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By Ellen Keelan, in collaboration with Windham Child Care Association Permission for publication elsewhere is freely granted, so long as credit is given to Ellen Keelan, Windham Child Care Association, and the Brattleboro Reformer. 2. Child care in crisis: High costs outweigh market rates What's the biggest burden for families struggling to make ends meet? If you guessed the high cost of housing, you're only half right. Local families with two children frequently spend as much on child care as they do on rent -- over a third of their income in many parts of Windham County, according to a 1999 study. That's far too much, says the Children's Defense Fund, which recommends that no more than one-tenth of a family's income go to child care. With Windham County families earning a median income of just over $31,000 a year, annual child care costs of up to $7000 per child take too big a bite -- and often for child care that falls short on quality. "Providing child care, whether it's high quality or just mediocre quality, is very expensive," says Windham Child Care's Advocacy Initiative coordinator Kim Friedman. "Like health care, it's an area where the costs outweigh what the market can bear. It costs more to run a child care program than what most families can afford to pay." With families stretched to their financial limits, providers find they can't charge enough to cover their costs and earn a livable wage. A statewide study conducted last spring revealed that, despite low wages, child care providers routinely chip in hundreds of unpaid hours, maintenance and repairs, and materials and supplies, just to keep their programs operating. As a result, the early education system loses many of its best and brightest to more lucrative jobs. "Most people won't work for $11,000 a year, which is an average income for a child care provider," says Friedman. "In order to get a family child care provider's income up to where it ought to be, which is at least $20,000, a family would have to pay $8 an hour. No one can come up with that!" . According to Windham Child Care Association Subsidy Specialist Sharon Whipple, many families are unaware that they are eligible for subidy. "Even a family of four with a gross monthly income of $3,115 or a gross annual income of $37,380 can receive partial subsidy," Whipple observes. But even when it's available, subsidy covers only up to 70% of the cost of care. More often than not providers -- already stretched financially -- end up subsidizing the balance rather than turn families away. The lack of support for the early childhood system is an ongoing frustration for those in the field, who see government and private spending for education from kindergarten on up -- but very little for children under five. In fact, subsidies for higher education mean that parents, especially in urban areas, commonly pay more for child care than they do for public college. Increased funding would do more than help out providers and families -- it would actually improve the quality of child care by supporting opportunities for providers to receive education and training. According to a current survey, 86% of Vermont child care providers have no formal education above a high school diploma or GED, and only a handful have degrees in early education. And while Vermont requires child care providers to receive minimal training before they take care of children in their home, 40 states currently have no such requirements. Nationwide, training requirements for teachers of young children are more lax than those for manicurists and hairdressers, who must complete 1500 hours of training at an accredited school before receiving a license. When financial support is available, providers have shown that they are eager to enhance their qualifications. Early Education Services launched a program in September 1999 to cover providers' tuition for early education courses at CCV. As a result, the previously under-enrolled courses filled instantly. Educating providers does more than make them better teachers -- it also increases the chance they'll stay in the field. "When students go into the sort of depth that these courses provide, they get really committed to this as a career, and stick with it," says CCV instructor Laura Lawson Tucker. That's a big plus for Windham County, where close to 40% of child care providers leave the field each year. Since forming attachments is part of early learning, children who are forced to change providers regularly may miss out on some important experiences. "You want children to form strong attachments to their caregiver," says Leah Bratton, early childhood coordinator at Early Education Services. "Having strong relationships builds children's confidence and their ability to be with other people, and it helps them to learn. Those are the kinds of things that help children have success in school and work. To ask very young children to change providers, which happens a lot, puts an extra burden on the child." Those providers who do stay in the field often rely on other sources of income. Brattleboro Nursery School director Mary Copans is grateful that the financial support of a working spouse has enabled her to pursue her career of choice. "I've been doing this job for 22 years, and it's so different every year," says Copans. "Children are just so open and eager to absorb everything, and you get to be there when they're learning about life. You get to see the rainbow, you get to see the chrysalis, you get to know the special joy of sitting close to a friend. It's really like you're learning it all over again." "But it's a great sadness of mine that when young people ask me about child care, I have to say, 'Well, you're not going to make any money.' I've had the luxury to do this, but many people don't. It's a tragedy for the profession and for the children." | |||
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