Child care providers across the country are planning protests and closures on Monday in hopes of reminding federal and state lawmakers that they need government help.
In a conference call on Thursday, several participating vendors discussed their situation as they try to stay in business at a time when they cannot pay enough to attract and retain workers and when they cannot ask families to pay. of more. Because many parents are already struggling with the high cost of child care.
“We can’t wait any longer,” he said Britannia Bays, A West Texas supplier that will close its doors Monday and help lead the march to the Austin, Texas Capitol. “Our families have no choice. We all seem to know that caring for a child is necessary, but it’s time for the world to feel what caring feels like now, to make it a permanent reality ”.
Demonstrations will come in time with prospects for activation New major federal initiative for child care Light appearance.
President Joe Biden and Democratic leaders in Congress expect to declare this part of their legislation “better recovery”. But the bill is based on the almost unanimous support of Democrats in Congress because Republicans don’t support it, and a lone Democratic senator – Joe Manchin of West Virginia – actually killed the bill in December when he opposed it. in its size and overall structure.
“It’s time for the world to feel what caring feels like now, so that it doesn’t become a constant reality.”
– Britain Base, a baby supplier from Texas
Mancini, where West Virginia voters He has the same child care issues as other Americans, he said, and is still interested in passing stricter laws. But even that effort stopped. In recent public statements, he did not mention early childhood programs as a provision he presented as part of the final bill.
Frustration in this situation – and the lack of federal action in general – was a major topic in Thursday’s conference call.
“Congress has had so many opportunities to address this issue, but they continue to discourage us from time to time,” Bayes said.
New crises and old problems
Not like most here even countries, The United States does not view child care as a public good and does not guarantee access to families in need. Instead, the expectation is that working parents will find a way to pay child care bills, mostly independently, with the help of a limited federal, state, or local government. In some cases only – and only for some People.
The resulting system can be cruel to any part of it.
“The size of the child care problem is not something that locals have solved independently.”
– Jana Rodriguez, a New York -based child care provider
It is difficult to find affordable families and then pay for suppliers they trust to take care of their children. Suppliers who cannot raise their charges have a hard time hiring and then retaining good workers.
For the workers – who are mostly women and disproportionate women of color – they find it difficult to live on meager wages. In 2018, more than half benefited from any form of state assistance Childcare Employment Research Center At the University of California-Berkeley.
These problems Worsened during the pandemic. In the early stages pPublic health protocols and the absence of COVID-19 have reduced staff availability and revenue for suppliers. Recently, as the number of cases has declined and business has risen, suppliers have not been able to raise wages enough to protect retailers and hospitable businesses that receive the same labor pool.
“The first thing I heard was I couldn’t compete with retailers like Walmart, which starts at $ 11 per hour,” he said. Kelly Down Jones Indianapolis Child Care Provider.
An aid to federal action
All would have been worse if not for the temporary measures to help COVID-19, which could have prevented the closure of an additional 75,000 suppliers; According to the Century Fund report.
The idea of a democratic initiative Rebuild better There was increased government support for child care over a longer period of time with access to benefits for almost all working families, which allowed suppliers to set higher prices, which would have helped the worker get paid more.
Negotiations on any version of this initiative could continue – or Congress could find another way to support child care, perhaps through bipartisan and less ambitious efforts.
States and local governments can also act independently, as some do.
In July, for example, San Francisco will begin spending $ 60 million annually Increase the wages of working children Implement a voter-approved plan in 2018. The program will set a salary cap of $ 28 per hour, which is more close to the teachers of the city’s public schools, in the hopes that it will address the severe manpower shortage that families are desperately looking for. Treatment.
But these separate attempts, by definition, will have a separate effect: vendors hope to introduce their demonstrations.
“The scale of the child care problem is not something that locals can solve independently,” he said. Jana Rodriguez, supplier of Freeport, New York. “We are one of the richest countries in the world and we have the necessary funds for our families.
Source: Huffpost
