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Infant Toddler Child Care in America: Challenges and Opportunities

This article explores the current state of infant toddler child care in America, discussing the increase in working women and young children, the decline in parental care, and the growing cultural diversity. It also examines the profile of child care workers, their qualifications, and the wages they earn. Additionally, it highlights the rising qualifications in the field and strategies for higher education institutions to support the workforce.

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Infant Toddler Child Care in America: Challenges and Opportunities

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  1. Infant Toddler Child Care in America: Three PerspectivesCarol Brunson Daycday@nbcdi.org Program for Infant Toddler Care Celebrating Twenty Years San Francisco Marriott Hotel October 5, 2006

  2. Predictions for the next ten years • Increase in the number of women of childbearing age in the labor force (between ages 15 to 44) • Increase in the number of children under 5 years of age • Decline in the in the proportion of children being cared for exclusively by parents or other relatives • Increase in cultural and linguistic diversity among the child population in the U.S.

  3. Child Care Worker – Workforce Profile • Required training and qualifications vary widely. • Surveys show 80% have some college, but details are unknown about percentages holding college degrees or formal credentials issued by the profession. • Large numbers of workers leave these jobs every year. • Although the pay generally is very low, more education usually means higher earnings.

  4. U.S. Department of Labor Child Care Workers – Attend to children at schools, businesses, private households, and child care institutions. Perform a variety of tasks, such as dressing, feeding, bathing, and overseeing play. Exclude “Preschool Teachers” (25-2011) and “Teacher Assistants” (25-9041). • Mean hourly wage of $8.74 and a mean annual wage of $18,180.Workers earning the highest wages (in the 90th percentile) earn $26,190 ($12.59 an hour). • Workers earning the lowest wages (in the 10th percentile) earn $12,540 ($6.03 an hour). Source: www.bls.gov/

  5. In contrast for PRESCHOOL TEACHERS, wage estimates for this occupation show a mean annual wage of $25,150. The same source cites KINDERGARTEN TEACHERS’ median annual earning of $45,260. U.S. Department of Labor Source: www.bls.gov/

  6. Gender and Race Profile of the Workforce Bureau of Labor Statistics – ftp://ftp.bls.gov/pub/special.requests/lf/aat18.txt

  7. Evidence of Rising Qualifications • Eager to Learn: Educating Our Preschoolers (National Research Council, 2000) • Staff Qualifications for Head Start programs in proposed reauthorization before the U.S. Congress (2006) • Center Accreditation System of the National Association for the Education of Young Children – NAEYC (2006) • Universal prekindergarten movement has established as a quality standard a teacher with a BA degree (PreK Now)

  8. Strategies for Higher Education Institutions • Preserve pathways into the profession that have given us as rich and diverse a workforce as the children and families we serve. • Promote formal education of personnel from their first entry point into work in early education and care. • Eliminate articulation barriers between levels of preparation. • Promote mechanisms that support degree attainment and monitor student progress toward those goals.

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