Insights from our Experts

In 2025, Zero to Five Montana, in partnership with the Montana Department of Public Health and Human Services Bright Futures Birth to Five federal grant program, awarded $2 million in grant funding across two cohorts of employers to develop and implement child care benefits for their employees. Teton County was awarded a grant and implemented a ...

How AllyHealth virtual mental health services support child care providers In early childhood education, child care professionals spend their days building safe spaces for children to learn, grow, and thrive. They are teachers, comforters, problem-solvers, and trusted partners for families navigating some of life’s busiest seasons. But while child care ...

During the week of May 27, 2026, Zero to Five Montana’s Community Navigator, Shelby Whelan traveled from Butte to Poplar talking with local leaders along the way about their communities and the growing local early childhood system. ********** Across rural Montana, communities are navigating growth, change, and challenges while holding ...

Staff shortages happen – and they can throw your entire child care program into a scramble. That’s where a licensed substitute pool can step in to help! Imagine this: It’s 6:30 a.m. and you get a call from a staff member saying they or a family member are sick, and ...

Our policy work at Zero to Five Montana is rooted in the belief that the best solutions come from our communities.  As an advocacy organization dedicated to advancing Montana’s early childhood system, we know that listening to families, early childhood professionals, and local leaders is the foundation for effective policies ...

How many teachers have you hired over the last year only to have them leave within a few months? Is it frustrating to be constantly turning people over, training, and answering the same questions repeatedly? Hiring isn’t just about meeting student-teacher ratios. It’s about creating and maintaining environments where children thrive and workers are happy. While the temptation to hire ...

In this month's blog post, guest author Maureen Bjerke (coordinator for the Early Childhood Collaborative of the Greater Helena Area) shares her recent experience in our Community Child Care Capacity Building Cohort and outlines how the Helena coalition continues to identify community-driven and data-informed solutions to child care access in ...

A Siloed System Is not a System at All The early childhood system in Montana often looks like a long hallway of doors—each one opening to a different organization, resource, or data set. Behind every door lies some piece of the system for families: one door may offer a unique insight, another specific service with a limited demographic ...

In early November, eight tribal community teams and 35 participants came together for the Trailblazing Transition Summit focused on strengthening early childhood transitions in tribal communities for ages birth to age 5. While two earlier summits helped shape Montana’s broader birth to five transition work, this gathering stood on its ...

If you have worked with me in one-on-one technical assistance sessions, in small group coaching, or heard me speak at trainings or events have heard me say this: “Every business regardless of size, regardless of industry, must focus on the three legs of the business stool.”   But what are those ...

Hi! I’m Amy and I love caring for kids and supporting families in what is usually their first experience with care and education outside of their home. As a mom of teenagers and a former public school teacher I have so much empathy for families as they grow through these ...

As I am oft to do, I was reading what some might consider a rather boring article recently. Yes, I am one of those people who reads and is interested in Census reports, data reports from the Montana Site Selector, and published research about self-awareness, power dynamics, and what creates ...