UK employee appointed to Louisville mayor’s early learning action group

A University of Kentucky leader in early care and education is serving on a newly-formed action group tasked with developing plans for pre-K and early learning programs in Louisville.

Hans Petersen is Child Care Aware of Kentucky’s regional child care administrator for the Jefferson Region and leads a team that focuses on community efforts to promote quality child care and provide support to early care and education providers in Louisville/Jefferson County.

Child Care Aware of Kentucky (CCA), housed in UK’s Human Development Institute (HDI), is the statewide regional network for child care resource and referral services supporting access to safe, affordable, quality child care for families and professional development for child care providers and trainers.

Petersen is part of Louisville Mayor Craig Greenberg’s Early Learning Action Group along with other leaders representing education, workforce development, nonprofits and multiple levels of government. The formation of this group was officially announced on June 13, 2023, in Louisville.

“This is an important time with much potential for transforming the child care landscape in Louisville and beyond so that high-quality early care and education services are equitably accessible to and meet the needs of all children and families,” said Petersen. “I am looking forward to bringing Child Care Aware’s local and statewide knowledge and resources to this collaborative work.”

Members of the Early Learning Action Group were chosen based on their subject matter expertise and profound understanding of the significance of providing foundational learning to children prior to entering kindergarten.

“The amazing people offering their time and energy to this action group have signed up for one of the most important tasks I can think of — helping ensure our kids build an educational foundation for lifelong success,” said Mayor Greenberg. “The skill sets, passion and experience these leaders bring to the table are going to help drive our commitment to being a community where every child’s potential is recognized and encouraged. I know this is a lofty goal, but that’s where I believe we need to set our sights, and these are the people who are going to help us get it done.”

Over the course of six months, the group will convene biweekly to concentrate on identifying comprehensive solutions in crucial areas such as administration, financing, eligibility, workforce and standards.

Read more about the action group here.

About Child Care Aware of Kentucky

Child Care Aware of Kentucky (CCA) focuses on enhancing high-quality services for children and families through active engagement in collaborative research, technical assistance to child care centers, and professional development for those employed in child care.

CCA has eight regional teams across the Commonwealth to focus on providing technical assistance and support to child care centers and their staff. Those teams are made up of early care and education coaches who help centers meet health and safety regulations as well as share best practices and support to create high-quality environments for all young children.

Kentucky families can find more resources from CCA online here.