The need for child care and early learning is critical, especially in rural Arkansas. One nonprofit organization is working to close these gaps by giving health care providers the opportunity to receive further education.
Save the Children's Career Pathways program partners with universities to expand the workforce of child care and preschool providers.
Joyce Taylor, Save the Children's Parent and Family Community Engagement Coordinator for Eastern Arkansas, has more than 20 years of experience with Head Start and said the program gave her the opportunity to earn a bachelor's degree. Ta. It also provides resources to use in the classroom and with families.
“Especially, we have families who have children with autism,” Taylor said. “Moms are working from home with their kids, so I have something to share with that family so they can continue working with their kids.”
According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, job openings for child care workers are projected to exceed 153,000 over the next 10 years, largely due to the need to fill child care workers who have left the field or retired.
Taylor noted that some children have difficult behaviors and may have a lot going on at home. Her job is to help children thrive in preschool.
“We're First Start, so when they come to Head Start, that's their first opportunity to be in a learning environment,” Taylor explained. “It’s up to us to do everything we can to make that first experience a success.”
Karen Harrison, Save the Children's managing director of education and workforce development, said the program was designed to address the inherent disparities in rural communities, as they have less access to resources than their urban counterparts. He said he is focusing on. She added that the Pathways program aims to reduce barriers to obtaining higher qualifications and degrees.
“All of our paths come with incentives,” Harrison emphasized. “We pay full or partial tuition fees. We also pay stipends for books, supplies, materials, etc. We also provide 'barrier reduction' stipends, where participants are concerned about their own childcare.” We understand that there may be a need for transportation, technology, etc.
Harrison added that this pathway begins with a child development associate certification, then an associate degree, and eventually a bachelor's degree. In the process, it improves career opportunities for workers and improves the quality of early learning.
Disclosure: Save the Children donates to funds for reporting on children's issues, early childhood education, education, and poverty issues. If you would like to help support news in the public interest, click here.
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There is a shortage of child care workers across New Hampshire, leaving families with few options.
The state currently has a shortage of more than 7,000 child care jobs, but low wages and burnout are driving workers out of the workforce and forcing some child care facilities to close.
Shannon Tremblay, director of the New Hampshire Child Care Advisory Council, said workers are struggling to care for their families with wages barely above the federal poverty line.
“Nobody wants to work for low wages,” Tremblay said. “Nobody wants to work long hours in a stressful environment and make $15 an hour.”
Tremblay said increasing state investment would have long-term benefits for both parents and children, some of whom may have disabilities or behavioral problems. claimed that it could be detected early by trained child care staff.
Last year, state lawmakers invested more than $60 million in child care services, including $15 million to create child care workforce grants and invest in the state's Family Resource Centers.
Tremblay emphasized that the end of career and technical education programs in New Hampshire's high schools has disrupted the pipeline of workers entering the field and put tremendous pressure on current employees to do it all. .
“Our providers are incident managers, cooks and plumbers,” Tremblay said. “They want to provide quality care, but they can’t do that right now.”
Tremblay stressed that the Legislature needs to act because funding to support the child care industry during the pandemic will run out in September. He added that the state could raise wages to ease the burden on New Hampshire families, who currently spend about $24,000 a year on child care for two children under 5.
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Pennsylvania's child welfare system is facing a staffing crisis that is impacting children and families throughout the system.
According to the Child Welfare Resource Center, about 30 counties report caseworker vacancy rates of 30% or higher.
Terry Clark, president and CEO of the Pennsylvania Council on Children, Youth and Family Services, called on the Departments of Education and Human Services to focus on STEM during a state Senate hearing on child welfare. asked them to work together to develop a new model of welfare services. It could provide youth with training, apprenticeships, and career opportunities in child welfare, youth justice, and behavioral health.
“We spend a lot of time focusing on the university,” Clark said. “But we think we might want to back this up a little bit and look at middle schools and high schools, to encourage and motivate young students and encourage them to go into this field.” Please try.”
Clark noted that some government agencies are asking supervisors and even people in other departments to take on casework responsibilities. According to a recent Philadelphia study, community agency turnover rates average 45%, with vacancies ranging from 21 to 60 people.
Clark observed that private providers face the same workforce challenges as county child welfare agencies. He emphasized that counties are beginning to explore more contracting relationships with private providers for needed work.
“Counties are beginning to issue RFPs asking private providers to help fill their workforce,” Clark emphasized. “That means we're asking private providers to take on roles and functions that have traditionally been primarily held by the county itself.”
Clark argued that competitive wages are seen as important to attracting and retaining child welfare workers, and that counties are often underfunded. He added that student loan forgiveness and fellowship programs could be promising ways to bring new talent into the field, but lawmakers would have to agree.
“Over the years, various House bills and various Senate bills have been introduced, or at least in draft form,” Clark acknowledged. “I would like to see the discussion continue on those, because I think if we can get some movement on them, that would be really helpful.”
He told lawmakers that unless the company invests more in workers, turnover trends won't change much.
Disclosure: The Pennsylvania Council on Children, Youth, and Family Services contributes to the fund for reporting on budget policy and priorities, children's issues, education, and social justice. If you would like to help support news in the public interest, click here.
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Despite recent policy victories, Wisconsin labor leaders remain concerned about the current environment that protects young teens from dangerous work conditions.
Gov. Tony Evers this month vetoed a bill that would have expanded the removal of required work permits for those under 18. The bill's language would also apply to 14- and 15-year-olds years after the state abolished parental permission. 16 and 17 years old.
Stephanie Bloomingdale, president of the Wisconsin State AFL-CIO, said the recent debate is a policy battle that advocates thought they had won decades ago, when minors often worked in dangerous conditions. Stated. She warned that there was strong pressure to chip away at protections.
“There is a growing movement by a variety of unscrupulous employers to bring children back to work without the necessary oversight,” Bloomingdale argued.
The Economic Policy Institute said rollbacks have been approved in more than a dozen states over the past few years. The current effort has been blocked in Wisconsin, but Bloomingdale worries about similar debates in future Congresses.
Meanwhile, the number of violations is on the rise, with the U.S. Department of Labor reporting an 83% increase in fines. Supporters of the Wisconsin bill say they aim to reduce red tape for families.
Bloomingdale countered that stripping away this new layer of protection would further trample on the rights of parents and guardians. Some children may also feel the need to bring in additional income as rising consumer prices put increased pressure on household budgets, she added.
She emphasized that current laws help the whole family make informed decisions.
“It's important for kids to have a good work ethic,” Bloomingdale acknowledged. “But at the same time, we need to make sure these kids are getting enough sleep and participating in school and making sure they have that balance.”
A report from the Economic Policy Institute showed that while laws in many states have been weakened, several other states are also moving ahead with legislation that would strengthen protections. A bipartisan bill has been introduced in Congress that would specifically crack down on violators.
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