2025 Early Childhood Capitol Day

Join us Tuesday, February 11, 2025 at the Mississippi Capitol for the sixth annual Early Childhood Capitol Day for networking, panel discussions, and policy updates. This year, there will be two tracks to choose from, Novice and Experienced. Each track will have its own agenda for the beginning of the day. We will come back … Read more

MELA Reflects on 2024

Dear Partners and Friends, As we enter the new year, we at the Mississippi Early Learning Alliance (MELA) want to reflect and celebrate all the ways we supported our partners working to improve the lives of Mississippi’s youngest children. In 2024, we saw growing awareness around the importance of affordable, accessible child care for families, … Read more

MS Forum For the Future’s Advocacy Coalition

Alexis HicksAdvocacy & PolicyDirector Birth-to-Three Advocacy Coalition of Mississippi Recognizing the importance of early childhood education and development outcomes, the Mississippi Forum For the Future is proud to announce the launch of the Birth-to-Three Advocacy Coalition of Mississippi. The primary objective of this coalition is to enhance our understanding of the needs of young children … Read more

Child Care: A Critical Piece of Mississippi’s Labor Force Puzzle

Mississippi’s labor force participation challenges have been a topic of increasing focus among economic researchers, media, and state officials. The Mississippi Early Learning Alliance released a new report, titled “Child Care: A Critical Piece of Mississippi’s Labor Force Puzzle,” to shed light on an often-overlooked factor contributing to these challenges – child care access and … Read more