Alaskans are experiencing difficulties obtaining childcare services now than they did only five years ago according to an expert who spoke to a new task force appointed by Governor. Mike Dunleavy to develop an action plan for making child care services in the state more accessible and affordable.
The task team was formed by Dunleavy created in April held its first public meeting on Wednesday through Zoom with around 60 people, including a dozen members of the task force at the meeting. The task force has until the time of Christmas to develop the first plan for addressing the state’s issues with child care. What’s at stake is the wellbeing of families in the state -as well as its economic health.
Stephanie Berglund, the CEO of Thread, a resource and referral system for child care across California, painted a dark depiction of the state’s children care system during her presentation to fellow members of the task group.
Berglund spoke about the difficulties Alaskans have to face, noting that the issue of finding childcare is more severe in areas that are rural than those in urban. The majority of Alaskans reside in a desert of child care which is a place that does not have adequate access to childcare, and over 88,000 children in Alaska require care for children and early childhood education.
Berglund has also emphasized the fact that Alaska families bear the burden of child childcare and early education expenses that can range from 17%-34 percent of income for a familymuch more than housing expenses.
“Child taking care of children in Alaska is more expensive than tuition for college,” Berglund said. “And it’s in a time where parents are in the early stages to their professional careers, and have a lot of earning potential.”
Based on her figures, Alaska families spend around $223 million per year on early childhood education and care. The state contributes around 36 million dollars.
Berglund stated that the wages of child care professionals aren’t high with an average of $26,000 per year. the turnover rate in Alaska is close to 50 percent.
At the time of writing the data from Berglund shows that there are a little over 400 registered child care centers across the country. In the past three years over 100 have shut down.
The state hasn’t been able to reopen childcare centers as fast as they’re closing. Prior to the COVID-19 pandemic about 25 to 30 new programs would be opened each year. In the past six months, just eight programs were launched however 36 have shut the doors of their facilities, she explained.
Berglund stated that the majority of parents complain of missing work because of child care issues and 7percent of parents have quit their work due to them.
Kati Capozzi, leader of the Alaska Chamber, the state’s chamber of commerce, stated that childcare was one of the top three issues among her employees. She claimed that some chamber members “left their jobs during COVID and tried to return, but it just didn’t happen because of the difficulty of access and affordability as well.” She added that a lot of members have resigned from the workforce because the costs of childcare have increased by a significant amount, and this has been the case even over the past few months.
Co-chair of the task force Heidi Hedberg, the Alaska Department of Health commissioner she described the presentation as “humbling” in addition to “sobering.”
Lt. Gov. Nancy Dahlstrom, the other co-chair, urged the public to take part in participation in the year-long project. The next meeting of the task force is scheduled for July 12. The public is invited to register for the meeting on the internet.
This article first appeared in Alaska Beacon and is republished here with permission.
