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Getting a preschool-age child, let alone dozens of them, to wash their hands can be an exhausting chore. At Family Connections preschool in the Portola neighborhood of San Francisco, that used to be a constant challenge and frustration for educators. Without an outdoor sink, students outdoor activities were interrupted anytime a hand got dirty, as the whole group had to take a trip back inside, says executive director Yensing Sihapanya, noting how that would eat up precious minutes that could have been spent playing and learning.But in 2021, the Low Income Investment Fund (LIIF), a community development financial institution (CDFI), poured grant money into San Francisco early learning centers to make needed repairs and upgrades. At Family Connections, which received $183,000 total, that meant swapping out old Ikea cabinets for better wood furniture, knocking a hole in the wall for more outdoor access, spending $17,000 for indoor lights that didnt flicker and interrupt circle time, and $23,000 for the outdoor sink, which was finally installed this past January. These may not seem like significant additions, but for a childcare industry starving for funds to improve physical spaces and design, they are a godsend. Any tuition or any government fees that we’re getting for childcare pays for teachers, supplies, and snacks, says Sihapanya, whose school focuses on providing access to low-income students. We dont budget for repairs in our funding sources and tuition. Childcare challenges The American childcare industry faces numerous hurdles, including labor shortages, insufficient public funding, strict regulations, and challenging economics. There are a handful of states, like Michigan, instituting new support programs and subsidies to help providers. But overall, U.S. childcare remains exceptionally unaffordable, according to Elliot Haspel, a senior fellow at Capita, a family policy think tank. Costs have risen beyond the consumer price index, and daycares face a high degree of staff turnover owing to low resources and poor pay. Adding to those headwinds, the industry struggles to fund better design and physical spaces. Estimates suggest the shortfall in infrastructure for early childhood education runs into the billions of dollars, but no true national figure exists. The National Children’s Facilities Network has called for a nationwide assessment to determine the extent of the shortfall. The sectors funding dilemma often gets presented as a zero-sum choice between increased access, in the form of more facilities and cheaper tuition, or physical investment, Haspel says. When the nation lacks affordable access, better design and more capital spending for existing locations can be framed as luxuries. One of the main federal methods of childcare funding, a Child Care Development Block Grant, can be applied only to minor repairs and renovations. But childcare advocates, operators, and designers say beautiful facilities can go a long way toward enriching early childhood education. Good, functional design directly impacts and improves play, learning, and the health of participants. Childcare facilities, where children can spend a majority of their waking hours, can function as the third teacher. [Photo: KinderCare] Small elements and design choiceswindows set at childrens height, improved outdoor access, shared kitchen facilities that make childcare rooms more efficient, changing tables with stairs that help caregivers save themselves the stress of lifting older childrencan make big differences in operations and learning. The space that kids learn in is so important and they’re so rough, because they should be able to play in the space, says Sihapanya. But the model of childcare funding we have just doesnt consider repairs or renovations. Thats why LIIF focuses so much on infrastructure and design investments, says Angie Garling, one of the community development financial institutions senior vice presidents. After investing nearly $500 million over the past 25 years in early childhood education, impacting more than 400,000 kids at 6,000-plus facilities, LIIF firmly believes these spaces, where so much crucial brain development takes place, need to be healthy, climate resilient, engaging, and enriching. [Photo: KinderCare] The constraints of building for children Childcare facilities are naturally costly to establish and operate, with strict codes around safety, such as how cribs are placed and how much outdoor space is required per child. Outfitting new buildings, or converted homes, for children necessitates substantial capital investment, says Susan Gilmore, founder, president, and CEO of the nonprofit North Bay Childrens Center. Budgets and margins are thin in this sector, and the ability to take on construction debt remains very challenging, especially with many limits on how federal and state dollars can be spent. Just look to the plumbing in these facilities. Theres a surprising amount of complexity in the plumbing design, including the need to install sufficient numbers of small sinks and toilets. If you think about designing a high school, the rooms that often cost the most are the ones that need more plumbing, like a chemistry lab, Garling says. magine every single one of these rooms is a chemistry lab. Crme de la Crme School [Photo: KinderCare] Even the big, private childcare companies need to reckon with these challenges. KinderCare recently opened a new version of its upscale Crme de la Crme School in the I’On neighborhood of Mount Pleasant, South Carolina, which features a central park atrium space and themed play spaces, including a solar system room. Architect Kathleen Justice, who designed the new facility and is working on several others, said the challenge often remains more about budget and space constraints than regulation; how much can be spent to build a space thats not wholly utilitarian? Crme de la Crme School [Photo: KinderCare] Unlike elementary education, where theres a national consensus around the imperative to invest, early childcare funding tends to be disparate and fractured, says Kirby Burkholder, president of IFF, another CDFI that works in the childcare space. Its a representation of our nations fractured views around personal responsibility for early childhood care. That insecurity and underfunding means significant capital debt and deferred maintenance issues across the industry. Licensing and evaluation of these facilities can be episodic, says Burkholder, so patchwork fixesin the worst cases, painting over mold, placing a rug over asbestos tileget grandfathered in and accepted. While K-12 schools have been the focus of extensive investment in air filters and better facilities via pandemic-era funding efforts such as the American Rescue Plan Act and the Inflation Reduction Act, the same federal support hasnt trickled down to early childhood education. Thats despite the fact that childcare and daycare have similar maintenance backlogs as well as changing best practices. New facilities tend to favor more nature-based materials and outdoor play spaces, expensive investments for aging buildings. LIIF grant requests often focus on everyday items: repairing fences for the playground, adding outdoor shade structures, upgrading HVAC systems, or repairing or swapping out old sinks, toilets, and stoves. [Photo: Family Connections] Early education also faces new infrastructure challenges from climate change. Outdoor play spaces, in some cases just a playground and blacktop, need to become resilient, with additional shade structures and water stations. Garling says shes continually advocating for early education to get included in these larger climate-focused investments, since its often left out, and no existing dedicated funding stream exists. Even small accidents can lead to big financial strain on providers; a broken window can cost $10,000 to repair, says Sihapanya, depleting capital reserves or becoming the domino that pushes deferred maintenance back years. Investing in facilities ripples out in other ways, she says. Staff, who can benefit from more outdoor time or even an improved teachers lounge, are happier at work, making the upgrade a potent retention and recruitment tool. Chantilly, Virginia [Rendering: Local Studio] The way forward Directing more funds to fix our literally broken childcare spaces remains difficult, but advocates see some ways to tweak existing programs. Burkholder says that IFFs funding of the $59 million Caring for MI Future: Facilities Improvement Fund grants has helped 1,100 programs and shown the insatiable demand for long-term facilities planning. Gilmore believes that on a policy level the nation needs more infrastructure investments and should give childcare operators the ability to use contract and operational dollars for debt retirement to make these facilities come to fruition. Others have tried utilizing empty elementary classrooms to operate preschool programs. Piggybacking on an existing schools maintenance budget and creating so-called microsites can save costs, perhaps freeing up money that can go toward creating the kinds of spaces our kids deserve. We love our teachers so much, and we love books, and we love all those things, Sihapanya says. But the space that the kids are in every day is as impactful as the books and the teachers.
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E-Commerce
A few years ago, I chronicled the journey I went on to manually merge two Apple ID accounts into one. I was attempting to rectify a problem that I and many other long-time Apple users had been stuck with: Our dataemails, contacts, movie and app purchases, photos, logins, and morewas spread across two different Apple accounts. This segregation made accessing this data on our various devices a chore. Imagine opening your closet to look for a specific shirt, only to realize its hanging instead in the closet at your old house across town. The process took me days. At the time, Apple provided no automated way for users to merge two Apple IDs. Yet, this week that finally changedwell, kinda. Apple has now developed an official way for users to automatically migrate some Apple account data from one account to another. Heres what you need to know about the new process. The two Apple ID problem If youve only ever had one Apple ID, the login you use for all your Apple servicesiCloud, App Store purchases, music streaming, Apple Pay, Apple Card, or anything else that falls under Apples ecosystemyoure probably a bit confused as to why someone would have this data spread across two different accounts. The explanation, in my case, goes back 20 or so years. Before iCloud was introduced, in 2011, Apple offered various other email accounts, including dotMac and MobileMe, the former of which had served as my Apple IDthe login associated with my iTunes music store account, where I bought songs and digital movies. But then, in 2011, like many others, I signed up for a new iCloud account, mainly so I could get a different email address (one I liked better). However, this now left me with two Apple IDs: one for my media purchases and the other for my email and other online Apple services. At first, this wasn’t a problem, but over time as Apples services offering grew both more robust and more integrated, having data segregated across two Apple IDs led to an increasingly poor user experience. For example, if you wanted to access your documents in iCloud on your Mac, you would need to sign into one Apple ID, but then if you wanted to access your movie purchases as well, youd need to sign into another. Soon, it wasn’t uncommon to forget which Apple ID held which data. To say that these challenges annoyed longtime Apple users like me is an understatement. The two Apple ID problem was a rare flaw in Apples tightly-knit it just works ecosystem. But now, it’s a flaw that Apple has finally taken a step to fix. How to migrate digital purchases from two Apple accounts into one This week, Apple surprised everyone by posting a support document revealing that it now provided a (pretty) straightforward way to merge two Apple accountsto a degree. (Note: As of iOS 18, Apple has renamed the Apple ID to Apple Account, but the terms remain relatively interchangeable.) However, Apples solution is not perfect. It only lets a user migrate their digital purchasesincluding apps, music, movies, TV shows, and booksfrom one Apple Account to another. You still cannot migrate other associated Apple Account data such as iCloud emails, contacts, passes, and Apple Pay cards using the tool. Yet, by allowing the migration of digital purchases, Apple has negated one of the biggest pain points of manually merging two Apple IDs into one. Previously there was no way to move digital purchases from one Apple ID to another. That meant if you wanted to ditch one Apple Account for good, you’d also need to ditch the software and media you purchased with that account. But no more. Apple’s new tool means you no longer have to accept this loss of your digital assets. Its method of migrating digital purchases from one Apple Account to another is also pretty easyonce you have the initial prep out of the way, such as making sure your software is up to date, you know your passwords for both accounts, and you have your payment details for both accounts. If you want to go through the merger process, you can find Apples full instructions and requirements here. Its also a good idea to read this additional support document that dives deeper into the migration process. Apples new account migration tool is promisingbut it needs to go further People with hundreds or thousands of dollars invested in movies, books, apps, and other digital content they purchased from Apple across two different Apple IDs are sure to love the companys new migration offering. No doubt about itits a great first step. However, it still doesnt address all the other problems that arise for those who are still stuck with two Apple IDs. Not only can you still not automatically merge iCloud data (your emails, documents, bookmarks, and more) between two different Apple Accounts, but you also still cannot automatically migrate other critical data, such as your Apple Pay cards, Wallet passes, Sign in with Apple logins, Hide My Email addresses, or passwords. Hopefully, Apple will address these limitations with a future update to its new tool. Until it does, those who want to merge every aspect of two Apple IDs into one are still on their own.
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E-Commerce
Leading up to 2025, major companies like Amazon and JPMorgan did away with remote work altogether, requiring employees to return to the office five days a weeka departure from the more flexible policies that had been popularized after the pandemic. Even as they contend with a lack of workspace and complaints from workers, employers have pushed forward with the return to office. Many employees treated it as a suggestion, Chris Moran, an employment lawyer at Troutman Pepper Locke, says of early RTO policies. That was something I dont know that employers saw comingthat a significant percentage of employees felt so strongly that they preferred to work remotely and were willing to sort of ignore [mandates]. Some employers seemingly responded by upping the ante, making office attendance a factor in performance reviews or tying it to eligibility for promotions. Others have moved ahead with more stringent policies, eliminating their hybrid work policy altogether and forcing employees to return to the office five days a week. As Trumps administration imposes strict RTO mandates for the federal workforce, however, its possible the private sector will feel even more emboldened to embrace punitive measures to ensure employees comply with their in-office requirements. Now, with whats going on in the federal government, theres perhaps a little more cover for an employer to take the approach that they really mean it this time, Moran says. At the same time, however, enforcing RTO mandates can present a minefield for employersand not just when it comes to morale or worker discontent. The shift back into the office brings with it the risk of renewed employment litigation, or at least a return to the type of legal action that might have been more common prior to the pandemic. Workplace harassment During the pandemic, there were many reports that workplace harassment and other misconduct had not disappeared in the era of remote work but had simply migrated online. As virtual communication became the norm, this kind of inappropriate behavior cropped up not just in video interactions or phone calls, but also via Slack and across other digital platforms. Still, the number of harassment complaints filed with the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission did drop at the height of the pandemic, in both 2020 and 2021 (though those figures dont account for state-level complaints). As employees return to the office in full force, however, it could open the door for more incidents of traditional harassment and sex discrimination, according to Lisa Koblin, an employment lawyer at Saul Ewing. The more people are interacting togetherespecially if there is work-related travel or work-related functions that are offsite or involve alcoholthe more likely we are to see those claims pop up, she says. Employers should, of course, already have clear policies in place around workplace harassment and misconduct, especially given many of them have been back in the office in some capacity for years at this point. But Koblin says its important for companies to revise their policies and training sessions year after year, even if it might seem basic. Disability accommodations Since companies started calling employees back to the office, experts have noted that the RTO push could disproportionately hurt workers who benefited most from remote work, particularly those who are disabled or neurodiverse. While employers will likely continue to provide accommodations to workers with disabilities, the bar might be higher in workplaces that are requiring all employees to return to the office. In fact, disabled workers at Amazon have said their exemptions to work from home were denied, and according to a Bloomberg report, the company has implemented a more stringent process for approving disability accommodations. (In a statement to Bloomberg, Amazon said the changes were part of its “broader return-to-office philosophy.” A spokesperson for the company added, “When in-person accommodations are needed, well provide them, and in some cases, offer an exception to working from the office.) Vincent White, an employment lawyer who represents plaintiffs in discrimination and harassment cases, says his firm is currently working on about 50 different cases that are related to accommodations that have been dialed back amid the return to office. Moran believes its likely that private sector employers will continue to see a spike in disability discrimination claimssomething he observed when academic institutions started asking teachers to return to the classroom in the aftermath of the pandemic. There was a spike in the number of people who said, I have a disability, and a reasonable accommodation is working from home, and good luck proving that it’s not a reasonable accommodation because we just did it for two years, he says. I would expect that will happen again in other private settings, as well. Other employment discrimination But its not just disability-based employment claims that might be on the rise. What we’re hearing a lot of right now is: We want everybody back, Moran says. That has the ease of saying, well, unless you have a disability, we don’t have to deal with making exceptions, one way or the other. The reality, however, is that there are always exceptions to these policiesas was the case prior to the pandemic, when certain workers were allowed to work from home occasionally or even secured permanent remote arrangements. Even as companies lean into RTO, it is becoming clear that the strictest of policies can be sidestepped by top performers and star employees who have more leverage to negotiate. Depending on how companies enforce these mandates, granting exemptions to certain workers and not others could invite more legal claims from employees whose requests are denied, a group that could include caregivers who are seeking flexibility to manage elder care or young children. Koblin has said that in her experience, employers tend to allow these arrangements for certain types of workers. I find that most of the time when there is a shift to return to work but there’s exceptions for some remote work, it’s usuallytied to a disability-related accommodation, she says. Or there are certain cases where someone has moved across the country, and their position is so critical that they’re willing to make an exception for that person. Still, employers who base performance reviews or promotions on office attendance can run the risk of punishing disabled workers or others who have successfully secured exemptions. The implication of not carefully evaluating that type of policy would be that you could inadvertently discriminate against certain people who are not physically able to come to the office, or who need to stay home to take care of a sick family member, or something of that nature, Koblin says. Some employers seem to have opted for a blanket policy that leaves little room for flexibility or exemptionsperhaps in part to steer clear of the legal issues that might arise over inconsistent enforcement. But Koblin argues that its in many employers best interest to offer some flexibility. I think the key is clarity and consistency in terms of: What is your culture, and what are you really expecting from your employees? she says. Everybody has something going on, in some way, shape, or form, and people are going to talk and understand how their coworkers are being treated and what exceptions have been made for them. Generally, unless policies are being abused, I counsel clients to think about how they can strike that balance between appropriate flexibility while ensuring that work gets done.
Category:
E-Commerce
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