A regional gathering for providers of child care in Juneau gave participants to meet with legislators and push for greater child care assistance provided by state. Participants also heard about two bills in the Legislature that deal with the issue of the absence of child care services in Southeast Alaska.
The Southeast Alaska Association for the Education of Young Children has been serving the region for over forty years. It assists parents in finding childcare, and assists providers in their training, and advocates for better access to child care.
Blue Shibler is the executive director of the nonprofit. This month the organization organized the annual event in Juneau. This year’s theme included “Be well, take care.”
“We have a number of sessions on mindfulness and active play, for both adults and the children they collaborate alongside,” she said. “We were able to hold a very effective workshop that focused on strategies for managing stress in caregivers. This is really about giving caregivers ways to be mindful of their self-regulation when they work with children.”
There’s a reason behind all the talk about self-care. The workers in the field are underpaid and overworked. The beginning salary for childcare workers is approximately $12 per hour. It is a long day, and the turnover of staff is very high. There aren’t enough people in the field. The problem is particularly severe in the Southeast.
“Southeast Alaska as a whole is regarded as a desert for child care This means we’re only meeting half the needs,” Shibler said. “There are some communities with no child care facilities, and some communities do not have enough childcare.”
Shibler was the facilitator of an advocacy event which gave attendees the chance to talk to legislators. Haines Child care worker Kim Larson was part of this group. She’s limited to providing care for eight children and the only 3 children are able to be younger than 30 months. She states that the care needed for children of that range of ages is highly sought-after.
“We are in need of more caregivers from 0 to 30 months old,” Larson said. “I have a waiting list of five infants at the moment but you’ll know that I’m only able to take three at one time.”
Larson has told lawmakers that she believes helping parents to pay for child care could be a solution.
“One of the issues we discussed was the way they support college-aged youngsters, like the Pell Grants, and other things and of course they assist the K through twelve year olds, right through the school. Now, they’re starting to help preschoolers,” she said. “But they don’t have support for the ages of zero to three. That is when kids’ brains are growing most, and their brains are growing the fastest, which is when they are in their early years. There isn’t any funding for this.”
Alaska lawmakers are currently working on two bills to tackle the issue. Rep. Andi Story, D-Juneau, was one of those lawmakers who met with the group.
“We are working to increase those families that are able to afford child care by making the subsidy more inclusive,” she said.
House Bill 89 will provide aid to families that earn at least 300 percent from the poverty threshold.
“You will submit an application, and then submit it to the help with child care, that falls part of the Department of Health, and the department makes an amount to the center to cover the costs of child care. They will make a payment directly on behalf of you” She said.
The cost is a flat fee that would be adjusted according to the costs of each daycare centre.
The second bill — House Bill 46 is designed to encourage the development of childcare centers with tax deductions.
“If an enterprise invests in a child care facility it is able to take a deduction of up to 3 million dollars from an investment they could have made in a children care facility in their region.
The House bill also contains the provision to permit the child care providers to join forces to bargain collectively in conjunction with health departments. Story says that the bills as well as the increased revenue will aid in helping daycare centers to function more effectively.
“They are able to afford keeping the staff they need to maintain their offices open and and keep the skilled staff with your children, and not experiencing a lot of transition,” she said. “Little ones love to have the same caregivers as they form bonds with them. It is important that the people who take charge of your children to earn the minimum wage.”
Shibler the conference’s coordinator She says that child care can fit into the overall economy.
“Child care is an integral element of the economy and, without it, we will be seeing a shortage of labor across all sectors,” she said. “I believe that everyone should be aware that, as a public service childcare needs to be significantly subsidized, not just from the government but also from private companies too.”
The legislation is currently being considered in the House. Rep. Story says if children’s care is considered an important issue, the bills will be passed.
