蜜桃影视

Whitney Taylor belongs to Iowa鈥檚 largely female, often minority and almost always underpaid, child-care workforce. As center director at Capitol Park Early Learning Center in Des Moines, she wears a lot of hats: grant writer, diaper changer, supply chain coordinator, snow shoveler. She鈥檚 also vice president of (Iowa AEYC) and she鈥檚 expecting her first child any day now.

鈥淪ince the pandemic,鈥� Taylor says, 鈥淲e鈥檝e had to change everything: furniture, toys, curriculum, training.鈥� Costs of supplies have skyrocketed. For example, a pack of 1,000 latex gloves went from $30 to $125. 鈥淟uckily, the staff has stayed with us, but it鈥檚 always a challenge,鈥� she admits. 鈥淭he Target in Des Moines pays $3 an hour more than we do.鈥�

The imbalance between wages in retail and the vital work of caring for and educating our youngest children highlights a crisis with long-term consequences for Iowa, along with most other states, says Jillian LS Herink, executive director, Iowa AEYC. 鈥淚 cannot emphasize enough,鈥� she says, 鈥渢he lack of child care providers is the number one issue in Iowa. We need to professionalize the field, so that we have a well-qualified and well-compensated child care workforce.鈥�

鈥淭his is skilled labor,鈥� Herink insists, dismissing recent proposals to let high school students fill the child care gap in her state. She points to the recently announced Investing in Iowa鈥檚 Child Care funding program and as evidence that Iowa Gov. Kim Reynolds and the state legislature are starting to treat the crisis seriously. She lists four additional measures the state could implement in the next three to five years:

1. Provide sustained funding for Child Care WAGE$庐, a salary supplement program offered by Iowa AEYC. It offers salary supplements (also called stipends) to the early care and education workforce, based on the individual’s level of formal education and commitment to their program. Thanks to Coronavirus Response and Relief Supplemental Appropriations Act 2021, WAGE$ is now going statewide in Iowa. According to Herink, this step will enhance the stability and retention of the child care workforce.

2. Support (Teacher Education And Compensation Helps) Early Childhood庐 Iowa scholarships鈥攚hich Taylor has benefited from鈥攅nabling the workforce to attend college and earn degrees. Like WAGE$, T.E.A.C.H. is a licensed program of Child Care Services Association.

3. Name early care and education a 鈥渉igh demand鈥� occupation. This recognition of the value of the workforce will create an avenue to increased professionalism for the field. The 鈥渉igh demand鈥� designation can also mean enhanced funding via state initiatives.

4. Implement a salary scale that is tied to education and include a mechanism for child care providers to access benefits or additional pay for purchasing benefits

The business model of Taylor鈥檚 center is to combine families who can afford to pay for care with families on public assistance. The parents work in law enforcement, fast food and retail. Some live in a shelter for homeless youth. 鈥淚t鈥檚 a lonely job sometimes,鈥� says Taylor, 鈥渂ut other center directors have taken me under their wing. I thrive with group support.鈥�

This story originally published on Early Learning Nation and is now archived on 蜜桃影视. Learn more here.