Moms miss out on oil boom with energy firm short of day care
THE WEST Texas sun is still hours away from rising, and the line at the First Presbyterian Church in Midland is already forming.
These aren’t teens waiting for concert tickets. They’ re tired moms and d ads hoping to get a spot at the church’ s“Mother’ s Day Out” programme for their children, the babies of the boom.
“It’s like you’ re scalping for tickets to a Rolling Stones concert ,” said Jessica McCoy, a soon-to-be mother who sells oilfield services equipment for United Safety in Midland. McCoy’ s solution: her mother has moved to Midland from Austin allowing McCoy to keep her job when her son is born this autumn.
Others aren’ t as lucky. More than 1,400 children were on daycare waiting lists in Midland and the surrounding area earlier this year, according to the latest available data. It’ s a statistic that’ s keeping both families and communities from taking full financial advantage of the Permian Basin’ s rise to energy dominance.
Affected t he mo st: Mom s. With women still making less than men generally, they’ re more likely to quit work to provide care for their children, said Michelle M cC ready, chief of policy at ChildCare Aware of America, a nonprofit that promotes affordable childcare.
Heidi Win kl er, married to a petroleum geologist, knows the feeling well.
Winkler’s 2 0-month- old s on will attend extended childcare at First Presbyterian’s childcare centre for the first time starting next month. That’s allowing her to finally achieve along-sought goal: Starting her own graphic design business.
“It was a huge relief to be able to get into childcare ,” she said. ‘’ I know so many other moms who are on the wait list, and they may not make the cut for childcare this autumn.”
In Texas, a family of four that make less than about US$ 48,000 a year is eligible for government funding for childcare, according to S hay Ever itt, director for early childhood education initiatives for then on-profit group Children at Risk. But only about 17 per cent of the facilities that serve those children are considered “quality” providers, meaning they’re certified by the state’s rating system.
At a Bright Horizons’ childcare centre in Midland, monthly rates a re subsidised by Concho Resources Inc., a Permian shale driller. That means parents pay between US $ 600 a nd US $ 700 a month per child, compared with more t han US $ 1,000 a mon th many are forced to shell out without employer help.
Even with a facility specifically reserved for one company, though, most age groups still have a “pretty goodsized wait list,” said Jessi Silva, the centre’s director.
“Right now, if your infant is already born and you want to get your child in, it’ ll probably be next summer before you can get them in ,” she said. There were 18 infants, five toddlers, seven preschoolers and five to six “Kinder-preppers” on t he waiting list as of early August, according to Silva.
At the same time, the lack of childcare is hurting local communities like Midland and nearby Odessa, where local officials are working hard to increase the number of families that move to the shale patch for good.
While many rig operators and truck drivers leave families back home while they pull two to three-weeks hi fts,t he cities aspire for oil fieldworkers and white-collar employees alike to come with their spouses and kids. That means more money for area restaurants, movie the at res, grocery stores and shopping malls, according to Jerry Morales, the mayor of Midland and a local restaurateur.
“Families won’ t move here because they can’ t get into daycare ,” Moral es said in an interview at his Mulberry Cafe. That’s why Moral es plans to make childcare one of h is main calls for action in a September “State of the City” address.
Companies desperate to hire are also moving to tackle the issue. A 200- child facility backed by Ana dark oP etroleum Corp ., Chevron Corp ., Occidental Petroleum Corp. an dE OG Resources Inc. just broke ground in Midland. And Pioneer Natural Resources Co ., like Conc ho, already has a partnership with Bright Horizons for childcare centres that exclusively serves its employees.
“You’re seeing more and more companies coming together to solve the problem around childcare,” said Katie Mehnert, chief executive officer of Pink Petro,agro up that provides resources for women in the oil and gas sector .“It’s a topic everyone’s talking about.”— WPBloomberg