Stamford Advocate

Tackling the early childhood education dilemma

- By Cassandra Day

MIDDLETOWN — Lawmakers will consider seven bills this session that would bolster early childhood education programs, help families with moderate incomes pay for child care and support incentives for teachers to remain in their field.

Merrill Gay, executive director of the CT Early Childhood Alliance, and Dawn Dubay, Middletown school readiness coordinato­r, spoke Thursday during a meeting hosted by the Middlesex Children’s Coalition at the deKoven House about the possible impact of each piece of legislatio­n.

Coalition Executive Director Izzi Greenberg moderated the discussion.

Prior to the November election, the state Senate had an equal number of Democrats and Republican­s —18 — which led to a fiscal impasse that caused state budget negotiatio­ns to draw out for four months. On Nov. 6, Democrats claimed five more seats, increasing their margin of control 21-13.

One reason why these bills have a chance at passage is because of the number of new legislator­s this year, Gay said. “There was a real sense we’re going to change things. I describe the first month or two as ‘freshmen exuberance.’ We had a bunch of new committee chairs, everyone was going to change the world, but we didn’t have a new budget yet.”

One such leader is state Rep. Bobby Sanchez, DNew Britain, who attended Connecticu­t’s first Head Start class in 1965. Later, he became a Head Start teacher, married one, and now works for the National Fatherhood Initiative, which administer­s the program.

“He is completely steeped in early childhood. He believes these teachers don’t get the respect they deserve or pay raises for their important work,” Gay said.

Parents, many of whom are having difficulty paying for day care because they are Asset Limited Income Constraine­d Employed — or ALICE — as designated by a Connecticu­t United Ways report. The income of 40 percent of Connecticu­t households fall below what is needed to pay for the basic necessitie­s of food, health care, housing, household bills and transporta­tion, according to the report.

“Parents need custodial care so they can work, but we know the difference between custodial care and high-quality programs is significan­t and has lasting impact,” Gay said.

The “paradox” is parents can’t afford child care, and early childhood educators don’t get paid enough, Gay said.

A family of four on average needs an income of $57,000 annually to cover basic needs, and, on top of that, $20,000 more for child care, Gay said.

S.B. No. 930 would establish a pilot program so the state can grant licenses to those who want to operate a day care in a place other than a private home, such as their apartment.

S.B. No. 931 would require Care4Kids payments to be at least equal to the 75th percentile of the market cost of child care; and any increase in funding to child care centers and school readiness program providers go toward higher salaries; and reestablis­h school readiness grant rates.

Care4Kids helps low- to moderate-income families in Connecticu­t pay for child care costs.

Once teachers obtain their associate’s or bachelor’s degree, they often leave the field for betterpayi­ng jobs, Gay said. He gave an example of a Head Start teacher a single credit away from getting her bachelor’s degree. She left that job to work at JCPenney, which paid $2 more an hour, or $4,100 more a year.

S.B. No. 932 would make revisions to and extend the dates of the staff qualificat­ions requiremen­t for early childhood educators.

S.B. No. 934 would expand Care4Kids eligibilit­y to parents enrolled in school. Connecticu­t is one of three states in the country (including Rhode Island and Delaware) that doesn’t allow parents in school (other than high school) to access Care4Kids, Gay said.

S.B. No. 935 would require the Office of Early Childhood to develop an early childhood educator compensati­on schedule to be implemente­d.

S.B. No. 936 would establish a student loan forgivenes­s program for early childhood educators.

S.B. No. 937 would create a student loan forgivenes­s program for these educators.

“This is a big cycle of issues that we are facing. We have (proposed) loan forgivenes­s, which makes such a huge difference in quality,” Dubay said. “Teachers are striving, and want to take more courses to improve their teaching, and they struggle financiall­y because of pay. Just paying their loans contribute­s to the stress in the day-today challenges of their job and not being able to pay their bills.”

Many parents who apply for Care4Kids have had their applicatio­ns and redetermin­ations repeatedly vanish from the state’s 25-year-old computer databases. This issue has delayed Care4Kids vouchers for at least four months, Gay said, causing significan­t hardships for these families.

Precious Price, director/ community organizer at the Middletown Racial Justice Coalition, shared a story about her sibling, baffling many in the room. Her sister applied four times to the state for a Care4Kids voucher. Each time, she was told her request had not been received.

“She calls every day, and every time she calls, somebody else tells her to apply again. It’s ridiculous,” Price said. “They sent the paperwork back to the house four different times, and said, ‘We don’t have your address.’ Then how did you send this?”

Those gathered burst into laughter at her telling that part of the story.

Meanwhile, her sister is struggling to pay $450 a week for child care, finding herself caught in a far from uncommon predicamen­t.

For informatio­n, visit middlesexc­hildren.org.

 ?? Cassandra Day / Hearst Connecticu­t Media ?? Merrill Gay, left, head of the CT Early Childhood Alliance, and Izzi Greenberg, executive director of the Middletown-based Middlesex Coalition for Children, spoke Thursday during a roundtable at the deKoven House in Middletown.
Cassandra Day / Hearst Connecticu­t Media Merrill Gay, left, head of the CT Early Childhood Alliance, and Izzi Greenberg, executive director of the Middletown-based Middlesex Coalition for Children, spoke Thursday during a roundtable at the deKoven House in Middletown.
 ??  ?? The 2018 Connecticu­t United Ways ALICE Report
The 2018 Connecticu­t United Ways ALICE Report

Newspapers in English

Newspapers from United States