蜜桃影视

If Tiffany Gale got eight full hours of sleep a night, she鈥檇 never be able to get everything done. In addition to owning and operating Miss Tiffany鈥檚 Early Childhood Education House out of her home in Weirton, West Virginia, she is active in her local Chamber of Commerce, Rotary Club, parks and recreation department; is training for a marathon; and has individually emailed each and every of her state鈥檚 hundred delegates about the financial stress on businesses like hers. (She also took the photos accompanying this story.)

鈥淚鈥檇 never been involved in politics before,鈥� she says. 鈥淏ut it was that important. The children can鈥檛 contact their representatives, so I have to be a voice for them.鈥�

Originally from Columbus, Ohio, Gale remembers how her single mother had to tighten her belt in order to care for two daughters. She describes how her teachers went the extra mile to make sure she had educational opportunities, how she worked two jobs en route to earning her associate鈥檚 degree in early childhood education, and these experiences have stayed with her as she makes room at Miss Tiffany鈥檚 for families on public assistance.

Gale has worked in child care for 10 years and has had her own business here in Weirton 鈥� 45 minutes west of Pittsburgh 鈥� for two years. Miss Tiffany鈥檚 educates up to 12 children between 6 weeks and 12 years of age. The toddlers go in the dining room, now converted into a toddler classroom; the preschoolers go in the living room, now converted into a preschool classroom. Gale says her husband, an x-ray technician, is very understanding.

When Gale advocates for child care businesses in correspondence with delegates and in person at the state capital, she emphasizes how paid leave proposals might actually make her operation financially viable. 鈥淚t makes sense for the workers, for the employers and for businesses like mine because, after all, I鈥檓 a business, too.鈥�

She informs legislators that Miss Tiffany鈥檚 opens as early as 5:00 a.m. to accommodate parents鈥� work schedules. Occasionally, children have to stay overnight. She describes a 2-year-old boy and a 3-year-old girl whose parents are struggling with addiction. Guess who ends up watching these toddlers when their grandparent has to take an extra shift at the mill?

鈥淲est Virginia did a lot of good things at the start of the pandemic,鈥� Gale says. Deemed a 鈥渃risis child care site,鈥� her business received funds for educating the children of frontline workers, but the reimbursement rates are low, and she gets paid only if a child shows up 鈥� even though she has to hold the space open either way.

Legislation hasn鈥檛 advanced at the state level, but Gale believes she has helped the delegates understand that child care must do more than merely exist. It has to offer quality education during the important early years, or else kids in poverty will miss out on the best hope for building better lives than their parents have. 鈥淲e are impacting the lives of the future,鈥� she says, 鈥渁nd we鈥檙e making minimum wage, if that.鈥�

Dawn Huckelbridge, director of the , says Gale鈥檚 story is all too familiar. 鈥淭his is such an obvious winning issue for both sides of the aisle,鈥� she says. 鈥淥bviously, the pandemic has shown us all just how urgent it is for all working people to have paid family and medical leave. This funding shields the most vulnerable from catastrophe, and it keeps businesses like Miss Tiffany鈥檚 afloat.鈥� Labor unions, veterans groups, racial justice organizations and health care professionals have signed up for the campaign.

Huckelbridge notes that a national paid leave policy is included in the federal budget package that leadership has said they want to pass in tandem with the infrastructure bill if they can secure the votes. The policies in the budget, like , are some of the most popular in the country.

Gale remains worried about the long-term sustainability of her enterprise. Parents pay her $150 per week. For all the hours she works, after she pays her two employees enough to keep them from defecting to Burger King and accounting for the cost of books, supplies, learning activities and so on, her profits come to barely $30,000 per year.

鈥淚 try to look at things logically,鈥� she says. 鈥淎nd the way things are set up now just don鈥檛 add up.鈥�

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