The Middletown Press (Middletown, CT)
Supporting family child care crucial for human infrastructure
Families need all, not some, of these services. And our country can afford it if these corporations pay their fair share.
During President Biden’s visit to Connecticut, which he used to underscore the importance of investing in our people, he noted that child care educators “are doing God’s work.”
It’s a sentiment that certainly applies to Maria Amado. A family child care educator in Hartford for the last six years, the adoptive mom turned her own home into Green World Day Care, where she devotes herself to developing young minds and preparing children to become independent, confident and inquisitive.
Amado is proud of how she has developed her program. Through her work with All Our Kin, she was inspired to emphasize social-emotional development, not only at Green World, but with parents who bring the techniques home.
Amado, along with the estimated 100,000 licensed family child care educators across the U.S., is one of the unsung heroes who has provided a lifeline for families during COVID-19. To support frontline workers in the height of the first wave, Ms. Amado extended her program to several elementary students, learning the technology to connect them to their teachers. Her program, once open from 7 a.m. to 4:30 p.m., often provided coverage until 10 at night.
Without family child care educators, parents would be hard-pressed to help this nation build back better. They offer intimate settings, personalized attention, culturally relevant care and a level of flexibility that supports communities’ economic growth. They also offer quality. Child care educators play a crucial role in developing young minds when brain synapses are firing away at unprecedented levels.
President Biden’s critical legislation would expand child care and pre-K to 70,000 additional Connecticut children, reducing co-payments for those who earn the least and ensuring proper pay and professional development opportunities for the workforce. It also resonates with Amado: “It’s an opportunity for the nation to understand that we do more than babysit. We provide fundamental care and education for children.”
Embracing family child care means embracing equity, yet across the country, the industry remains in peril. The average family child care educator makes under $12 an hour — with educators of infants and toddlers earning even less. The number of family child care homes decreased across the country by 48 percent between 2005 and 2014, with the pandemic further exacerbating this trend. And yet, family child care educators serve a role of undeniable importance. “We’re not here to sell bread. We’re not here to sell cars. We are here to build brains and build the future children of our nation,” asserts Amado.
Over 22 years, All Our Kin has trained, supported and sustained more than 1,100 educators to help them become licensed, develop strong business practices and support highquality care. Studies have shown that our educators’ salaries increase by $5,000 after their first year of receiving business support; four of five parents have gone to work for every family child care business that opens; and every dollar invested yields $15 to $20 in immediate gains for the regional economy.
This model can be scaled and tailored across the country. As lawmakers grapple with whether parts of Biden’s infrastructure bill are expendable, Connecticut can definitively say that child care is not. We have proven that growing support for child care providers, including family child care educators, has both social and economic impact.
The president reminded us that 55 of our country’s wealthiest corporations paid nothing in taxes last year. Opponents have argued that Congress can’t support child care, pre-k, the child tax credit or paid family leave. But families need all, not some, of these services. And our country can afford it if these corporations pay their fair share.
Ultimately the legislation will spark what Amado refers to as a “domino effect.” Parents have financial support so their children can be in care. Educators are supported to grow as professionals. And the children are the ultimate beneficiaries. Family child care empowers constituents on both sides of the aisle, something senators would be wise to remember as they consider the consequences of stripping life-changing measures of the human infrastructure bill.