Child Care Issues

Child Care Issues Facing Working Families Families need child care that is - available - affordable - accessible - flexible to meet the needs of their work schedules - culturally sensitive - of high quality to meet their children’s developmental and educational needs.

Child Care Issues Facing Working Families The reality: types of care available –child care centers –regulated family child care –relative care –in-home care –with a parent –other

Availability: the reality The Maryland Committee for Children estimates that in this state there is space in regulated programs for only 37% of the total number of children under the age of 12 that could require full time child care.

Availability of care: “it depends” Varies by age of child: parents have fewer choices for arrangements for their infants varies by mother’s work schedule: parents have fewer choices for non-traditional hours varies by income level of community: there are fewer regulated child care programs in lower- income communities Varies by child need: there are fewer child care programs for children with special needs

Affordability of Care On average, families with a child under age 5 spent (in 1990) about 8% of their incomes on child care Families with annual incomes under $14,400 that paid for care spent 25% of their income on child care compared to 6% or less for families with incomes of $54,000 or more

Affordability of Care Average weekly cost of fulltime child care in Maryland (July, 2005) agefamily cccenter care –0-2 yrs$ $ –2-5 yrs $119.49$ –school-age $105.59$ Example: cost of full year care for an infant in family child care and a 4 year old in preschool would be $14,250.00

What is a high quality early childhood program? A high quality early childhood program provides a safe and nurturing environment while promoting the physical, social, emotional, and intellectual development of young children. »National Association for the Education of Young Children (NAEYC)

What is a high quality early childhood program? Frequent, positive, warm interactions among adults and children planned learning activities appropriate to children’s age and development specially trained teachers enough adults to respond to individual children ongoing, systematic evaluation Many varied age- appropriate materials a healthy and safe environment for children nutritious meals and/or snacks regular communication with parents who are welcome visitors at all times effective administration

The reality: quality of child care in the U.S. Child care and early education services “have so long been neglected that they now constitute some of the worst services for children in Western society.” »Carnegie Corporation, 1994

The reality: the quality of care Studies on the quality of child care in the U.S. rate it as “poor to mediocre” or “adequate”at best. –One national study of child care centers found 12% provided less than minimal quality care, and only one in seven (14%) received a rating of good quality for children overall. (Helburn, et al, 1995) –Another study found that 8% of care is ‘poor,’ 53% is fair, and 30% is ‘good.’ (NICHD)

The Quality of Care In family child care: over 1/3 programs rated as inadequate, meaning that their quality is low enough to actually harm children’s development; only 9% rated as good quality (i.e., enhancing the growth and development of children) Low-income and minority children more likely to be in lower quality family programs than other children. (Galinsky, et al, 1994)

Max. No. Children Allowed Per Caretaker and Max. Group Size in Child Care center, Selected Ages, Selected States

Median hourly wages of child care workers and preschool teachers compared to selected occupations: 1996 (U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics)

Annual Wage Rate Information (Maryland, July 2005) Public school teacher - $52,330 Nonpublic school teacher - $43,164 Family CC Provider - $24,891 CC Center Director - $30,438 CC Center Senior Staff - $21,470 Center Aide ($14,850)

Child Care Issues Facing Working Families Recommendations –Make child care affordable –Improve child care quality through a safe and healthy learning environment for each child parent involvement training and support for providers continuity of care

Child Care Issues Facing Working Families Recommendations –focus on the child care needs of low-income families child care available in low-income communities before and after school care affordability and responsivity