The Connecticut Early Childhood Alliance, a statewide organization committed to improving outcomes in the areas of learning, health, safety, and economic security, for children ages birth to eight, has released the results of a recently conducted survey of 200 childcare providers across Connecticut.
We have a chronic problem - funding and staffing issues.
The survey found that roughly one-quarter of respondents are not generating enough income to keep their businesses sustainable and across the childcare system, there are 4,000 openings available.
The state is aware and has convened a Blue-Ribbon Task Force to draft a five-year plan to help the early childhood sector. They are expected to submit their final report this month. The final plan is expected to call for increases in state funding for providers and broader subsidy eligibility for families.
I am watching the situation and awaiting the final report. However, childcare is vital for parents to work and providers need to be able to earn a living wage.
To read the full story in CT NewsJunkie, click HERE.
To help alleviate the staffing issues, Governor Lamont, Labor Commissioner Danté Bartolomeo, Connecticut Office of Early Childhood (OEC) Commissioner Beth Bye, and CSEA SEIU Local 2001 President Travis Woodward gathered in Hartford on Monday to announce the formation of a new Registered Apprenticeship Program to encourage jobseekers to enter careers in home-based childcare and fill high-demand jobs in this field.
This program – a coordinated partnership between OEC, CTDOL, and SEIU – is the first of its kind in Connecticut. It was created with the goals of partnering with families and communities to create culturally and linguistically appropriate care for their children, improving the quality of early care and education by offering coursework in child development and valuing the important work that childcare providers perform within their communities.
Registered apprentices earn while they learn. The program is a federally backed workforce training program that requires a minimum of 2,000 hours working on the job and hundreds of hours of classroom learning. Upon completion of the Family Childcare Registered Apprenticeship Program, family childcare providers will have the Child Development Associate and National Association for Family Childcare credentials. These credentials raise the wages for providers, improve future earning power, and lift the quality of home-based early childhood education programs.
OEC is also piloting workforce approaches that will lead to registered apprenticeships for childcare centers.
|