Ksenia Prints (Associated Press)

If you thought that going sober meant signing up for a lifetime of tepid ginger ale, think again. In the past few years, non-alcoholic drink options have become more popular than ever. So whether you’ve been dry for a decade or have recently become sober curious, read on for an inside look at why so many Americans are embracing mocktails this summer.

Americans are breaking up with booze

Ever thought about reducing your alcohol consumption? If so, you’ve likely noticed that summer social events and alcohol seem to go together like gin and tonic: a frustrating combination for those looking for alternatives.

It might be a glass of wine with lunch, a couple of beers on the dock or an evening enjoying margaritas on the patio – whatever the occasion, alcohol starts to feel inescapable. Even when what you really want is a non-alcoholic Aperol spritz, it can feel awkward to repeatedly say “no thanks!” in the face of constant pressure to imbibe.

Is this the summer of sobriety?

The good news is that due to increasing awareness of alcohol’s effects on physical and mental health, non-alcoholic summer drinks are becoming more widely available than ever before. A recent Canadian Geographic article cited cost, diet and legal cannabis consumption as additional factors motivating consumers to seek out sober drink options.

According to Forbes, sober bars are popping up across the country, reflecting the demand for social spaces that don’t involve inebriation. And with 67% of Americans taking steps to reduce their alcohol intake, it’s no surprise that beverage manufacturers have responded by introducing a host of new and enticing sober drink options.

The non-alcoholic drinks you need to know

Designated drivers, rejoice: in recent years, a wide range of non-alcoholic options have started to pop up on shelves. When looking to stock your sober bar, don’t ignore these types of non-alcoholic drinks.

Zero-proof spirits: Miss the experience of drinking hard liquor, but not the hangovers that come with it? You can now find zero-proof versions of spirits like gin, tequila and even whiskey, as well as unique options like Seedlip, non-alcoholic spirits distilled from botanicals.

Mocktails: Whether you’re ordering a virgin mojito at a bar or shaking up your very own spicy pineapple margarita, mocktails let you experience all of the summer fun without any of the alcohol.

Non-alcoholic and dealcoholized wines: Skip the grape juice and pick up one of these options for your next dinner party. Alternatives to alcoholic wine can come in white, red, rosé and sparkling styles.

Alcohol-free beer: Today, lagers, stouts and ales can all be found in non-alcoholic form. These low-alcohol and alcohol-free options may also be cheaper than their traditional counterparts.

Your guide to hosting alcohol-free functions this summer

Are you curious about the benefits a sober lifestyle can provide? Or are you looking to create a more inclusive environment for loved ones who are avoiding alcohol? Whatever the reason, here’s how to embrace sobriety during the warmer months.

Stock your non-alcoholic bar

Seek out non-alcoholic liquors such as vodka, tequila, gin or rum. You can even embrace your inner mixologist by investing in a few non-alcoholic bitters.

Embrace alternatives to alcohol when serving food

Ditching wine doesn’t mean that you have to limit yourself in the drinks department. Hosting a barbecue? Pair everything grilled with some fizzy, fruity kombucha for your guests to enjoy. Have guests over for dinner? Try adding some non-alcoholic sangria to your table. Fancy fruit juice, elegant sparkling water and electrolyte-packed coconut water are all great options that don’t involve alcohol.

Shine the spotlight on other treats, not alcohol

When was the last time you made s’mores? Instead of a toast that involves alcohol, consider toasting marshmallows over a fire pit or some candles. Or think about swapping a drinks bar for a nacho bar where your guests can customize their meals.

Challenge your friends to create unique drinks

Think potluck, but for drinks: challenge your friends to come up with inventive mocktails for everyone to enjoy. Don’t forget to assign each drink a creative name, like the unforgettable glamorous pornstar martini – yes, that’s a real drink.

Give dry a try this summer

Summer drinks don’t have to be synonymous with alcohol. Thanks to the growing popularity of mocktails and other non-alcoholic drinks, it’s never been easier to try out sobriety or commit to living life alcohol-free.

If you’re looking for ways to make summer drinks without alcohol, check out local stores for non-alcoholic drinks or consider hosting a casual, alcohol-free function with your friends. Stocking a non-alcoholic bar or placing the focus on other fun activities is a great place to start. You can also seek out sober bars or sober influencers for more inspiration.

After all, a non-alcoholic summer drink can be packed with all of alcohol’s complex flavors but none of its ill effects. Non-alcoholic drinks are often less expensive, lighter on calories, and better for your body and mind. So why not raise a glass to that?

Ksenia Prints is a writer, blogger, photographer and recipe developer from Montreal, Canada. She blogs over at MyMocktailForest.com, writing about food and drink for adventurous home cooks.

Heidi Bruaw

Forget the frosé frenzy of last summer, this year it’s all about embracing the past. Retro drinks are being rediscovered from dusty recipe books and are making a refreshing comeback for the hottest months ahead.

Why the resurgence?

This year, people have been rediscovering their love for retro drinks. Nostalgia, social media and adventurous palates all contribute to the renewed interest in vintage summer drinks.

Nostalgia

People are seeking familiar flavors and experiences from eras gone by. According to Bid Food, “57% of adults find the idea of nostalgic or retro-themed drinks appealing.” Because consumers are going through difficult times, the demand for nostalgic and comforting food and drinks is expected to grow. Flavors that remind people of their childhood are comforting.

Social media influence

Eye-catching visuals of classic drinks like chocolate milkshakes and vibrant cocktails like banana daiquiris on platforms like Instagram and TikTok are sparking interest. According to Appetite, “Social media may implicitly affect our eating behavior by communicating social norms.” The more people post appealing photos and videos of nostalgic summer drinks, the more consumers are likely to be interested in trying them. Licensed bartender, Michelle Price says, “There are many reasons why retro cocktails are gaining so much popularity lately. With all the changes in the world, it’s comforting to have a cocktail that brings back memories of ‘the good old days.’ Couple that with the younger drinkers who love to share their food and drinks on social media and try new flavors, retro drinks fit the bill on both counts. They have a great aesthetic and they aren’t the same-old same-old flavor profiles either.”

Adventurous palates

Millennials and Gen Z are interested in exploring new and unique flavor combinations using retro drinks like fresh squeezed lemonade. The Hartman Group’s research shows that more than 32% of Gen Zers surveyed said they love trying new types of cuisines and foods, while 39% say they prefer foods they’re familiar with. For millennials, retro drinks might bring back childhood memories. Retro drinks represent a past era that Gen Z can explore creatively and put their own twist on. Using vintage drinks as a base, both generations can add unique ingredients and flavors to create something new and adventurous.

How are they making a comeback?

Between high-end cocktail bars, home bartending and the resurgence of classic ingredients, nostalgic summer drinks are making a comeback. This trend is fueled by a desire for comforting flavors and a sense of nostalgia.

High-end cocktail bars

High-end cocktail bars are innovative while respecting tradition. According to The Tasting Alliance, “Through the application of scientific principles, bartenders manipulate textures and flavors, transforming familiar ingredients into unexpected forms – spherifications that burst in the mouth, foams that enhance aromatics, and gels that concentrate flavors.” Instead of mass-produced syrups and bitters, they are making their own using fresh ingredients like herbs and spices. They might make a rosemary-infused simple syrup for a fresh take on a mojito, for example.

Bars are also using modern techniques like liquid nitrogen to create new textures and presentations. A classic daiquiri might be transformed into a fluffy foam. They are taking inspiration from the classics and creating an updated drink with modern ingredients, techniques and presentations.

Home bartending

The rise of home entertaining and craft cocktail kits is making it easier for people to experiment with retro recipes at home. The Inspired Home Show reported in 2023 that 82% of consumers expect to entertain in their homes at the same or increased frequency in the next year. Craft cocktail kits include pre-measured ingredients and sometimes even include garnishes which makes it easier to create classic cocktails for guests without a well-stocked bar. Oftentimes the kits revolve around a specific theme like the Roaring Twenties or the Mad Men era, which allows people to experiment with retro recipes they may not have heard of before. Some kits include recipe cards with historical information about the drink, which allows people to appreciate the origin of these vintage drinks.

Resurgence of classic ingredients

Distillers are looking through archives and recipe books to recreate forgotten liquors. Some distilleries are also going back to older techniques to create that old-school taste. Instead of large-scale processes, they are using wood-fire stills, special regional grains or open fermentation vats to achieve a more historically accurate flavor profile.

Distilleries used to rely on local grains, fruits and herbs because it was what was available nearby. Some distillers are going back to that to add a unique twist and to help capture the essence of a particular place that may be associated with a certain liquor. According to Wine Enthusiast, “Some [distilleries] seek to spotlight homegrown flavors or the impact of terroir; others want to support local businesses; and still others just can’t resist experimenting with whatever materials are at hand, even recently emptied barrels.”

Other retro revivals

Cocktails aren’t the only vintage drinks making a comeback. Mocktails and other classic non-alcoholic drinks are also gaining popularity again, often with a modern twist.

Non-alcoholic drinks

Diner staples, such as the chocolate milkshake, are also becoming popular again with gourmet additions. Gourmet versions feature high-quality ice cream, decadent chocolate syrups and playful toppings. Fresh squeezed, homemade lemonade is also gaining popularity as people appreciate the simplicity and health benefits it provides. According to Credence Research, “the global market for lemonade drinks is expanding largely because of growing public awareness of the negative health impacts of chemically flavored beverages.”

Mocktails

Many people are focusing more on healthy lifestyles so mocktails are gaining popularity. Mocktails also allow everyone to participate in the social aspects of drinking together, whether they drink alcohol or not. More and more people are cutting back on alcohol or staying sober and mocktails offer a satisfying alternative. A 2021 NielsenIQ omnibus survey showed that “22% of consumers showed that they were cutting back on consuming alcohol and drinking less.” Classics like the Shirley Temple and the Roy Rogers are being requested more. Cocktails minus the alcohol like virgin pina coladas and strawberry daiquiri mocktails are also being asked for.

Final thoughts

Whether you’re seeking a taste of nostalgia ignited by social media trends or your adventurous palate craves a bygone era’s cocktails, this summer is the perfect time to raise a glass – or mocktail – to the resurgence of retro drinks, both at home and in high-end bars. These throwback beverages offer a delightful escape, transporting you to a different time and place with every delicious sip.

Heidi is also a vintage recipe blogger at Real Life of Lulu, where she focuses on recipes that are at least 50 years old, many from her grandparents’ kitchens.

Erika Bolstad | Stateline.org (TNS)

SALT LAKE CITY — Shortly after taking office in 2023, Republican state Rep. Katy Hall heard from constituents complaining about how their adult children were required to write diversity, equity and inclusion statements while applying for medical and dental schools and other graduate programs in Utah.

“It doesn’t seem right,” Hall said. “It doesn’t seem like it belongs in an application.”

It took two legislative sessions, but Hall successfully sponsored a new law that not only prohibits the use of such DEI statements but also bars state institutions from relying on specific individual characteristics in employment and education decisions. Additionally, it eliminates central offices dedicated to diversity, equity and inclusion.

In Utah and beyond, lawmakers are enjoying growing success in their pushback against DEI programs at public universities, many of which have hired administrators and established departments dedicated to creating more diverse faculties and student bodies. Some schools’ requirement that job and student applicants explain in writing how they’d bring DEI initiatives to their work or schooling has aroused especially strong opposition. Some states have dismantled DEI departments and programs, as well as ended race- and gender-based programs and scholarships.

Many in Utah describe their approach as more measured than that of other states. The law, which goes into effect July 1, includes a carve-out that allows DEI to be discussed in classroom instruction as well as in research and for accreditation purposes.

Republican Gov. Spencer Cox, who signed Hall’s legislation into law in January, said it “offers a balanced solution” even as it prohibits the type of training sessions he required of his staff when he first took office in 2021.

The intent of the legislation, Hall said, is to shift higher education away from a focus on identity.

“This is what we felt was a more nuanced way to say: ‘We want diversity, we want equality of opportunity, we want inclusion, but we want diversity of opinion and a diversity of thought and diversity of religion and diversity of everything.’ Not just external, personal identity characteristics,” Hall said.

“We used to be able to have discussions about politics without it coming to a judgment of someone’s moral character,” she added. “My hope is that there will be a little more political neutrality where you can have discussions and feel safe to have those discussions without it being so divisive.”

But the bill passed along party lines, pointed out state Rep. Angela Romero, a Democrat who serves as the House minority leader in Utah. She described what’s happening in her state as part of a broader culture war aimed at painting higher education as elite and out of touch.

“This is a national agenda,” Romero said in an interview. “It’s a machine and it’s been going for a while and it’s picking up momentum.”

Utah’s rollback is among dozens of simultaneous efforts to scale back DEI programs — to varying degrees — in state capitals and on higher education oversight boards in other Republican-led states. In at least 22 states, the legislature has enacted legislation, or public universities have set policies prohibiting or modifying DEI measures at state university systems, according to a running tally in The Chronicle of Higher Education.

Among the earliest passed was 2023 legislation in North Dakota that prohibits asking students and prospective university employees about their commitment to DEI. Florida followed last year with a law that does away with diversity statements and DEI offices. Alabama in 2024 enacted a law restricting public employees from being forced to agree with so-called divisive concepts, including the idea that “by virtue of an individual’s race, color, religion, sex, ethnicity, or national origin, the individual is inherently racist, sexist, or oppressive, whether consciously or subconsciously.”

In South Dakota, the Board of Regents recently enacted a policy that bars employees at its six public universities from putting their preferred gender pronouns or tribal affiliations in email signatures, according to Inside Higher Ed. Most recently, the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill Board of Trustees voted last month to shift $2.3 million of DEI spending toward public safety and policing on campus. Then, the entire UNC System Board of Governors voted to abolish DEI policies in place since 2019 at all 17 of its campuses.

A chilling effect

Many of the efforts to roll back DEI initiatives in states have the same roots as a campaign against critical race theory spearheaded by Seattle documentary filmmaker Christopher Rufo, who in 2020 elevated a once-obscure theory about the pervasiveness of racism in American law and institutions to a household term.

Often, efforts to undo DEI initiatives argue that students — especially white students — are harmed by learning about the history of racism in the United States because it may leave them feeling guilty or ashamed of their identity. Multiple states, including North Dakota, have adopted near-identical language in anti-DEI legislation that bans instruction that might prompt a person to “feel discomfort, guilt, anguish, or another form of psychological distress solely because of the individual’s race or sex.”

In April, polling by NPR/PBS NewsHour/Marist found that 77% of Republicans say they believe that “discrimination against white people is as problematic as discrimination against Black Americans.”

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Anti-DEI laws have had a chilling effect on higher education wherever they’ve been enacted, said Irene Mulvey, the president of the American Association of University Professors, a nonprofit membership association of faculty and other academic professionals.

“The laws are deliberately vague so that professors have to be constantly thinking, ‘If I say this, will I be breaking the law? Will I lose my job or be arrested by the government if I say this in my classroom?’“ Mulvey said. “I mean, that’s where we are in America in 2024. These are the worries faculty have in an authoritarian society, and they have no place in a democracy.”

At the University of Texas, anti-DEI legislation led the system to eliminate 300 positions recently and to cut diversity training programs at multiple campuses.

The situation is similar in Florida, said Paul Ortiz, a professor of history and a union leader at the University of Florida. He’s leaving the school after 15 years for a position at Cornell University in New York. The fallout from the state’s DEI policies wasn’t the only reason he’s leaving — he got a great job offer — but it contributed to his decision, Ortiz said.

“To pretend that it’s not having an effect on the cultural and intellectual life of the state is the worst thing of all,” Ortiz said. “I’m hoping the pendulum is going to swing back.”

Students are the real losers, Mulvey said. At the University of Oklahoma, for example, Republican Gov. Kevin Stitt’s executive order ending DEI programs in state offices and agencies effectively shuttered the National Education for Women’s Leadership program. The program encourages undergraduate women to engage in politics and public policy. Since its founding in 2002, more than 650 students have attended.

Stitt told the Oklahoma Voice that his executive order was about race, not the women’s leadership program, and called the backlash against his policy “political criticism.”

“What we’re seeing now is nobody’s helped when these offices are closed or programs are shut down, no one’s better off,” Mulvey said. “We’re having watered-down discussions and anodyne classes because faculty without tenure are afraid of losing their job if they say the wrong thing or if someone takes it out of context or tapes them and puts it online.”

DEI statements

DEI statements in university hiring have been one of the easiest targets nationwide, in part because there’s less support for them even among more progressive educators who support wider DEI initiatives.

Editorial boards and columnists at outlets as varied as The Washington Post, The Chronicle of Higher Education and the New York Post have railed against diversity statements, saying they too often result in “self-censorship and ideological policing” on college campuses. Many elite universities, including the Massachusetts Institute of Technology and Harvard, have reconsidered DEI statements as a requirement of employment applications. At best, critics argue, they’re boilerplate that echoes what employers want to hear, rendering them useless. At their worst, they serve as ideological litmus tests.

“We can build an inclusive environment in many ways, but compelled statements impinge on freedom of expression, and they don’t work,” MIT President Sally Kornbluth said in a statement to WBUR in May, confirming the university’s new approach.

But DEI statements have their defenders. Suzanne Penuel, an associate professor who teaches first-year literature and writing at the University of South Carolina Lancaster, said she witnessed how high-quality DEI statements set job candidates apart when she served on the hiring committee for a position teaching American history. Nearly all academic applicants have polished curriculum vitae, impeccable recommendations and pitch-perfect cover letters, she wrote in an op-ed in The State.

Their DEI statements gave them personality, Penuel said in an interview. It was easier to tell which applicants would take a student-centered approach to their work; one applicant wrote that the textbooks used in the school’s history courses ought to be free, an interpretation that the hiring committee viewed as an inclusive approach to education.

She worries that the assault on already slim DEI initiatives in South Carolina is a continuation of a trend that began with a 2021 legislative requirement that all college students be taught certain aspects of American history, and a proposed state-level ban on some books in elementary schools.

“I hope I never see the day when there is this prescribed list of texts from a narrow list of publishers, and only some topics can be discussed,” Penuel said.

In Utah, where Democrats hold just 14 of the 75 seats in the state House of Representatives, Romero fought unsuccessfully to keep the anti-DEI legislation from passing.

Her reasons for opposing the legislation were partly personal. As a first-generation college student at the University of Utah, she took advantage of what was then called the Center for Ethnic Student Affairs, an academic advising center that could now be considered a DEI initiative. It was a safe place in a state where the dominant religion and culture often excludes people of color, Romero said.

Because of her association with the center, Romero landed an internship at the state legislature in 1994, leading to a career working in municipal government in Salt Lake City. And now, she serves as president of the National Hispanic Caucus of State Legislators.

“Because of that, I’m here now,” Romero said on the House floor when the bill was up for debate. “What it did is it addressed the disparities. … There’s unintentional consequences when we just try to sweep things and say we’re all the same, because we’re not. There’s still a lot of things that have to change in this country for us all to be on a level playing field.”

Stateline is part of States Newsroom, a national nonprofit news organization focused on state policy.

©2024 States Newsroom. Visit at stateline.org. Distributed by Tribune Content Agency, LLC.

Elaine S. Povich | (TNS) Stateline.org

SMITHFIELD, R.I. — Child care worker Marci Then, 32, looked over at two 4-year-olds in her care who were tussling over a toy plate in a model kitchen set. “Are we sharing?” she gently asked them. They both let go.

Then works at Little Learners Academy child care center near Providence, Rhode Island. Her daughter, Mila, 4, is enrolled there, so Then is able to keep a watchful eye on her in addition to about a dozen other 4-year-olds. Mila calls her mother “Miss Marci” at school, but “Mom” at home.

Most of the time, Mila is in another room with a different worker at the center, adhering to rules that don’t allow parent caregivers to watch their own children in a licensed setting. But for today, Mila is around her mom for a bit to show a reporter around.

Mila proudly chirps her age, then helps put toys away so the kids can quietly gather for circle time.

Then said that without help she would not have been able to afford the $315 a week for Mila to come to Little Learners. But she is taking advantage of a one-year state pilot program that authorizes the use of federal funds to pay for care for the children of early education workers.

“It’s been life-changing for me,” said Then, a single mom who is also responsible for a disabled young adult whom she adopted. Without it, “I’d have to rearrange my life.”

In 2022, Kentucky lawmakers changed the employer child care assistance program to specifically include child care workers at all income levels who work at least 20 hours a week. Other states, including Rhode Island, have since launched programs modeled after the one in Kentucky. The Kentucky program was to end Sept. 30, but Stephanie French, spokesperson for the state’s Cabinet for Health and Family Services, wrote in an email that the state will be using a combination of federal and state funding to continue the program.

At least half a dozen states now have similar programs or are considering legislation to start them, according to EdSurge, a news site that covers education issues.

Supporters, including Republicans and Democrats, see retaining child care employees as a benefit not only to the workers and the centers facing worker shortages, but also to the states’ economies. For many people, the lack of affordable child care is a barrier to joining the workforce.

Charlene Barbieri, founder and owner of four Little Learners Academy locations in Rhode Island, said in an interview that it is difficult to hire and keep qualified employees. The child care subsidy program helps, she said.

“Early learning here is very expensive as we know, right?” Barbieri said. “So any supplemental programs, monetary or otherwise, are exceptionally beneficial.

“We have had many teachers come to us to say that if this program wasn’t here, we could not afford to send our children to child care and still help our families by bringing in additional income,” she said.

Rhode Island state Reps. Mary Ann Shallcross Smith, left, and Grace Diaz, both Democrats, confer this month over the proposed budget, which includes funding of a program to subsidize child care for caretakers’ kids. (Elaine S. Povich/Stateline/TNS)

Rhode Island lawmakers added the child care subsidy to its fiscal 2025 budget this spring, moving the program out of the “pilot” category. Democratic Gov. Dan McKee is expected to sign the budget this week.

“It’s a good program, and we’ve seen great results with it,” Rhode Island House Speaker Joseph Shekarchi, a Democrat, said in an interview. “We have a labor shortage across the whole spectrum of our labor market. So, by giving [caregivers] free child care, they’re able to get back in and take care of other kids, which allows more people to enter the workforce.”

Other states that have launched programs or are considering them include Arizona, Colorado, Indiana, Iowa and Nebraska, according to EdSurge.

The Center for the Study of Child Care Employment, a research center at the University of California, Berkeley, estimated that if every state followed Kentucky’s lead, some 234,000 workers with children under age 6 could benefit.

“We see it as a no-brainer,” said Anna Powell, senior research and policy associate at the center, who co-authored a report on the program. “The educators are parents — why shouldn’t they be at the front of the queue? Every time an educator stays in the field, it benefits many parents.”

Budget challenges

In some states, though, budget woes are challenging lawmakers who want to make their pilot program a permanent one.

Arizona had a one-year Education Workforce Scholarship program that assisted child care workers and public school teachers with paying for their own kids’ child care, but that program was funded with federal pandemic dollars and ends June 30. It’s unlikely to be renewed because of state budget shortfalls.

Child care workers who now get that assistance would instead need to apply for aid through the state’s broad child care assistance program. That program, administered by the Arizona Department of Economic Security, is based on income levels, Tasya Peterson, a department spokesperson, wrote in an email to Stateline.

Barbie Prinster, executive director of the Arizona Early Childhood Education Association, a nonprofit that represents child care centers, said 3,541 children were approved for care subsidies under the early educator program this year, about three-quarters of them from families with a child care worker. The rest are from teachers’ families.

She predicted that hundreds of workers may have to quit if the subsidy isn’t renewed.

“I think providers are employing more moms that have young children because of this subsidy,” she said.

In Nebraska, state Sen. John Fredrickson, a Democrat and the dad of a 5-year-old son, introduced a bill this session that would have granted no-cost child care to employees of state-licensed child care programs, whether in-home care or at centers, who work at least 20 hours a week.

He estimated the potential subsidy, which he modeled on Kentucky’s idea, could have brought in 2,175 parent-providers. If each worker cared for eight children, there would be 16,000 children receiving care, and at least that many parents working, he estimated.

Fredrickson said the initial fiscal estimate for the bill was about $20 million, which proved to be a heavy lift, so he halved it to $10 million. But even that proved to be too much, he said, and the effort failed. He plans to reintroduce his bill next year.

Iowa Gov. Kim Reynolds, a Republican, approved a bill May 1 extending a child care subsidy pilot program for early childhood caretakers and educators, regardless of income, for two years at a cost of $10.2 million using the state’s Childcare Development Fund.

Colorado agreed to continue a program for child care providers with children ages 6 weeks to 13 years old, giving them full child care benefits, regardless of the employee’s income.

And Indiana agreed to study the issue of child caregiver and early educator compensation.

‘Good for Rhode Island’

Sitting together in a hearing room just off the Rhode Island House chamber earlier this month, Democratic state Reps. Mary Ann Shallcross Smith and Grace Diaz said they understand the issue of caring for children firsthand. Both are mothers, though their children are grown now, and both are experienced child care center owners.

Shallcross Smith remembers putting up flyers in the local drug store, advertising her in-home care. She now owns 15 centers. When the issue of paying child care workers for their own kids’ tuition came up this year, she was all for it, and went to House Speaker Shekarchi with her arguments.

“No. 1, it’s good for Rhode Island,” she said, adding that it’s also good for business.

Diaz, a mother of five, said she, too, talked to the speaker. But perhaps the biggest driver in getting the program into the state budget, she recalled, was the day that they brought a bunch of little kids from various child care settings to the Capitol to be a living example of the need.

“When they saw the little kids at the State House, they all wanted a picture,” Diaz said.

Back on the Little Learners playground, care worker Kayla Champagne, 39, of Lincoln, Rhode Island, smiled up at her 3-year-old son, Jaxson, who peeked over the top of a climbing structure. Champagne, who has three other children ages 18, 14 and 8, is relieved that she can take advantage of a program that helps her pay for Jaxson’s care.

Child care worker Kayla Champagne watches her son, Jaxson, 3, climb at the Little Learners Academy in Smithfield, R.I. (Elaine S. Povich/Stateline/TNS)

She used to work at another day care place but could only afford to send Jaxson there a few days a week, she said. At Little Learners, staff helped her apply for the state subsidy.

“That’s one of the reasons I left my other child care to come here,” she said. “Now I can work full time while having four kids.”

____

Rhode Island Current reporter Nancy Lavin contributed to this report.

____

Stateline is part of States Newsroom, a national nonprofit news organization focused on state policy.

©2024 States Newsroom. Visit at stateline.org. Distributed by Tribune Content Agency, LLC.