I made a free printable Box Tops for Education Jar for you to stick on your fridge to help you remember to clip and collect @Box Tops for Education. After printing you can slide it inside an 8 1/2 x 11 clear sheet protector and then use tape or magnets to stick it on the door of your fridge. It’s an easy way to keep Box Tops collection a priority in your home! My boxtop game just got so much stronger with #Costcoboxtops

It’s good to know how your school is using the @Box Tops for Education labels to fund what they need. Our elementary school uses the Box Tops money to buy new library books. Do you know what your school is using their @Box Tops money for? Every school is different because they receive the @Box Tops money as cash and can choose how to best spend it. Normally the PTO is in charge of this and they choose how to spend. I’m currently the PTO president at my daughter’s school! And it’s mind blowing how much box tops helped with buying major items!

 But Costco just upped the game for a huge chance to help out even more! By purchasing specially marked General Mills products with 8 boxtops @Costco – all while entering to win and additional 100 eBoxTops with the @Costco Golden Box Tops Challenge

#CostcoBoxTops

Click to learn how to enter, # of prizes & what prize is can all be found here

Click to see the participating products

Click to see all details

*OUR PICKS*

What do you think? What’s your favorite way to collect @boxtops? Let the kids help! And don’t miss out on the good deal @Costco right now for lots of extras!

** This post was brought to you by Costco & Acorn all thoughts and ideas are always my own.

Here lately the news has really saddened me and I honestly can’t believe my eyes when I read about what happens to children with horrible homes and parents. It breaks my heart. And now even elderly abuse.

It almost seems like its worse than ever if maybe I pay closer attention cause I now have kids of my own. I like to think if I was on meth like more than half of the stories involve I would at least give my child up for adoption ??

I have no idea how social workers do what they do I would live that horror every minute of everyday and always take it home with me. After seeing and dealing with all that I honestly think it has to change something in your mind.

But sadly the pay for those types of job are still being cut ? How and who decided that ? It blows my mind.

I live in a Tiny town where lots of people have teuned to drugs and a horrible lifestyle for kids I wish so bad you have to get a clearance to have kids sometimes.

Below are just a few of the examples I read every single day in the news ! Why I don’t understand? Why haven’t people turned these people in or at least call the police about the drugs… Then the state would step in for the kids.

The state can’t do it all we must be a voice for these babies. I would never be the same if I worked with social services.

Below you can read there has been some improvement but that doesn’t mean the pay will be fair.

Signs of Improvement: A Review of the CQC State of Care Report
It will come as a relief to many working in the Health and Social Care sectors that the situation, post-Mid Staffordshire, shows signs of improvement across the board. The publication of the Care Quality Commission’s (CQC) annual State of Care Report for 2015/2016 reveals that, by the end of May 2015, the CQC re-inspection of 123 services showed that 50% had improved and for adult social care nearly 60% of services were rated either “good” or “outstanding”. Nevertheless, the CQC is acutely aware of the enormous challenges ahead, not least in facing new legislation, changing care needs and increasingly straitened financial circumstances.
The implications for social work jobs are not entirely promising, however. As planned funding cuts of between 25 and 40% come into force, the CQC admits that staffing at all levels and in all sectors has been and will continue to be where Health and Social Care performance is most keenly felt. The Report quotes the National Audit Office in stating that local authority budgets have been reduced by 37% in real terms and on a like for like basis over the last five years. Inevitably, Health Trusts have already made cost savings by reducing fees to providers which, in turn, has meant lower pay for care workers and, critically, low skill levels. Forecast increases in the Minimum Wage will only add to the financial burden.
The CQC states that 94% of services inspected and rated “good” or “outstanding” overall were likewise rated in terms of leadership and it is here that the Report sees the way forward. However, if the figures are broken down further, it can be seen that up to 31st May 2015, only 17% of adult social care services had been inspected and rated. Of these, 59% were rated good or outstanding overall, 33% were considered to be requiring improvement and 7% remained “inadequate”. In fact, staffing issues stand out as the key area requiring improvement: for some services the CQC admits that they are struggling to recruit the right staff, with an alarming vacancy rate of 5%.
The Reports conclusions are positive, if Utopian: Our challenge to all health and social care services, and the system overall, is therefore to continue to put quality of care at the centre of change, and not fall into the trap of seeing innovation as only driven by the need to save money.

(This news article is UK based but also very spot on for the US)

What are yall’s thoughts on this matter am I wrong for thinking we as regular people could help this more than we do?

** Partnered with Influenced but as always all thoughts are mine.