Child Care - Where Do Your Dollars Go?
In this article we're going to discuss where the money you spend
on child care actually goes.
Believe it or not, for your average American family of 3 or
more, child care expenses are 4th, right behind housing, food
and taxes. Because child care is so expensive, the parents
paying for this care think that the providers and centers
themselves are rolling in dough. The sad truth is, this is just
not the case. So hopefully this article will give you a pretty
good idea of where your child care dollars go.
The first and probably most important part of good child care is
having enough qualified people to run a child care center. The
younger the children at the care center are the more people that
are needed to take care of them because very young children need
individual attention, unlike centers with older children that
can work in groups or are even independent. It is because of
this need that personnel costs at a care center can be as much
as 50% or more of their total budget and operating expenses. The
other 50% is taken up by space, or the rent or mortgage on the
building, insurance, teaching supplies, snacks, and utilities.
Over the years these fixed costs have risen dramatically with
the price of food, oil and insurance skyrocketing because of
fraud, arson and other criminal activities. In spite of this,
the fees that the centers charge have remained pretty much the
same when adjusted for inflation. To translate that into
numbers, that means that child care teachers salaries have
dropped 25% since the 1970s.
The sad fact is, the salaries paid to child care workers are way
below what they should be making and because of that, it is hard
to find highly qualified people. In 1995 it is estimated that
child care teachers earned about $15,000 per year on the
average, which is not much over the poverty level. Assistant
teachers were only making an average of $11,000 per year in the
same time period. Even in comparison to the teachering
profession in elementary schools, these salaries are considered
low.
It is because of these low salaries that staff turnover at care
centers is so high. This should be a concern for parents because
high turnover prevents their children from getting the
personalized care that they are entitled to. With high turnover
the relationship between caregiver and child is usually very
impersonal and cold. This is not a good environment for your
child. As a result of this a child's language and social skills
develop slower than with children who get proper care.
The solution to this problem is to work with government to get
proper funding for these facilities and also to work with the
facilities themselves. Get all the information you can about the
facility in your area. Find out if the teachers have paid sick
leave and benefits. If not, campaign for these things. Make your
voice heard. Let those responsible for funding these facilities
know that you're not satisfied with the level of care.
You may be surprised to find out that there are people in
government who will listen, especially if they have children
themselves.