Barbara Mitchell opened the Aurora Lights Childcare Center at Aldersgate United Methodist Church in the year 2018. The church, located in Juniau’s Mendenhall Valley, offered an ideal location and a discounted rental. The church’s families contributed thousands of dollars to help get it operational.
span style=”font-weight 400 ;”>”(Childcare) centers appeared to be moving around frequently for a variety of motives,” Mitchell said. “We believed it might be more stable when the church was able to take it on and run along with it. .”
However, Aurora Lights lasted less than five years. Its closure for the last time — as well as the temporary closing of Gold Creek Child Development Center — has created Juneau’s chronic childcare shortage more dire.
Five percent of Alaska’s licensed childcare facilities have been shut down since the onset of the epidemic, in the report of State Department of Labor. Today, caregivers, advocacy, and legislative representatives are calling for a cooperative strategy to rebuild the workforce.
Aurora Lights closes amid labor shortage
The epidemic caused Aurora Lights and other childcare centers to shut down for months. When they reopened they had to compete with a smaller pool of employees. Similar to other centres during Juneau, Aurora Lights raised its hourly pay in order to retain its employees. Also, it increased the cost of tuition.
span style=”font-weight 400 ;”>”It was our written policy that we would increase 3% each the year,” Mitchell said. “But after a while I don’t think parents spending more and increasing. It’s time to end the .”
Finding a job for Aurora Lights had been a issue prior to the pandemic. Background checks required two weeks for processing and, by that time many applicants had secured other positions. The ratios of staffing required from the government made it difficult to meet the needs of parents.
In Octoberof this year, Aurora Lights told families that they would shut down in during the month of March, as the company’s administrator was scheduled to retire. The drop in enrollment and reductions in staff after this announcement forced Aurora Lights into closing even earlier.
Kristi McGuire pastors of Aldersgate United Methodist Church. She explained that the shutdown is the culmination of ongoing recruitment issues.
“When your salary is 35 dollars an hour, and you’re not able to employ staff, then something else has to be taken care of,” McGuire said.
A seat for providers at the table
McGuire stated that she would like to have childcare providers collaborate to find the root of problems and develop solutions. A bill introduced in the Alaska State Legislature could help to make this happen.
Anchorage Democratic Rep. Zack Fields introduced a bill to allow childcare providers to bargain collectively with the health department of the state. Fields stated that the intention is to give the providers the right to voice their opinions in the process of making decisions by the state regarding funding and regulations.
The span style=”font-weight 400 ;”>”The state Department of Health administers ongoing streams of federal money and regulates the childcare industry,” he said. “I think that the department needs to be extremely sensitive to the input of the sector in order to make sure that no matter what they’re thinking of regarding revised standards for safety or training they should consider input from the sector up front. .”
Training requirements make it more difficult to find employees of all levels. Administrators have to be able to earn a certain amount of college credits in the early childhood development. Administrators as well as caregivers are required to undergo 24 hours of education every year. Most of the time, this training isn’t paid for and cannot be completed while on the work.
Fields claimed that the use of a collective bargaining system could enhance the input of providers about these kinds of requirements before they are implemented.
The span style=”font-weight 400 ;”>”Historically we’ve kind of put training on the back burner without any method of rewarding or keeping them in the field,” he said. “There aren’t enough incentives to go through training and stay in the field. .”
Fields stated that increasing numbers of state officials are becoming aware of the economic consequences of the shortage of childcare.
The span style=”font-weight 400 ;”>”When we’re in a location that people can afford a house, the system of education is adequate, and childcare is accessible so people are likely to relocate here instead of moving to other areas where those amenities aren’t as affordable or accessible,” he said. “That is a solid economic development strategy. .”
The bill also creates an account for childcare providers, which will provide financial aid to providers via grants. The bill approved by the House last year , but was delayed in the Senate Labor and Commerce Committee.
Next hearings on the legislation has been scheduled for February 5. 10.
A model from the local area
The city’s government of Juneau adopted a similar strategy to address its local shortage of childcare in the year 2018 and they Assembly elected the committee for childcare comprised of childcare providers, school district officials as well as Assembly committee members.
Blue Shibler, executive director of the Southeast Alaska Association for the Education of Young Children, was a member of the committee. She appeared before members of the House Labor and Commerce committee to support Fields the bill.
“You aren’t able to make an adequate wage, but also provide a reasonable cost for children and parents,” she stated during an interview. “That led to the realization that’s been discussed across the country for years: that there is a need for the public funding of childcare .”
The committee suggested that the city set up an investment fund to help childcare start-ups. The program is still in existence via it’s Juneau Economic Development Council.
Additionally, it provides directly financial aid to childcare facilities.. Mitchell and McGuire claimed that Aurora Lights wouldn’t have stayed open for as long as it did without their help.
“I believe that prior to the closure of these two centers the operating subsidies helped cushion Juneau somewhat from the consequences of the pandemic” Shibler said.
As the industry struggles with the workforce shortage, Shibler said it needs assistance from the state. If not, the workers will continue choosing jobs that pay higher pay better, offer benefits as well as less stressful. They also are less reliant on unpaid training as opposed to caregiving.
Style=”font-weight: 400″ style=”font-weight 400 ;”>”To create childcare jobs appealing again, and to attract people to them and to pay for them, we’ll need an enormous investment,” Shibler said. “And it’s one that a municipal government cannot manage on its own. .”
While legislators consider whether or not to invest in this investment, many parents of Juneau find themselves trapped with waiting lists in hopes to be able to fill spots in the few centers that remain.
