May 12th was the National Day Without Child Care. While a number of parents, child care providers and advocates participated by closing down their centers and meeting with legislators, I want to share why this day is important to me.
I am a Center Director at Chantelle’s Quality Child Care Center in the District of Columbia. I also organize with SPACEs in Action, which supports child care organizers across the district. I have worked as a center director for over 20 years.
From my experience, I know that child care providers offer an invaluable service to communities. Local, state and federal officials should do all they can to support the people who support our communities. In D.C., this looks like supporting the Pay Equity Fund & Childcare Subsidy. The fund offers pay supplements and health benefits that help child care educators meet their or their families’ needs. The childcare subsidy ensures that more eligible families receive services.
Child care educators are the workforce behind the workforce. Unfortunately, child care providers are consumed with paperwork, new rules, and limited funding. We continually watch the pay rate go up for teachers, but not for early educators. Don’t get me wrong; teachers deserve competitive benefits. But there is an underlying problem in early childhood education. Day care centers, especially the smaller centers, do not have the resources or the money needed to maintain the services we provide.
I value child care educators. That’s why I pursued the Pay Equity Fund. Without it, I would only be able to offer minimum wage. This would make it impossible to maintain qualified teachers. But I’m not sure how long the fund will last. This means that our ability to provide quality care, recruit and retain qualified staff, and afford taxes and fees is threatened. We are also concerned about public schools enrolling two-and-a-half-year-olds. This decreases certain age groups that would be enrolled in day care centers, limiting our ability to stay open. The Pay Equity Fund would help to reduce some of these concerns.
Source: I Value Child Care Educators: That’s Why I Support The Pay Equity Fund
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