TKW Consulting

Off to an early start
Quality preschool gets our children ready for the future
By RICARDO DIAZ

As families hustle to get all these essential items ready for the first day of class, community leaders should take a moment to reflect on what supplies and tools we are providing to those same children to help them succeed not just in school but in life.

Our children may have the right supplies in their backpacks, but is our community supplying them with the right programs and activities to ensure they can succeed? And
are we starting them off on the right path early enough? Society relies on an educational structure that can produce young people ready to take leadership in the community.

In Milwaukee, less than 20% of the current adult population has a college degree. If we stay at that low percentage, our students will not be prepared to fill the highly skilled jobs needed to keep greater Milwaukee's economy flourishing in the future.

A recent report by the Committee for Economic Development, a national business-led public policy group, demonstrates that our economy and society will greatly benefit from improved and expanded early childhood education. This early learning facilitates later learning and long-term academic success.

Our economy is relying on community leaders to find a formula today that will send more of our students to college or vocational education tomorrow so that our businesses have a pool of quality employees after that.

Last year, the United Community Center began a 3-year-old kindergarten program at the Bruce Guadalupe Community School, a charter school of the Milwaukee Public Schools.

While some parents were apprehensive to send their little ones to school all day, they quickly embraced the program after seeing the social, cognitive and motor skills development in their children.

This year, our program for 3-year-olds has a waiting list. And we are looking forward to moving into a renovated early childhood education center in the fall of 2007 so we can serve even more families. We are confident that working with students early on the fundamentals will help them achieve higher levels of success when they are older. For example, our 8th grade students last year outperformed state averages in four of the five testing categories. Many of these students had been with us since kindergarten. With an earlier start, these students will be even more likely to pursue college, have higher job earnings and become new contributors to society and the economy.

There are a few essential steps that must be taken to supply the community with the right programs:

•More federal and state funds need to be allocated to early childhood programs so that more children have access to them. Financial backing of early childhood education will show a strong return on investment and will better utilize funding now being allocated to remediation and crime.

We can prevent juvenile delinquency and teen pregnancy if we provide a strong academic foundation. While these problems need to be addressed today, more financial support of preventative measures, such as high-quality early childhood education and school readiness, will pay off in the end. With collaboration and coordinated support, both the businesses and foundations can help to ensure these programs are available for our young learners.

The funding of full-day kindergarten and other early childhood education programs should be a matter of good public policy. Early childhood education is an economic development issue.

If we do not start producing more high school, vocational school and college graduates, this city and our economy will certainly suffer.

Additionally, today's new generation of families consists of working parents, with children spending a lot of time in the care of other adults. Unfortunately, not all children under this care receive the stimulation, social and emotional development necessary to optimize later success.

We all love our kids and want to allow them to be kids, with days filled with carefree fun. However, with studies consistently demonstrating that the first few years are critical learning years, funding full-day 4-year-old kindergarten, and half-day 3-year-old kindergarten is a wise investment and appropriate use of public funds.

• Early childhood education needs a strong infrastructure and good facilities. With adequate funding, these programs can move out of basements and homes and into high quality facilities. They can be treated with the importance they hold in the lives of our children.

At Bruce Guadalupe Community School, we have found the need to dedicate increased and specialized space to serve our young students. These spaces allow for varied environments to provide room for drama, song, art, music and storytelling.

• Quality programs need quality teachers with advanced degrees, meeting rigorous accreditation standards. A good teacher is an essential element of a quality early childhood education program. With the current state of funding for these programs, it can be difficult for schools and early childhood centers to offer pay and benefits to attract quality staff.

However, in order for these programs to succeed, they need better teachers as well as stricter standards of accreditation. Teachers with bachelor's degrees are more capable of providing stronger early literacy experiences and often possess more in-depth knowledge of the cognitive and social needs of children and how to promote their academic growth.

• City and state entities need to coordinate licensing and zoning approvals for early childhood care centers. More coordination is needed between the state Department of Workforce Development, which provides approvals and licenses for such facilities, and the city, which oversees zoning of child care facilities.

A new process could help to insure that education is used as the main criterion for approval, rather than the use of the facilities for child care. With the start of school just days away, we must realize that the education our children receive today, even at the earliest age, is essential not only to their personal well-being and success in life, but also to the vitality of our communities and our city.

Business, government and philanthropic leaders must join together to help support early childhood education programs. This worthwhile investment is not only essential to our area's economic growth but is also vitally important to the future of each and every child in this community.

Ricardo Diaz is executive director of the United Community Center in Milwaukee.

Research Findings about Day Care
1. Qualified staff is essential.
Research has consistently found that happy, nurturing, and well-qualified caregivers are essential to maintaining the quality of a day-care center. Warm relations between a child and his day-care teacher can lead to social and learning success, according to a study conducted by Dr. Clifford along with researchers from Yale, the University of Colorado, and the University of California at Los Angeles.

In Dr. Clifford's study, researchers followed 826 preschoolers, enrolled in 183 classes, through second grade. They discovered that children who were close to their teachers got along better with other children, had fewer behavior problems, and developed stronger language skills than those who were not close to their caregivers. What's more, high-quality child-care was found to enhance a child's ability to take advantage of educational opportunities once in school.

Likewise, a teacher who gets to know a child is more inclined to understand and respond to him. And a child who feels securely attached to a teacher is apt to feel confident about exploring and learning. You should look for teachers who talk often -- and at eye level -- to each child. They should also be enthusiastic and respond warmly and quickly to a child's needs.

2. Staff stability is key.
Because such attachments take time to develop, parents should make sure that the staff at a day-care center is stable. Questions to ask the center director: Is there a primary caregiver assigned to each child or group of children, or is there a different teacher each day? How many caregivers typically leave each year? If the answer is more than half the number on staff, that's a sign of trouble, according to Barbara Willer, deputy executive director of the National Association for the Education of Young Children (NAEYC), a Washington, D.C., nonprofit that accredits day-care centers.

Inquire about incentives for retaining staff. Ask how much caregivers are paid, and find out how salaries compare to those at other local centers. If a day-care center doesn't pay competitively, teachers are likely to leave if a better-paying job comes up. Susan Gerrity, director of the Aquinas College Child Development Center, where Susan Stein sends her child, says turnover there stays low because most of her caregivers are employees of the college that runs the center. They receive health insurance, other benefits, and a starting salary of $19,000 -- still low, but higher than average.

Because labor is a center's biggest expense, many keep costs down by scrimping on salaries, which average a paltry $15,000 according to the Children's Defense Fund, an advocacy group in Washington, D.C. Dr. Clifford says that the highest-rated centers in his study also had the best-paid teachers. But this doesn't mean that expensive day-care centers necessarily pay staff members the most. Some centers can afford to pay extra because they are subsidized by the government, employers, community nonprofits, or colleges.

3. Class size and staff-child ratio are important.
Another key indicator of a quality center is the number of kids -- and teachers -- per class. The NAEYC recommends at least two caregivers for each group of 6 to 8 babies; two per group of 10 to 14 toddlers; and two for each preschool class, which should have no more than 20 kids.

In its review of day-care centers, the NICHD study found that kids did best when centers maintained these standards. Toddlers and preschoolers scored higher on language and school-readiness tests and had fewer behavioral problems. Child-care experts say that's because small classes allow teachers to give more individual attention to each child.

4. Teachers should be trained.
Studies show a strong link between the day-care staff's educational background and a child's social and intellectual growth. Parents should choose centers whose caregivers are trained in early-childhood education and have several years of child-care experience. Look for staff with master's and bachelor's degrees in child development. Short of that, seek out a center whose caregivers have associate's degrees from community colleges.

But Gerrity, the director of the Aquinas center, points out that paper credentials aren't everything. She says some of her teachers hold master's degrees while others are without college degrees but do have years of child-care experience. So she advises parents to observe classrooms. "It's often a gut-level reaction," she says. "If the children are engaged, if the teachers are on the floor talking, if the children are happy -- it could just feel right."

5. The right environment can foster learning.
At the Castle Square Child Development Center, in Boston, Joan Livingston's 3-year-old daughter, Alexis, can move around the room as she likes for part of the day, going from the puzzles to the water and sand tables to the computers. "They get to make their own choices. When children can't decide, a teacher will guide them," Livingston says.

Studies have found that children fare best when they spend lots of time engaged in hands-on activities in art, science, math, dramatic play, and building. Parents should look for centers where the range of activities is broad and where teachers give the kids many opportunities to choose what to do. The University of North Carolina study gave centers top ratings if teachers encouraged independent thinking and enthusiasm for learning. Teachers should be reading books on different subjects, playing word games, and having ongoing conversations with the kids -- all of which stimulate language skills.
Watch out for centers where class structure is rigid or teachers are too controlling or punitive. Experts say that parents should ask how caregivers discipline kids for normal childhood behaviors and should look for opportunities to observe those methods in action.

6. The number of hours in day care isn't the critical issue.
Once you've settled on the center, should you worry about how much time your child will spend there? The question is controversial: Some researchers involved in the NICHD study interpret the findings as proof that full-time day care can make kids rowdy and aggressive, but others disagree.

The study did find that 17 percent of kindergarten kids who had spent 30 or more hours in child care a week as babies and preschoolers behaved more aggressively than kids who spent little time in day care. But as Dr. Friedman points out, the kids who misbehaved were not out of control but simply acting like typical boisterous preschoolers. She says that the research shows overall that a child's home environment is a much stronger influence on his behavior than the amount of time he spends in the care of others.

No matter how many hours your child is spending at a center, you should monitor the center's quality on an ongoing basis. Good centers have an "open-door" policy that allows parents to visit whenever they please. If moms and dads know what's going on, they can persuade centers to make improvements, from putting extra sand in the sandbox to sending teachers to attend special workshops. The payoff is priceless: a stronger foundation for your child's future social and academic success

Overcoming the Obstacles
Certainly, this is not an easy time to be proposing that the government spend more money on child care. After all, we're facing massive budget deficits, and legislators are fighting to prevent rollbacks in the programs that already exist.

But before we throw up our hands and say, "It's the economy, stupid," we need to acknowledge that this is ultimately a question of priorities. Congress passed a $400 billion prescription-drug plan for seniors this year. We're also spending $190 billion on subsidies for farmers over the next decade.

"The federal government can fund anything we want to fund," Democratic Congressman Major R. Owens, of New York, said recently. "We paid for the war in Iraq and borrowed money to give back to the people as a tax cut. As a parent, you should never accept the argument that money is the problem."

"Early-childhood care and education is a priority for almost every major industrialized nation except the U.S.," says Sheila B. Kamerman, D.S.W., director of the Columbia University Institute for Child and Family Policy, in New York City. Access to high-quality subsidized programs is a legal right at age 1 in Denmark, Finland, and Sweden; at age 2 in France; at age 3 in Italy and Germany; and at age 4 in the U.K. Many European countries started providing free preschool in the 19th century, but programs expanded greatly in the 1960s as more mothers entered the workforce. Some Canadians are ahead of us as well: In Quebec, care is available for all children for $5 a day. Whereas infant care is particularly difficult to find in the U.S., Western European countries and Canada have reduced the need for it by providing paid parental leave so mothers can stay home for six months to a year or more.

"We've had a deep-seated ambivalence in this country about whether mothers should be working," Dr. Lombardi says. Policy has also been hindered by the fact that education is the legal responsibility of state and local governments. "Instead of ignoring the fact that most mothers work, the government should be investing in a system to support all children," Dr. Lombardi says.

Many states, however, are already leading the way with programs that can be replicated. Georgia has had universal pre-K, funded by the state lottery, since 1993. North Carolina's ten-year-old Smart Start program subsidizes high-quality care, and its TEACH and WAGES programs provide scholarships for caregivers and higher salaries for them if they commit to staying in the field. In fact, the Smart Start program -- which has reduced staff turnover and increased school readiness -- is being copied by 14 other states.

As far as leadership in Washington goes, though, there hasn't been enough focus on early-childhood education by either Democrats or Republicans, insists Congressman Platts. A big part of the problem, he argues, is that well-funded lobbyists representing other causes have been better able to influence legislators. However, this country's 65 million parents of children are the most powerful lobbyists for this cause. Mothers talk to friends and colleagues about child-care woes, but they are often reluctant to speak out -- perhaps because they feel guilty about needing help caring for their children.

If the government can put the well-being of military children first, why can't it do the same for civilian kids? All Americans need to get involved in this issue, not only by raising their voices but by voting for candidates who support the cause. "Child care must be an area of partnership -- among families, communities, corporations, and the government," says Republican Senator Olympia J. Snowe, of Maine. "Our children are our future, and it's our responsibility to make sure that their future is bright."

5 Ways to Take Action Now!
1. Let your legislators know that you want more federal, state, and local funds set aside for quality improvement for child care and for universal preschool. Better yet, says Congressman Todd Platts, make an appointment to meet your representative in person.
2. Sign on to support the principles of the NOW Legal Defense and Education Fund's new "Family Initiative" -- a five- to ten-year campaign for affordable, quality child care, universal preschool, and after-school programs -- at www.familyinitiative.org.
3. Support fair wages for caregivers by becoming an associate member of the American Federation of Teachers' Child Care Workforce Alliance (www.aft.org/ccw).
4. Sign up for policy updates from Fight Crime: Invest in Kids -- a nonprofit organization of law enforcement officers and victims of violence -- and learn how to be an advocate in your community (www.fightcrime.org).
5. Vote for candidates who champion early education.

The Education Connection
What makes the argument for providing good care even more compelling is that child care is not just about babysitting -- it's a tremendous opportunity to give children a strong foundation for lifelong learning. "Public policy isn't keeping up with overwhelming scientific evidence that most brain development happens in the first years of life," says Republican Congressman Todd Platts, of Pennsylvania.

In 1990, the nation's governors joined with the first President Bush to adopt a series of education goals, including a pledge that by the year 2000, all of our children would arrive at school ready to learn. That didn't happen. Universal preschool is only available (or in the works) in seven states.

"Forty-six percent of kindergarten teachers report that at least half of their students are not prepared to learn," says Democratic Senator Christopher Dodd, of Connecticut. "If we are to remain a competitive nation, we simply must improve our early care and education."

If we want to boost third-grade reading scores, we have to make sure that children are being read to and talked to regularly before age 3, says Joan Lombardi, Ph.D., the first director of the Child Care Bureau in the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services and author of Time to Care. Research has found that children in high-quality child care have better social, math, and language skills, and fewer behavior problems. Several long-term studies have also shown that kids in high-quality early-childhood programs are significantly less likely to drop out of school, repeat grades, need special education, or commit crimes and as a result, every dollar spent on these programs saves taxpayers $4 to $7.

If experts could wave a magic wand, they'd create a subsidized system that would provide access to high-quality education for all young children. Economists Suzanne Helburn and Barbara Bergmann, authors of America's Childcare Problem: The Way Out, estimate that if the government paid all families' child-care costs that exceeded 20 percent of household income, it would cost about $46 billion annually -- less than the $48 billion increase in the military budget this year. According to the nonprofit Committee for Economic Development, preschool for all 3- and 4-year-olds would cost $25 billion to $35 billion per year.

In addition to sharing the cost of care, the federal government could provide financial incentives to states to improve quality. One step in the right direction: The Focus on Committed and Underpaid Staff for Children's Sake (FOCUS) Act, which was introduced in both houses of Congress in June, would provide $5 billion for scholarships, training, stipends, and health benefits for child-care providers.

"The real question isn't what it will cost our nation to provide high-quality child care, but what the cost to our nation will be if we fail to do so," says Mark Ginsberg, Ph.D, executive director of the National Association for the Education of Young Children.

The Child Care Crisis
The government works hard to make sure that our food, highways, and air travel are safe -- so how come it ignores the well-being of 12 million children?
By Diane Debrovner

In the sunny, cheerful room, eight 2-year-olds are playing happily. Three are scooping suds at the water table, three are cutting clay into shapes, and two are giggling as they ride toy fire trucks. Kids' artwork covers the walls, and well-stocked shelves display blocks, cars, puppets, books, and the latest educational toys. The three caregivers, who've had rigorous child-development training, know every child's unique habits and needs -- after all, they have been caring for these kids since they were 6 weeks old and will continue to care for them until they go to kindergarten.

This isn't an exclusive on-site day-care center at a Fortune 500 company or in a tony New York suburb. This is McGuire Air Force Base, in Wrightstown, New Jersey. Here, members of the military can take advantage of high-quality child care that's subsidized by the federal government. In fact, few parents realize that the Military Child Development System provides care for more than 200,000 kids in more than 900 centers and 9,000 family child-care homes around the world. Each one has strict program and curriculum standards and quality control. Caregivers are well-compensated, and they are paid more as they complete more training and demonstrate competence. The care is reasonably priced too: Parents pay a sliding-scale fee, based on their income, ranging from one third to two thirds of the actual cost.

The total government price tag for this top-notch program is about $372 million per year -- not cheap, certainly, but approximately the cost of one high-tech transport plane (the Air Force has 160). With fathers and mothers in the armed forces, good child care is crucial. "Without it, soldiers, marines, sailors, and airmen couldn't go to work and be assured that their children were well taken care of," explains Jan Witte, director of the U.S. Military Children and Youth Office. "The military system is subsidized because we believe this is a workforce issue, and quality care costs more than most parents can afford." However, all working parents in this country need affordable child care. We all want to leave our children in loving, capable hands. We'd all like our kids to be in an environment where their development can flourish. But for too many families, this is simply not possible.

A High Price to Pay
About 65 percent of women with children under age 6 are in the workforce, and full-day child care costs approximately $4,000 to $10,000 a year -- at least as much as college tuition at a public university. More than a quarter of families with young children earn less than $25,000 a year, but even for middle-class families, quality care is often beyond their means. Many families can only afford unlicensed family day care, or one parent has to stay home. "Everyone wants the best care for their children, but the cost is
outrageous," says Kathleen Coles, a mother of three in San Diego who works full-time.

"We don't have family around to help out, and a big chunk of our income goes to child care."

"Research has shown that children can and do thrive in child care as long as they experience sensitive and responsive caregiving," says Parents adviser Kathleen McCartney, Ph.D., a professor at Harvard Graduate School of Education and a researcher in a long-term study of child care by the National Institute of Child Health and Human Development (NICHD). Sadly, however, most early child care in this country is mediocre.

According to the NICHD study, 12 percent of all types of early child care is high quality, 32 percent is good, 50 percent is fair, and 6 percent is poor.

Amazingly, there are no national standards. Each state is responsible for mandating staff-to-child ratios and other requirements -- and they vary widely. For instance, the National Association for the Education of Young Children recommends a minimum ratio of 1:6 for 2-year-olds, but Idaho and Mississippi allow 1:12. Nine states don't require criminal background checks, and many states exempt some centers in religious institutions, half-day nursery schools, and small family day-care homes from all licensing standards.

Although research has shown that better-educated teachers have more positive, nurturing relationships with children and provide richer language and learning experiences, most states require that child-care and preschool teachers have only a high-school diploma. The woman who gives you a manicure may need 300 hours of training before she can get a state license, and a masseuse may need 1,000 hours of training. However, 32 states require absolutely no child-development training whatsoever for child-care providers.

A major part of the problem is that child-care workers are among the lowest paid in America. In 2001, their average salary was $8.16 an hour, or $16,980 per year -- less than crossing guards and pet-sitters -- and few receive health benefits. As a result, people who would enjoy working with young children don't go into the field because they can't earn a living. A caregiver who gets her college degree can double her salary by becoming a K-12 teacher. A third of caregivers leave their jobs each year -- which is difficult for the children who have become attached to them. "My daughter was in a facility that was supposed to be a â¬Ülearning center,' but the teacher turnover was so high that the kids didn't learn much of anything," says single mom Dawn Smith, of Orlando, Florida, who racked up $6,000 in credit-card debt last year paying for day care.

"When I wanted to put my daughter in a private pre-K, I was told that she was so far
behind that I should hold her back a year."

"The child-care market is broken," Dr. McCartney insists. "Parents can't afford to pay more, and caregivers can't afford to earn less. The government needs to get involved." Until now, the federal government's child-care funding has focused specifically on low-income families; however, there has been enough funding only for 15 percent of eligible families to receive subsidies from the Child Care and Development Fund and for 50 percent of eligible 3- and 4-year-olds to participate in Head Start. (At press time, Congress was still debating funding cuts for Head Start and whether control of the program should be given to states. Major cuts in after-school programs have also been proposed by the administration.) Child-care tax credits for middle-income families cover only a small portion of the cost.

Lis on Law: Daycare's Shocking Statistics
by Lis Wiehl

The Banks children didn't know how good they had it when Mary Poppins flew into town.

According to a recent report by the National Association of Child Care Resource and Referral Agencies (NACCRRA), 63 percent of the nation's children under five years of age are in some type of child-care arrangement every week; and most parents assume such programs are regulated to ensure the health and safety of their children. In reality, that is often not the case.

Daycare horror stories abound involving allegations ranging from caregiver incompetence to outright neglect and abuse. In June, the Texas Department of Family and Protective Services began an investigation of the Candy Cane Corner Day Care Center after two children, ages six and eight, wandered a mile and a half away from the facility and were eventually found at a local business asking for water. In another case, a Virginia woman was recently accused of leaving nine children, ages nine months to three years, alone at her in-home day care facility for approximately one hour. Still more — police in Columbia, IL, recently investigated a daycare after reports that children had been locked in closets; finally, at the First Christian Church's Child Garden School, an Amarillo, Texas woman was arrested for putting a three-year-old in a freezer.

You may be wondering how such things can happen, but the NACCRRA reports that just 10 states require unannounced inspections of child-care centers; only 12 states require caregivers working in child-care centers to have training in early childhood education prior to working with children; and a mere 10 states require caregivers who work from their homes to be licensed.

At the more chilling end of the spectrum, a 25-year-old Florida man and former director of two church-affiliated Kid's Palace Daycare Centers was recently sentenced to 17 years in prison and 10 years of probation after being charged with molesting several children between the ages of six and 14; and an unlicensed Virginia Beach caregiver was sentenced to 10 years in prison for running an illegal daycare after a nine-month-old was mysteriously found dead on her watch.

The NACCRRA survey also indicated that nine in 10 parents favor requiring all child care to meet basic standards of quality, training for caregivers both before and after they begin working with children, and regular inspections of all child-care programs. Inaddition, most parents (92 percent) favor creating quality standards to better prepare children for school.

“The results of this survey should be a wake-up call to policy-makers,” said Linda K. Smith, NACCRRA's Executive Director. “Parents need child care, and they don't want just any care; they want high-quality care. They want their children in a safe and healthy learning environment that prepares them to enter school ready to succeed.”

According to the NACCRRA, the quality of care a child receives during the first five years of life is critical because 90 percent of brain development occurs during those years. “Forty-six percent of kindergarten teachers report that at least half of their students are not prepared to learn,” Senator Christopher Dodd (D-CT). “If we are to remain a competitive nation, we simply must improve our early care and education.”

A Parents.com report indicates that children in high quality child care have better social, math, and language skills, as well as fewer behavior problems. Moreover, several long-term studies have shown that kids in high-quality early childhood programs are significantly less likely to drop out of school, repeat grades, need special education, or commit crimes. In fact, a recent study by the Committee for Economic Development (CED) revealed that for every dollar invested in such programs, taxpayers receive a net benefit of $2 to $4, a significant boost to the long-term economic growth of the country.

But government funding for child care has been grossly inadequate. According to the National Collaboration for Youth (NCY), the funding level for Head Start enables just 50 percent of eligible three and four-year-olds to take part. Early Head Start is serving less than three percent of nearly 3 million eligible children under the age of three. And just one in seven children eligible for child care assistance under federal law are able to receive it.

One piece of good news: The Focus on Committed and Underpaid Staff for Children's Sake (FOCUS) Act, which was introduced in April of 2005 and is currently awaiting evaluation by the House subcommittee on health, would provide $5 billion for scholarships, training, stipends, and health benefits for child-care providers.

Needless to say, it is time for Americans to get involved in this issue — by learning about it, speaking about it, and most importantly, by voting for candidates who support the cause. If rectifying our nation's child-care system requires a modest tax increase, then so be it. According to a recent survey by the United Way Association of South Carolina and other advocacy groups, 97 percent of parents would pay as much as $10 more per week for better quality child care; 84 percent said they would pay as much as $20 more. Yet as Mark Ginsberg, the executive director for the National Association for the Education of Young Children said, “The real question isn't what it will cost our nation to provide high-quality child care, but what the cost to our nation will be if we fail to do so.”

Unions and Family Child Care: A Primer - July 2006

In the past few years there has been a remarkable development in the family child care
field: Unions are organizing family child care providers across the country. Even more surprising is that several unions are competing with each other in their organizing efforts. This new phenomenon has raised many questions by providers about what this means.

The concept of a union is unfamiliar to many providers, so this primer is an attempt to answer some of the basic questions providers have raised about unions.

Q: What is a union?
A: Traditionally, a union is an organization of workers who band together to negotiate with their employer for benefits that will improve their lives. Unions have been organizing in the U.S. for over a hundred and fifty years. Past union efforts have focused on reducing the number of hours in the work week, improving worker safety on the job, raising worker wages, and improving health, retirement, and other benefits. Although unions have organized a small number of child care centers and Head Start programs across the country, it was only in the last few years that family child care providers have been joining together in unions.

Q: Which unions are organizing family child care providers?
A: There are three:The American Federation of State, County, and Municipal Employees (AFSCME) has 1.4 million members who include nurses, clericals, "blue-collar" workers, professionals, corrections personnel, technicians and caregivers. AFSCME members work in offices, schools and universities, corrections facilities, hospitals, government facilities, and child care centers. For further information, contact AFSCME at www.afscme.org/childcare or call Denise Dowell, Coordinator, Child Care Providers Together, at 215-964-0984.

The American Federation of Teachers (AFT) has 1.3 million members who include teachers; local, state, and federal employees; higher education faculty and staff; nurses and other healthcare professionals. They have an associate organization, First Class Teachers, that organizers early childhood educators, including family child care providers. For further information, contact AFT at www.firstclassteachers.org or 202-662-8005.

The Service Employees International Union (SEIU) has 1.8 million members who include home health care workers, public school employees, nurses, doctors, hospital workers, workers in local government, state employees, security officers, janitors, and building service workers. For further information, contact SEIU at www.KidsFirstSEIU.org or 866-565-1465.

Q: How can unions organize providers who don't have an employer?
A: Unions cannot organize family child care providers in the same way they have organized in other industries because providers do not have an employer with whom to bargain. The vast majority of family child care providers operate as self-employed business owners. Unions are therefore using different approaches to bring providers together to increase their benefits and give them a voice in improving the quality of care.

Q: What are these different approaches?
A: Unions are approaching state governments that regulate providers and that pay providers as part of a state child care assistance program. Unions are fighting to increase the resources available to family child care providers. They are turning to states because most providers will never be able to significantly improve their financial well being by raising rates they charge to parents. Unions are lobbying states to allow providers to vote for a union that will represent them in collective bargaining with the state. Unions hope that by negotiating with the state on behalf of a large number of providers they can access public funding that will benefit providers as well as increase the quality of child care for the children they serve.

Unions have begun negotiations in some states to increase subsidy reimbursement rates, improve state child care regulations to keep children safe, and provide health insurance and other benefits. Some unions are working on local projects to support providers and with other advocacy organizations to improve the quality of child care, such as supporting statewide quality assurance programs. This is a new approach to union organizing, so union activities vary across the country and from one union to another.

Q: What is the general process for union organizing of providers?
A: The answer can vary from state to state, but here is how it might happen:A union begins talking with providers in a state about changes providers would like to see. A union then begins to gather signatures on union cards from providers who want to be represented by a union.

Based on this initial show of support for a union, the governor or state legislature gives approval allowing an election to be held so that providers can vote to have a union represent them. When there are competing unions, providers vote to determine which union will represent them. Another way this could happen is that the state could certify that a union is entitled to represent providers based on proof by the union that more than 50% of the providers have signed union cards of support. In this case no election would be held.

After the election, providers determine the goals and priorities of their union (increased subsidies, quality improvements, training, and other benefits).Members of the union then elect a bargaining committee made up of providers and begin negotiating an agreement with the state to use public funds to support the goals of the union.

Q: What are the tax consequences of joining a union?
A: Family child care providers who join a union will file their tax returns in the same way they have always done. This means that they will continue to operate as a self employed business. Those providers who currently operate as a corporation or partnership will also be unaffected. Any union dues paid by a provider are 100% tax deductible as a business expense.

Q: Will providers become an employee of their state?
A: In some states unions are investigating the possibility of providers being considered as employees (of their state, county, or other government entity) for purposes of collective bargaining, or to be eligible for health insurance and other benefits. Providers may be entitled to some of the same benefits as state employees because of the state regulations that providers must follow.

So far, unions are not advocating that providers change their self-employed status, and no states are planning to treat providers as employees. Redleaf National Institute has provided some consulting services to unions to help sort out this question. We do not yet know what will come of this activity, but we are monitoring it closely. We believe that most providers would prefer to remain as self-employed business owners unless they could see a significant financial benefit of becoming an employee.

Q: What are the benefits of joining a union?
A: In states where unions are active, providers have identified the following benefits they would like to obtain:

• Higher subsidy reimbursement rates from the state
• Access to affordable health care
• Increased access to affordable resources such as professional development programs, legal services, insurance, and other business services
• In addition, some providers see joining a union as a way to improve the overall quality of child care and increase their own professionalism.

A union is a democratic organization that is formed to promote the interests of its members. Therefore, providers who join a union have a say in determining what specific benefits they want to pursue. Although there might be common interests among provider on some issues, there can be significant differences in what providers want from one state to another.

Providers who join a union are not automatically entitled to new financial benefits. There is no guarantee that a union will be able to bring new benefits for its members. The likelihood of a union obtaining benefits for its members is dependent on the number of providers who join a union, the union's negotiating skills with government officials, and the union's ability to mobilize support for its goals from the public.

Q: What are the objections to unions?
A: Family child care providers have raised a variety of objections to union organizing efforts. Some providers dislike unions based on previous personal experiences with unions or because they object to the political positions taken by unions. Other providers support unions for the same reasons.

Here are some of the most common objections raised:

• "I don't want to be forced to join a union because I don't believe they are necessary."
• "I don't want to be forced to pay union dues because I don't have much money and because I am concerned that the union will use my dues for a purpose I don't approve."
• "I don't want a union to tell me how to run my business."

Some providers are mistrustful of unions. Some of this mistrust may come from the fact that providers are not familiar with unions, and some may come from a fear that a union will not act in the best interests of providers. Some union organizers may not understand providers and may put undue pressure on providers to join the union. Some unions may not closely cooperate with local family child care associations. Whatever the reason for this mistrust, providers are not helpless. They can (if they desire) take action to learn more about unions by asking questions of local union representatives. Some conflicts that providers have had with unions are caused by poor communication or misunderstandings.

Providers can always speak up and challenge whatever a union is doing in their area through their local family child care association.

A union cannot tell a provider how to run her business. Providers will always be free to set their own rates with parents and design their own policies. Let's say a union negotiates an agreement with a state to allow providers to access health insurance through the state, but only if the provider becomes an employee of the state. Providers will always have the choice not to participate in such a program if they do not want to give up their status as a self-employed business.

Q: How will I be sure that the union will represent my interests?
A: There is no guarantee providers will agree with every position taken by a union. For example, a union might seek to raise the licensing training requirements or include license-exempt providers in the pool of those eligible for new resources, and some providers may oppose this. In general, a union is a democracy run by its members. Each member of the union votes on what benefits the union will seek to obtain and will vote on whether to accept an agreement made with the state or county. In the end, providers who join a union will determine everything that the union does.

Because a union seeks to organize a large number of family child care providers on a state and national level, some providers may feel that they will lose control over what large union organizations will do. Providers who currently belong to family child care associations may feel more comfortable that their voice is heard by these usually smaller organizations. There are always trade-offs between the amount of influence providers can have and the degree to which any one person can control what the union will do. The ideal is that no matter what the size of the union, its members will be regularly informed and able to voice their opinion through voting on contracts and electing of representatives who will speak for the majority. As in any organization, large or small, there is the chance that some individuals will act against the interests of the majority. It is up to the members of any organization to see to it that represents their interests.

Q: Is paying regular dues to a union going to be worth it?
A: Some providers worry that if they join a union they will be forced to pay union dues that they cannot afford or that the dues will be used for something they do not support. In the end, each provider needs to make her own judgment about whether the cost of joining a union is worth it. You can measure the worth of a union using several different standards. You could look at how much better off you are financially as a member, or look at the impact the union has made in improving the quality of child care or increasing the professionalism of the family child care field. In the end, unions will not be successful if providers do not see how they are benefiting by their membership.

Before joining, providers should look closely at the goals of the union. Do you support these goals, and does the union have a strategy to achieve these goals that seems reasonable to you? Ask questions about how the dues are spent. Each year evaluate whether the work of the union is worth your continued support.

Some providers are concerned that they will be required to pay union dues even when they do not support the union. Providers will never be required to join a union. In some situations a union may be required by law to represent the interests of all providers, even if some of the providers have not joined the union. In cases where all providers would receive the benefits of any collective bargaining negotiations between the union and the state. all providers may be required to pay a "fair share fee" that goes towards the union's costs in the collective bargaining process. This fee is not union dues.

If you have questions about unions and their efforts to organize family child care providers, please contact us (rni@redleafinstitute.org or 651-641-6675) and we will respond to them in future articles. Redleaf National Institute does not endorse any union organizing family child care providers.

// posted by Tammy Wachter @ 7:21 PM 1 comments

In the United States, labor unions have, since the 1930's, become associated with organizations of manufacturing workers. Unions, however, can and have taken a variety of forms, bringing many different types of workers together under different industry contexts, and operating under labels such as professional unions, occupational unions, craft unions and amalgamated craft unions as well as "industrial" unions.1 While this variety is evidence of the ability of unions to adapt to new situations, past union forms have one feature in common that does not fit family child care: unions organize workers
to bargain with management over the terms of their employment relationship, most often their wages, hours and working conditions.

Family child care providers are self­employed business owners who contract directly with clients and set the terms and conditions for the enrollment of children in their child care homes, including the program's tuition, fees and operating hours. As a small business owner, a provider has no employer with whom she2, or a union, can bargain for a salary increase or additional benefits; she sets her own salary, usually by paying all her other business expenses first and keeping whatever is left over as her wages. If she needs a salary increase or better benefits, she has two choices. She can increase her gross income, either by raising the tuition and fees she charges parents or by finding alternative funding sources like the Child and Adult Care Food Program or grants for some of her program expenses, or she can decrease her program expenses.

Many providers are unable to raise rates or reduce expenses enough to make a significant improvement in their own salary and benefits. Therefore, to increase wages and benefits for family child care providers, a new organizing model must be created to access additional public and private resources to fund quality family child care. As the slogan of the Worthy Wage Campaign has reminded us for years, "Parents can't afford to pay, providers can't afford to stay, we have to find a better way!"