaghetti & Meatballs?!: No! Say it ain’t so! This dinner staple is now under threat due to the steepest tariffs to be imposed on any foreign food product. Okay okay. We will still have our pasta, but Italian pasta makers are to face a 107% tariff on their dried, delicious and carbo-loaded meal. But now, we may actually pay attention to how much of that package we toss into the boiling pot of water vs. having a giant tomato-stained container of leftovers we won’t touch for 2 weeks. 🍝

Check out some important tariff details 👉👉👉 HERE!!

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💸↔️💸 Divorce Trends: What ECE Leaders Need to Know

Divorce remains a defining force in family structure across the United States, and ECE programs feel those impacts every day. The latest data shows the divorce rate continues to decline — dropping from 14.4 divorces per 1,000 married women in 2023 to 14.2 in 2024 — but family complexity is increasing, not shrinking. These changes shape enrollment stability, tuition flow, custody documentation, and daily communication with caregivers.

Here is a sneak peek on trends ECE leaders should monitor (more in the blog below):

• Divorce rates are declining, but the marriage-to-divorce ratio (2.42 marriages for every divorce) signals ongoing family restructuring.

• Younger adults have sharply lower divorce rates: more stable homes for some preschoolers.

• Gray divorce remains elevated: grandparents and older caregivers are involved in pick-up, financial decisions, and legal documentation.

• Financial fallout is common: divorced adults have significantly lower household income and wealth, affecting tuition reliability and subsidy applications.

• Blended families are more common: 2/3 of divorced adults remarry — increasing the number of step-parents, custody orders, and communication preferences ECE programs must manage.

Will this impact my payments? What should you expect for enrollment? What about documentation? The Ecential wanted to make sure we bring these to the forefront while its hot and fresh. We wrote an article with links to the sources in our blog post. Check it out below!!

👇‼️👇YES, I need to understand these trends for my ECE ops. Click the button below! 👇‼️👇

ECE In The News

🚜 Farms to ECE!?: Lawmakers introduced the Expanding Childcare in Rural America (ECRA) Act to make childcare more affordable, available, and higher quality in rural and agricultural communities. Legislation aims to direct the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Rural Development programs to prioritize projects that improve the availability, quality, and cost of childcare. Click 👉👉 HERE.

🏙️ How to Handle ECE Corporate RFPs: The shift for a lot of companies is to start providing childcare for employees. These companies often open up these opportunities to RFP (Request For Proposals). It’s a daunting task, but it can provide a lot of opportunities. This article provides some great insights on how to tackle these opportunities. Click 👉👉 HERE.

The Internet is a Playground:The Internet is a Playground:

🗓️ On this Day in History: In 1863, President Abraham Lincoln boards a train for Gettysburg, Pennsylvania, to deliver a short speech known as the Gettysburg Address at the cemetery of soldiers killed during the battle there. This address became one of the most famous speeches in American history. 🇺🇸

🍋 Random Game: This fun math game might be fun for the kids to run a lemonade stand.

🫧 Bath Time!: Bath time alone? Not with these kitties.

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