Ask the Scholar
Document scope · 1 page
Scholar
Ask about this object, its catalog metadata, its source description, or the page inventory.
For page-specific OCR and visual context, open one of the page chats.
Scholar Source Context
Document identity
localId
24493199
label
Column Ideas
core
doc
dtoType
document
citationUrl
pageCount
1
Source metadata
id
24493199
sourceUrl
contentType
document
title
Column Ideas
citationUrl
collections
Records of the First Lady's Office (Clinton Administration)
Shirley Sagawa's Files
imageCount
1
hasImages
yes
source
import
hasTranscription
no
Source extras
naId
24493199
levelOfDescription
fileUnit
otherTitles
42-t-7763274-20130124S-043-008-2015
recordType
description
ocrSource
nara-archive
Single page context
seq
1
pageIndex
0
type
document
mediaId
c947b13ffec0da1b
ocrText
MEMORANDUM FOR MRS. CLINTON
FROM:
Shirley Sagawa
Shilley
RE;
Column ideas
good bas
DATE:
June 6, 2000
cc:
Carol Beach, Ann O'Leary
I thought of a couple more evergreen column topics, which Carol thoughrt would work well. If
you like either, let us know.
Military Child Care
I know you have visited military child care centers in the past to highlight them as models for
civilian centers. In May, the National Women's Law Center released a new report, "Be All That
We Can Be: Lessons from the Military for Improving Our Nation's Child Care System." The
report analyzes the impact of the Military Child Care Act of 1989 (which I helped to draft when I
worked for Senator Kennedy) on military child care. It concludes that the legislation helped turn
the military child care system from "a disaster," riddled with unsafe conditions, child abuse
allegations, and 300 percent annual staff turnover, into a model for the nation. The NWLC
argues that this turnaround suggests that change is possible, even in the worst systems, if we
acknowledge the seriousness of the problem and its consequences, establish and enforce quality
standards, and provide subsidies. A dozen newspapers, including the New York Times, have
editorialized in favor of these recommendations. A copy of the report is attached. A column
could use the report as a hook to discuss the military's experience and advocate for our child care
initiative.
Youthbuild
I think you know about YouthBuild, which teaches unemployed and out-of-school youth
construction skills while involving them in rehabilitating or constructing new housing for low
income and homeless people. Participants spend alternate weeks on the job site and in school,
and most receive AmeriCorps education awards for their service. The program began in 1978
when a group of New York City teenagers expressed their desire to renovate abandoned
buildings in their community. Dorothy Stoneman, then director of the Youth Action Program in
East Harlem Block Schools, helped them select a building, raise funds, and hire adult trainers.
The teenagers' successful renovation of a Harlem tenement led Dorothy to form a coalition of
local not-for-profit organizations to replicate the program. Today there 145 operating
YouthBuild programs in 43 states, with 5,500 students, 90% from very low-income families and
47% of them parents. Most complete the 11 month program, and 85% go on to college or paid
PHOTOCOPY
HRC HANDWRITING
employment. Since 1993, Youthbuild students have constructed more than 2000 units of low-
income housing.
We highlighted YouthBuild in one of the breakout sessions at the teen conference, and invited
both Dorothy Stoneman (who has won a MacArthur fellowship "genius" award) and a young
man involved in the program to speak. The President's budget requested a significant increase
for the program, $75m in '01 compared to $42.5m in '00. This amount is supplemented by
AmeriCorps funds. There are many inspiring stories associated with Youthbuild, and a column
advocating for the increased funding for both Youthbuild (which is in HUD) and AmeriCorps
(which was zeroed out in the House) would be timely.
The New York Times
THE NEW YORK TIMES EDITORIALS/LETTERS FRIDAY, MAY 19, 2000
A Model Child Care System
In a remarkable turnaround over the past 10
after-school programs. It nearly tripled the number
years, the Department of Defense has transformed
of child care slots, and established training require-
an abysmal military child care system into a model
ments, safety and health standards and child-to-
for the nation, judging from a report by the National
staff ratios that are rigorously enforced. It also
Women's Law Center, a research and advocacy
raised wages to $10 an hour for experienced care-
group. A decade ago, military child care services
givers, significantly higher than civilian scales. And
were plagued with poorly trained staff, extremely
it provided substantial subsidies to ensure that child
high turnover in caregivers, long waiting lists and
care is affordable even to low-income families.
costs too high for many military families to afford.
These improvements would not have been pos-
But child care became a key personnel issue, and in
sible without more resources. The budget for mili-
1989 the Military Child Care Act mandated that
tary child care has risen from $90 million in 1989 to
improvements be made.
$339 million in the last fiscal year. Federal and state
The military created a network of child care
policy makers should make a comparable commit-
centers, child care in family homes and before- and
ment to improve child care in the civilian realm
Boston Sunday Blobe
MAY 21, 2000
Investing in child care
Back when the military used the draft and did
"The concerns that made investing in child care
not depend so much on volunteers, day care for chil-
for the military a high priority - a desire for a stable
dren on bases was poor. Quality was low, waiting
work force and a healthy child environment - apply
lists were long, fees were beyond many parents'
equally outside the military," said Nancy Duff
reach, and staff turnover was endemic.
Campbell, co-president of the women's law center.
Conditions improved markedly, however, after
After the draft ended in 1973, day care in the vol-
the draft ended and the services became fully de-
unteer military became such a drag on morale and a
pendent on volunteers who are more likely to be
deterrent to reenlistment that Congress finally
married with children than draftees and can leave
passed a law in 1989 to address the problem. Fortu-
the military after their enlistments if they don't like
nately, the law worked in creating a system of both
conditions. In fact, improvements were so note-
base child development centers and private, family-
worthy that the National Women's Law Center last
based centers.
week published a report on military child care and
One secret of the military's success is that its
held it up as a model for civilian life.
program draws families of all income levels. The
The report includes many excellent suggestions
program director has said that it is critical that all
on standards, frequent and unannounced inspec-
families, at all income levels, receive some subsidy,
tions, employer subsidies, and staff training that ci-
so that child care is seen as a universal program and
vilian officials would do well to follow. But the most
not just for low-income families.
significant lesson is more basic: Real progress in
Make high-quality child care a priority and make
child care comes when a community - whether it is
it universal - these are principles the country as a
the US military or a state or a city - simply decides
whole should adopt. Parents should not have to join
to give day care the importance it deserves.
the military to get good, affordable day care.
THE NATION'S NEWSPAPER
USA
TODAY
NO. 1 IN THE USA
Wednesday, May 17, 2000
Military is the model
of child-care efficiency
The rest of the country could learri some lessons
from the military about providing child care, says a re-
port from the National Women's Law Center (NWLC),
a non-profit organization that monitors women's is-
sues. Ten years ago, Congress passed a law ordering
the military to meet the need for better child care for
increasing numbers of career-oriented women and
men in the military. The military turned itself around,
becoming a possible model for state policymakers
around the country, the report says. The military trains
child-care workers better, pays them better, and en-
forces health and safety standards in facilities better
than much of the nation, the NWLC says. As a result of
reforms, child-care staff turnover has fallen from 300%
annually at some bases to 30%. "If the U.S. military can
) an about-face and dramatically improve its child-
care system in a relatively short period of time, there is
great hope for improving child care across the United
tates," NWLC president Nancy Duff Campbell says.
The New York Times
WEDNESDAY, MAY 17, 2000
Child Care
In Military
Is Praised
Ms. Campbell said her group
hoped to use the study "to push the
As a Model
civilian side and say 'these are the
things you can do.'
Adequate child care became part
By ELIZABETH BECKER
of the armed forces' efforts to retain
members of the all-volunteer serv-
WASHINGTON, May 16 - The
ices. The military also realized that
military has so improved its child
quality care was needed to cut the
care system in the past decade that it
service time lost while parents were
has become a' model for state and
home caring for their children.
national programs, according to a
"At first there was no money allo-
study released today.
cated for child care and we had to
The National Women's Law Cen-
compete with tanks and weapons for
ter, a nonprofit research and advoca-
funding," recalled M.-A. Lucas, the
cy group in Washington, said in its
civilian manager for the Army's
report that the military had remade
child care program.
a program once described as a
The study praised the military for
"ghetto" of child care - with long
setting caregiver training require-
waiting lists, uneven care and costs
ments and improving the wages.
too high for many military families
Hourly wages for military care-
- into one providing affordable,
givers start at $8 and rise to $10 after
high-quality care to more than
two years. Pay for civilian childcare
200,000 children worldwide.
workers averages $7.13 an hour.
The military, according to Nancy
As a result, staff turnover - a
Duff Campbell, co-president of the
serious problem in civilian child care
center, who discussed the report at a
centers - fell from more than 300
Pentagon briefing, "transformed a
percent a year on some bases to less
seriously deficient child care system
than 30 percent today.
into one that now serves as a model
"This isn't a mere nicety; it's a
for child care reform nationwide."
military necessity," said William S.
In those 10 years, the Defense De-
Cohen, the secretary of defense. "We
partment and the services created a
simply can't afford to have our serv-
network of child care centers, family
ice members worried about the basic
care homes, after-school programs
well-being of their families."
and referral services. The military
Also attending the briefing were
tripled the number of children in its
Senators Christopher Dodd, Demo-
system and now meets 58 percent of
crat of Connecticut, and James M.
the needs of service members' chil-
Jefford, Republican of Vermont,
dren requiring care, the study esti-
sponsors of legislation to raise child
mated, a level far exceeding that of
care financing in the civilian sector.
the civilian child care industry.
"Child care, as it's offered to our
In the last fiscal year, the military
men and women in uniform, is the
spent $339 million for child care, the
gold standard," Mr. Dodd said. "You
study found, as the Pentagon real-
can't do a job well if you're worried
ized such services required large
about how your infant child is doing
subsidies to assure that military
in a child care center or where the
families could afford them. Fees are
care is being given. And so this is
based on the parents' income.
about as fundamental as it gets."
The Washington Post
WEDNESDAY, MAY 17, 2000
Military
Child Care
Wins Raves
From Study
The authors of the report from
Reflecting higher pay scales for
the public-policy group, which fo-
Advocates Praise
military child-care workers, their
cuses on women's and children's is-
entry-level pay averaged $8 an hour,
sues, say they hope it will spur Con-
10-Year Overhaul
compared with the civilian average
gress to increase funding for the
of $7.40 an hour, Campbell said.
nation's patchwork child-care sys-
At the same time, military par-
By JACQUELINE L. SALMON
tem.
ents pay 25 percent less a week than
Policymakers "need to make the
Washington Post Staff Writer
civilian parents. Military parents
same investment in providing qual-
earning $23,000 or less a year pay as
In the 1980s, just about everyone
ity child care and affordable child
little as $39 a week per child, while
agrees, the military's child-care sys-
care to working families who aren't
military parents earning $70,000 or
in the military," said Judith Apple-
tem was a mess. As more young par-
more pay a maximum of $112 a
ents joined the armed services, de-
baum, vice president of the Law
week, the report said.
Center.
mand for child care swelled. But
In addition to caring for thou-
military child-care centers were not
In the Washington area, thou-
sands of military children in the re-
sands of service families use mil-
prepared for active duty.
gion, the military is getting involved
Lead-based paint peeled from
itary child care-the largest
in the area's civilian child-care sys-
ceilings and walls in some centers,
employer-sponsored system in the
tem.
roofs leaked, poorly paid caregivers
country.
Military personnel are helping re-
The system cares for 200,000
supervised as many as 15 babies and
vamp the District's child-care reg-
children worldwide-in 800 child-
toddlers at a time, and in some facil-
ulations, said Barbara Kamera, ex-
ities, entire staffs turned over three
care centers, in 9,000 homes where
ecutive director of the D.C. Office of
times a year.
military family members care for
Early Childhood Development. And
Ten years after the military
youngsters, and in hundreds of pro-
civilian child-care workers may take
launched a massive overhaul of its
grams for school-age children at
training classes at local military bas-
schools and other locations.
child-care system, the picture is dra-
es for free.
Quality child care is a top priority
matically different. And yesterday,
"It's helped tremendously," said
the National Women's Law Center
for the Defense Department, offi-
Kamera, whose department must
praised the revamped operation,
cials say. "We simply can't afford to
add 2,800 subsidized child-care
have our service members worry
calling it a model for the country.
slots by year-end.
Since the Military Child Care Act
about the basic care of their family
members," said Defense Secretary
passed in 1989, standards have ris-
William S. Cohen.
en, caregiver training has become
rigorous and the military has start-
He said he hopes the Law Cen-
ed offering benefits and salaries that
ter's report will guide similar gains
in the civilian world.
look positively lush when compared
with those in the private sector, the
The report documents the money
policy group said in a study released
and effort the military has poured
yesterday.
into its child-care system. Defense
"It's time, indeed past time, for
Department spending on child care
the civilian sector to catch up," Nan-
has tripled in the past 10 years,
cy Duff Campbell, co-president of
reaching $352 million in fiscal 2000.
Still, the Defense system meets only
the Law Center, said at a Pentagon
58 percent of demand, and military
news conference attended by mil-
itary top brass and two U.S. sena-
families need 126,000 more slots for
tors.
their children, the report said.
Copyright 2000 Copley News Service
Copley News Service
May 15, 2000, Monday
SECTION: Washington - general news
LENGTH: 573 words
HEADLINE: Military child care improves dramatically
BYLINE: Stephen Green
DATELINE: WASHINGTON
BODY:
The military has dramatically improved its once deeply troubled day-care system, according to a
new study.
The National Women's Law Center, which conducted the study, described the changes as a
"remarkable transformation" that actually could serve as a model for civilian day-care programs.
More than 200,000 children now receive "high-quality, affordable care" at some 800 centers on bases
around the world and in nearly 10,000 homes of military spouses who offer child-care services,
according to the study.
"The military has shown that it is possible to take a woefully inadequate child-care system and
dramatically improve it over a relatively short period of time," concluded the law center, which
advocates fuller legal rights for women.
"If even a tradition-bound institution like the military can turn its child-care system around, similar
progress should be achievable in other settings," added the study, which is to be formally presented
to Defense Secretary William Cohen on Tuesday.
Legislation passed by Congress in 1989 mandated reforms in military child care. The action
followed revelations of sexual abuse, overcrowded facilities, long waiting lists, fees too high for
low-ranking enlisted families, and too few staff members, who also were under-trained and under-
paid.
Sen. Barbara Boxer, D-Calif., praised the military Monday for the reforms. When a member of the
House, she was instrumental in having congressional hearings focus on child abuse at the centers.
At present, surveys have found that 60 percent of families using military day care rate it as
"excellent," compared to only 9 percent before the reforms were implemented, the report said.
Problems remain, however.
Although the system now can accommodate some three times as many children as it could a decade
ago, the military is meeting only 58 percent of demand for its services, the study said. But the
Pentagon has a goal of meeting 80 percent of demand by 2005, the report added.
http://web.lexis-nexis.com/n.universe/search/docunentDisplay_docnum-78_anset-GeauK3/1700
Child care was made more affordable by instituting an income-based system of sliding fees, ranging
from $39 to $112 weekly.
At the same time, Congress followed up its ordering of reform by providing a substantial increase in
the subsidy for military child care. The annual appropriation has soared to $352 million from less
than $90 million.
With the infusion of money, military child-care workers have become better compensated than their
civilian counterparts.
The average national entry-level wage for child-care workers is $7.40 an hour, compared to $8 in the
military system. Its workers get a raise to nearly $10 an hour within two years.
Military child-care staffers also receive life and health insurance, sick leave and retirement benefits
all equivalent to 22 percent of their wages.
The reforms established staff-training requirements, minimum staffing levels based on the number of
children at each center, child-abuse prevention measures and standards for health and sanitation.
Installing a hotline for parents to anonymously report problems has been "critical" to enforcement of
standards, the study said.
Also, the study found that "an important aspect of the inspection and certification process is the high
level of visibility given to the certification results.
"Commanders of the military installations are routinely briefed on the results of the inspections,"
the study added.
LANGUAGE: ENGLISH
LOAD-DATE: May 16, 2000
Project Id: NWLC
FOCUSTM
Search: General News;National Women's Law Center
To narrow this search, please enter a word or phrase:
Example: House of Representatives
About LEXIS-NEXIS
I
Terms and Conditions
What's New
Copyright © 2000 LEXIS-NEXIS Group. All rights reserved.
http://web.lexis-nexis.com/In.universe/search/documentDisplay_docnum74_anssetGeHauKCSBW
FR IUNS
The Associated Press
View Related Topics
The materials in the AP file were compiled by The Associated Press. These materials may not be
republished without the express written consent of The Associated Press.
May 16, 2000, Tuesday, BC cycle
SECTION: Washington Dateline
LENGTH: 284 words
HEADLINE: Women's group says military child care is a model for civilian reforms
DATELINE: WASHINGTON
BODY:
The military's success in improving child care for its families over the past decade offers lessons
for making civilian day care more available and affordable, a women's advocacy group said
Tuesday.
"The concerns that made investing in child care for the military a high priority - a desire for a stable
work force and for healthy child development - apply equally outside the military," said Nancy Duff
Campbell, co-president of the National Women's Law Center.
"We need the same commitment to get results in every state for every child."
At a news conference in the Pentagon, Campbell presented Defense Secretary William Cohen with a
copy of her organization's report on what lessons the civilian world can learn from the military's
child care programs.
The military provides day care for more than 200,000 children in more than 300 locations. The
programs are heavily subsidized by the government.
Campbell said the military system is now a model in several respects, including its comprehensive
standards for quality of care; its training of care givers, and its more generous pay scale for care
givers.
The military estimates that it meets about 58 percent of the demand among military families for day
care, and it has established a timetable for raising that figure to 80 percent within five years.
"The need is very desperate on the civilian side," Campbell said. "If we could even come close to
serving 58 percent of families, I think we'd be a lot happier."
Campbell said the turnaround in the quality of child care in the military began with Congress' 1989
passage of the Military Child Care Act, which came after reports and hearings exposed serious
shortcomings.
LANGUAGE: ENGLISH
http://web.lexis-nexis.com/In.universe/search/documentDisplay?_docnum-4&_ansset=GeHauKC5/17/00
Operation: Superior Child Care
file:/C:/ebird/e20000606operation.htm
Los Angeles Times
June 4, 2000
Pg. E1
Operation: Superior Child Care
Civilians could learn a thing or two from the military model, which now has skilled
providers at affordable prices to parents.
By Lynn Smith, Times Staff Writer
If 4-year-old Denton Logan were unhappy in day care, someone would surely hear about it.
"This boy's my life," said his father, Petty Officer 1st Class Ron Logan, a muscled military weapons
instructor at Port Hueneme's Naval Air Station in Ventura County. "He's No. 1." Logan's wife, Tina,
works off base, so Logan usually takes Denton to and picks him up from the station's Child
Development Center. Whenever Logan leaves home for two-week training sessions, he knows Denton
will spend more time at the facility--sometimes up to 12 hours. But he also knows the boy is safe inside
the fenced-in base, that he is learning social and academic skills from caregivers, who are trained,
well-compensated and content.
Most of all, he said his son is "always happy" at the center, no matter how long he stays there. And that
makes Logan happy. "Since he's been in this program, I'm not worried about him at all."
At a time when a vast majority of working parents in California are unable to find licensed care, some
like the Logans feel lucky to work for an employer who regards good child care as a necessity--and
provides it.
Though criticized 10 years ago, military child care is now "head and shoulders above any state in the
country," said Nancy Duff Campbell, co-president of the National Women's Law Center, a research and
advocacy organization in Washington, D.C. The group issued a report in May calling for the civilian
sector to emulate the military's dramatic turnaround.
Over the past three decades, the military--similar to the world around it--saw a surge of demand for child
care because of a shifting work force with more women and more dual-earner and single-parent families.
But unlike the patchwork system that characterizes civilian child care, the Department of Defense built a
comprehensive system of child-care centers, family child-care homes, after-school programs and
resource and referral services for military families, and, as space allows, civilian employees. It is the
nation's largest employer-sponsored child-care program, reaching 200,000 children worldwide.
Child care rose to a top priority because it was perceived as no less than a military readiness issue, said
Deputy Assistant Secretary of Defense Victor Vasquez. When service members worry about their
children's care, it's difficult "to pay attention to their jobs in areas of high stress, long hours and
intensity."
Child care also is a key part of luring and keeping people in the military, said Capt. Jim McConnell Jr.,
commanding officer of the Naval Construction Battalion Center at Port Hueneme, which has constructed
three centers in five years. His own son, Max, 3, attends center-based care regularly. "He couldn't be
happier. We couldn't be happier with it," he said.
The military also was pushed to act by a rash of child abuse allegations in the 1980s. Congressional
hearings found unsafe and unsuitable conditions at many facilities, a lack of comprehensive standards,
poor pay and turnover rates of up to 300%. In 1989, the Military Child Care Act (MCCA) mandated
improvements and authorized appropriations, which this fiscal year reached $339 million, a small
fraction of its $278-billion budget and the cost of about eight Trident missiles.
1 of 5
06/06/2000 9:19 AM
Operation: Superior Child Care
file:/C:/ebird/e20000606operation.htm
Two decades ago, the Seabee base in Port Hueneme and its neighbor, the Naval Air Station at Point
Mugu, were not much different from other bases, recalled Polly Elam Ferraro, a civilian
child-development specialist. She has worked with the Navy for 27 years and is now a
child-development program administrator in the Navy's southwest region.
She said the general attitude then was, "If the Navy had wanted you to have a family, they would have
issued you one with your sea bag." Not subject to state licensing, the base had no strong regulations.
Some children were watched in a converted Quonset hut, others in a converted liquor store. Navy
caregivers, like their civilian counterparts, worked for minimum wage with few benefits and typically
left for better jobs as soon as they could.
When the MCCA funds started to flow, some military officials were skeptical. "They said, 'We're going
to give you money. Prove to us that money works,' said Elam Ferraro.
Whereas states have tackled child-care demand by focusing on quantity, the military emphasized quality,
even though it meant fewer children would be served at first, Campbell said.
By most accounts, the strategy succeeded. With every passing year, advocates realized that the military
was solving child care's fundamental puzzle: how to change low salaries and high turnover, conditions
associated with poor care, without passing on higher costs to already strapped parents.
Still, the extent of the military's transformation surprised National Women's Law Center researchers.
For instance, Campbell said, they hadn't been aware that 95% of military child-care centers are now
accredited by the National Assn. for the Education of Young Children, or NAEYC. Outside the military,
the average is 8%.
Teams of specialists conduct four unannounced inspections of military centers and homes every year,
checking curriculum, staff-child relationships and physical conditions. California requires inspections,
largely for health and safety, once a year at centers and once every three years at home child-care
operations.
The military revamped its caregivers' pay scale, matching entry salaries with other GS-4 positions such
as personnel clerks and providing full medical benefits. Wages also are directly linked to training and
continued education--an "up or out" policy that requires caregivers to complete preservice training as
well as 13 courses, from safety and cognitive development to creativity and self-esteem.
Campbell said researchers were particularly impressed by a requirement to have a curriculum specialist
in every center who has no other responsibilities than to provide up-to-date training and in-house quality
assurance. "That's a luxury," she said.
Turnover rates now are less than 30% and triggered primarily by military transfers. The military charges
parents a sliding scale fee from $54 a week for those families grossing under $23,000 a year to $101 for
those earning more than $55,000. Such fees do not cover the costs of operations so the Defense
department picks up the balance. The original MCCA appropriations matched parents' fees, but now the
subsidy exceeds the fees.
Universal subsidies are another expensive and controversial luxury in child care. "In this country, we
can't even cover the poor, let alone reach into the middle- and higher-income families," Campbell said.
'No Home Alone' Policy at Bases
On a recent Wednesday, Elam Ferraro conducted a tour of the Port Hueneme Child Development Center,
a spotless, single-story building located in a neighborhood of single-family homes within the
gate-guarded base. The bases at Port Hueneme and Point Mugu have a "no home alone" policy and
parents of children under 9 are referred to one of two child development centers for infants and toddlers,
a youth and teen center, or family child-care homes, run by trained and monitored military spouses in
their own homes.
2 of 5
06/06/2000 9:19 AM
Operation: Superior Child Care
file:/C:/ebird/e20000606operation.htm
Other than a tiny toy tank that sat alongside stuffed animals on Elam Ferraro's desk, there were few overt
signs that "military" child care was different from state-of-the-art child care anywhere.
Caregiver/student ratios are low and there seemed to be a caregiver for every three toddlers, who were
quietly watching snails, eating lunch or playing on the floor. Some caregivers, spelled by substitutes,
were taking breaks. A housekeeper was busy cleaning up.
Elam Ferraro pointed out features she designed, such as the observation windows with sound so parents
can peek into any room without disrupting the children. To protect against charges of child abuse,
caregivers are not allowed to be alone with children. Video cameras also monitor the rooms at the Point
Mugu facilities and images are fed live to the front desk. The tapes also can be used to answer parents'
questions or complaints.
"If you have an allegation or a question, we say, 'Let's look at the tape and see,'' Elam Ferraro said.
Recently a parent complained a caregiver should have been watching her child when he fell. The tape
showed the child had simply tripped, she said.
Elam Ferraro said she adores the military regulations that proscribe operating details down to the
provision of rattles and squeak toys, diapering procedures approved by the National Centers for Disease
Control and Prevention, and daily cleaning with a quarter-cup of bleach per gallon of water solution.
Even the walls are dusted.
Caregivers must not clean. "No one can say we're going to save dollars by having caregivers mop the
floor," she said.
They are expected to focus all their attention on their small charges, using the developmental approach
favored by the NAEYC.
Some things, like happiness and relationships, are beyond regulation. So, Elam Ferraro, a disciple of Los
Angeles infant educator Magda Gerber, also sometimes applies "Polly's rules" to foster respect between
children and adults.
Infants follow feeding and sleeping schedules on demand. When they are awake, they are out of their
cribs, playing with caregivers. "The most important thing at this age," she said, "is developing a good
sense of who they are, realizing their power, so they can get confidence to move out into the academic
world."
At lunch, toddlers serve themselves and clean up their own spills. When it's time to sign in, or have their
diapers changed, they climb up steps so adults don't have to lift them.
Because caregiver turnover is said to make some children insecure and distrustful of adults, some
caregivers move along with their children as they mature into more advanced classes. Even if they don't,
they try to stay in touch. Cmdr. Karen Coyle, executive officer of the Naval Weapons Test Squadron at
Point Mugu, said her 4-year-old daughter still sees the caregiver she had at 16 months. "The teacher who
helped potty train her is still the one who says hello to her every day and gives her a big hug."
Some parents like Petty Officer 3rd Class Darrell Lee and his wife, Jamie, feel a sense of security
knowing their children are close to home and work, safe and observable at any time. The past few
weeks, both parents have gone to the center to watch their son, Devin, 4, during nap time.
Caregivers apparently are pleased with their jobs. Turnover on the two bases is down to 15%.
Two civilian caregivers said they want to work at the base until they retire. Dolores Cabrera likes the
pay. Through pay increases are linked to training, she worked her way up from $4.07 an hour in 1987 to
$17.46 an hour as the center's director. Cindy Pearson said she appreciates the benefits. Through her job
she is able to provide her husband and two children with full medical benefits, including orthodontia,
dental and vision. During school breaks and vacations, her children attend day camps at Point Mugu for
3 of 5
06/06/2000 9:19 AM
Operation: Superior Child Care
file:/C:/ebird/e20000606operation.htm
a minimal fee.
Not everyone thinks the system is perfect, however most complaints about military child care center
around daytime-only hours, waiting lists and costs to parents, Campbell said. Parents can wait as long as
two years for an opening at the Port Hueneme Center, although exceptions are made if a commander
orders it.
Elam Ferraro said the military faces problems squarely.
If a center fails one of the inspections, it has 90 days to fix the problem or the facility is closed. Four
child-care homes have been closed in the past 10 years.
In 1996, a Point Mugu child-care worker was suspected of molesting a toddler. The Navy conducted a
five-month investigation, bringing in an eight-member Child Abuse Response Team from San Diego
and 40 federal investigators from the Naval Criminal Investigative Service, the FBI and the U.S.
attorney's office. They interviewed 87 children in the facility as well as those in after-school programs
and homes where the suspect had baby-sat. In the end, without witnesses or physical evidence, criminal
charges were dropped.
The main problem in recent years is that the bases can't help all the parents clamoring for day care.
Overall the military still meets only 58% of its estimated need for child care, especially for infants and
toddlers. The military plans to expand, but at some point, "the taxpayers can't afford any more," Elam
Ferraro said.
One solution is to partner with family day-care homes in the surrounding community. Another is to
recruit more home-care providers on base.
To help providers keep high standards and still make money, the military will pay them $100 per week
in direct subsidies for each child under 3, Elam Ferraro said.
Last summer, she said she realized how far the military had come. She was sitting in the Washington,
D.C., office of the assistant secretary of the Navy discussing budget cuts with top officials. She suddenly
noticed they all agreed quality should not be sacrificed. Tears came into her eyes then, she said, because
"these people realized it was important."
Demand for child care in all quarters is at an all-time high, Campbell said. About 72% of women with
children under 18 and 78% with school-age children are now in the civilian work force. Over the next
five years, women are expected to account for 60% of new labor-force entrants, according to a report
this year by the National Council of Jewish Women.
Although civilian child care has improved in some areas, the system remains uneven--even desperate--in
others. Some preschool teachers are said to be leaving their jobs for openings in the public school
system. In Los Angeles County there are only 186,000 licensed slots for 1 million children who need
them, according to a 1999 state-funded study.
Civilian Sector Should Follow Military's Lead
The military has had some obvious advantages over the civilian sector as it struggles to improve,
Campbell said. The military is working with a population smaller than the state of California; it is a
closed system based on following orders; and all programs are gathered under the single commander of
each service.
But the differences should not be overstated, she said. Like many advocates, Campbell argues the
civilian sector can model the military by increasing federal and state funding of child-care programs and
shifting its attitude.
The main element that transformed the military, Campbell said, was the will to change. "The military
saw it was critical to their work force. They saw the welfare of the kids was at stake," she said.
4 of 5
06/06/2000 9:19 AM
Operation: Superior Child Care
file:/C:/ebird/e20000606operation.htm
The military has begun to share its expertise in small ways.
Vasquez said so far the military has listed its best practices on its Web page
(http://dticaw.dtic.mil/milchild), established a speakers bureau and provided some training. Elam Ferraro
said her military employees in Ventura County often invite colleagues from local preschools and
community colleges to training sessions and conferences and vice versa.
Experiments with elements of the military model are starting to "pop up all over the country now," said
Marcy Whitebrook, senior researcher at the Institute of Industrial Relations at UC Berkeley. This month,
the U.S. Senate is expected to consider an $817-million proposal to increase child-care development
block grants that would foster ways to link pay to professional improvement, improve accreditation and
subsidize parent fees. In California, several counties are proposing to use funds from Proposition 10, the
cigarette tax initiative, to reward caregivers for professional development. The state Legislature also is
considering a proposal to provide matching funds to the grants.
"Gov. Davis, who is so concerned about education and teachers in K-12, would do well to look at the
military example," Whitebrook said.
"It's an exciting time," she said. "We've moved from whether we need to intervene to what's the best
way."
Two Systems of Child Care
Military -- Accreditation: 95% of all centers; Starting pay: $8 an hour raised to $10 in two years; full
benefits; Training: Basic pre-service training and 13 more courses. Linked to pay increases; Fees:
Sliding scale fees. $3,640 average annual fee. Subsidies to all parents to cover costs.
Non military -- Accreditation: 8% of all centers; Starting pay: Average wage in centers is $7.40 an hour;
benefits vary; Training: No training required in 31 states; Fees: Annual average ranges from low of
$3,342 in Birmington, Ala., to high of $7,904 in Boston.
Sources: National Women's Law Center, National Council of Jewish Women.
5 of 5
06/06/2000 9:19 AM
W
NATIONAL
WOMEN'S
LAW CENTER
NEWSNEWSNEWS
EXPANDING THE POSSIBILITIES
STATEMENT OF NANCY DUFF CAMPBELL
CONTACT: Margot Friedman
Co-President, National Women's Law Center
202/588-5180
May 16, 2000
Military Provides Model For Child Care Reform Nationwide,
Women's Leader Says
Thank you, Secretary Cohen, for hosting this event and for taking the child care needs of
your workforce so seriously. In doing so, you set a proud and important example for the nation.
Thank you, Senators Dodd and Jeffords, for being here today and for all of your efforts in the
U.S. Congress to address the child care needs of American families. And thank you to the
military families who are here today, representing the many families who are benefitting from
military child care, for your important service in our nation's defense.
Today, the National Women's Law Center releases a ground-breaking new report, Be All
That We Can Be: Lessons from the Military for Improving our Nation's Child Care System.
This first-of-its-kind study shows how the military successfully transformed a seriously deficient
child care system into one that now serves as a model for child care reform nationwide, offering
concrete lessons that policy makers, advocates and others can draw upon to make similar
improvements in child care for civilian families across the U.S.
Just a decade ago, child care in the military was plagued by problems that are all too
familiar to civilian families today. Demand for child care had surged as a result of changes in the
workforce that included more families with two working parents and more women. Tens of
thousands of children were on waiting lists for care. Military families could not afford care, even
With the law on your side, great things are possible.
11 Dupont Circle
Suite 800
Washington, DC 20036
202.588.5180
202.588.5185 Fax
if they could find it. Caregivers lacked training and were so poorly compensated that they didn't
stay long in the field, and the quality of care suffered. The recruiting, retention and performance
of military personnel were affected, putting military readiness at risk.
But the military responded in dramatic fashion - an "about face," if you will. The
Department of Defense consciously set out to - and did - build a child care system that
effectively links centers, family child care homes, after-school programs, and resource and
referral services, and that provides high-quality, affordable care to a steadily increasing
proportion of the military families who need it.
It's time - past time - for the civilian sector to catch up. With over 70 percent of
American women with children now in the paid work force, the demand for child care is at an
all-time high. Yet too often, high-quality child care is unaffordable or simply unavailable to
families who need it.
The military's experience teaches that it doesn't have to be this way. The Defense
Department has shown that quality can be raised by establishing comprehensive standards and
enforcing them with unannounced inspections, increasing provider training and pay, and helping
providers meet the standards required for outside accreditation.
Today, more than 95 percent of military child development centers are accredited -
compared to 8 percent of civilian child care centers in the U.S. Today, all children in military
child care are cared for by staff who receive basic pre-service training - compared to the children
in too many states - 31 - that require no such training. Today, the entry-level wage for a military
caregiver is nearly $8 an hour; increasing to $10 after core competency training - compared to an
average wage for a civilian caregiver of only $7.40 an hour. All of these improvements
contribute to the high quality of military child care.
The Defense Department has also addressed affordability, with subsidies and sliding fee
schedules based on a family's income. The average weekly fee paid by military families is some
25 percent lower than the average weekly fee paid by civilian families for comparable center-
based care. And the lower fees paid by military families are a result of the subsidies provided,
not lower costs to the military of providing care - which is about 7 percent higher than the cost
of providing comparable civilian care.
Finally, the military continually assesses the need of its families for high-quality,
affordable child care and is moving steadily toward its goal of meeting 80 percent of the need by
2005.
Congress and the Defense Department have recognized the importance of child care to
the military workforce and to the welfare of the children in care, and have committed the
resources necessary to create a model system. The need is no less great - no less urgent - no
less compelling - for such a commitment outside the military. Today, we call on lawmakers at
the federal and state levels to learn from the military's success, to follow the military's lead, and
to make a serious investment in solving our nation's very real child care needs.
Secretary Cohen, I am delighted to present you with a copy of the National Women's
Law Center's new report, Be All That We Can Be: Lessons from the Military for Improving
our Nation's Child Care System.
NATIONAL
W
WOMEN'S
LAW CENTER
NEWSNEWSNEWS
EXPANDING THE POSSIBILITIES
Embargoed Until:
Contact: Margot Friedman or
Press Conference at the Pentagon
Maricka Oglesby at 202-588-5180
Tuesday, May 16, 2000
web site: www.nwlc.org
10:00 a.m., EST
MILITARY PROVIDES MODEL FOR CHILD CARE REFORMS,
NEW NWLC REPORT CONCLUDES
At a time when child care around the country is woefully inadequate, the U.S. military has achieved
a remarkable transformation of its child care system and its experience provides important lessons
for policy makers, child care providers and parents concerned about improving child care every-
where. These are the major findings of the National Women's Law Center's new report, Be All
That We Can Be: Lessons from the Military for Improving Our Nation's Child Care System, which
was released today and presented to Secretary of Defense William S. Cohen at a news conference at
the Pentagon.
"If the U.S. military can do an about-face and dramatically improve its child care system in a rela-
tively short period of time, there is great hope for improving child care across the United States.
The lessons learned from this example should be applied to expand access to high quality, afford-
able child care for everyone," said Nancy Duff Campbell, NWLC Co-President.
Secretary Cohen said, "Quality military child care is essential for the readiness of our Armed
Forces. America's military is the best in the world not just because of our technology, training and
tactics but, above all, because we recruit and retain the best men and women the country has to of-
fer." The military runs what is essentially the largest employer-sponsored child care program in the
country, serving over 200,000 children per day in over 300 locations.
NWLC's report describes the deficiencies in military child care before the reforms; the specific
steps that the military used to turn its system around; and, most importantly, a series of "lessons
learned" showing how the military's experience can be applied more broadly to improve civilian
child care.
With the advent of the All Volunteer Force in 1973, the military experienced significant demo-
graphic changes that had a direct impact on the demand for child care. The Services were no longer
comprised mainly of single men, but increasingly of career-oriented men and women with children.
But the military child care system did not meet the needs of these families. It was plagued by many
of the deficiencies that are familiar to civilian parents today poor quality care, a lack of standards
addressing issues such as maximum group size and educational activities, high staff turnover due to
low salaries and poor working conditions, long waiting lists for available slots, and unaffordable
parent fees. Prodded by Congressional hearings and the enactment of the Military Child Care Act
of 1989, the Department of Defense now runs a military child care system that is a model for the
nation.
With the law on your side, great things are possible.
11 Dupont Circle
Suite 800
Washington, DC 20036
202.588.5180
202.588.5185 Fax
"The concerns that made investing in child care for the military a high priority - a desire for a
stable workforce and for healthy child development - apply equally outside the military. We
need the same commitment to get results in every state and for every child," said Campbell.
Be All That We Can Be provides six key lessons from the military for state and federal policy
makers:
Lesson 1: Do Not Be Daunted by the Task: It is Possible to Take a Woefully Inadequate
Child Care System and Dramatically Improve It.
The military consciously set out to, and did, build a system that links centers, family child
care homes, before- and after-school programs, and resource and referral services to assist
parents in finding care through a single point of entry.
No state has such a systemic approach, whose adoption would dramatically improve child
care across the country.
Lesson 2: Recognize and Acknowledge the Seriousness of the Child Care Problem and the
Consequences of Inaction.
Policy makers in Congress and in DoD acted to improve military child care because they
recognized the harsh consequences of poor child care on military readiness and child
welfare.
With some exceptions, policy makers at the state and federal levels have not made the
same commitment to improving civilian child care, despite the similar threat to workforce
performance and the healthy development and learning of children.
It is essential that policy makers recognize these connections and consequences and take
action.
Lesson 3: Improve Quality by Establishing and Enforcing Comprehensive Standards,
Assisting Providers in Becoming Accredited, and Enhancing Provider Compensation and
Training.
a) Develop Comprehensive, Uniform Standards, and Ensure That They Are Met Through a
System of Unannounced Inspections and Sanctions for Violations.
Basic standards - encompassing health and safety, staff/child ratios, staff training, and
other matters - have been established and rigorously enforced in all forms of military
child care. For example, the military requires and conducts four unannounced inspections
of its child care centers and family child care homes per year, and installation
commanders are routinely briefed and held accountable for inspection results at their
bases.
On the civilian side, state standards vary considerably and some programs are exempt
from any protections. No state requires four annual unannounced inspections of child
care centers and fourteen states require visits to family child care homes only once every
five years.
2
States could significantly increase the quality of care by measuring state standards against
those established by outside experts, strengthening them, and applying them to a wider
range of care, as well as by adopting the military's model of a rigorous, unannounced
inspection program with meaningful, well-publicized sanctions for non-compliance.
b) Assist Providers in Meeting Additional Voluntary Standards, Such as Those Necessary for
Outside Accreditation.
The military has provided the resources to help its child care centers meet the high
national accreditation standards of the National Association for the Education of Young
Children, addressing such concerns as staff/child interactions and developmental
activities. Ninety-five percent of military child care centers are accredited by NAEYC,
compared with just 8 percent of civilian child care centers nationwide.
Following the military's lead, states should encourage child care providers, through
grants or other incentives, to go beyond mandatory minimum licensing requirements and
to meet higher accreditation standards.
c) Increase Staff Compensation and Improve Staff Training, and Link Compensation Increases
to the Achievement of Training Milestones.
In military child care centers, caregivers receive systematic, ongoing training as well as
compensation linked to training that is comparable to that of other individuals with
similar training, seniority and experience. As a result, staff turnover has been reduced
dramatically - from over 300 percent annually at some bases before the reforms to less
than 30 percent today - and staff morale and professionalism have improved.
The civilian child care workforce lacks access to training, is poorly compensated and is
prone to high turnover rates that undermine the quality of care. Unlike the military,
thirty-one states do not require that child care workers receive any training before they
can care for children. Moreover, the average wage for a caregiver is currently $7.40 per
hour in a civilian child care center and less than $5 per hour in a civilian family child care
home - below the nearly $8 per hour entry-level wage for a military child care center
worker, who receives a raise to $10 per hour upon the successful completion of training.
States should use the military model to develop similar training and compensation
strategies.
Lesson 4: Keep Parent Fees Affordable Through Subsidies.
Parent fees in military child care centers are subject to a sliding fee schedule based on
income to ensure that personnel with the lowest incomes can afford child care; in
addition, commanders provide direct subsidies to family child care homes to help keep
parent fees reasonable. On average, fees for center-based military care are 25 percent
lower than fees paid by civilians for comparable care, even though military families
typically use center care for longer hours and for younger children (including infants)
than civilian families.
In civilian care today, a patchwork of government measures assists some families in
meeting their child care expenses, but not adequately. For example, the Child Care and
3
Development Block Grant reaches only 10 percent of children eligible under federal
guidelines. Moreover, experts recommend that low-income families above the poverty
level should be required to pay no more than 10 percent of their income for child care,
approximately what military families pay. Yet in 1999, ten states required a family of
three at 150 percent of the poverty level to pay more than 10 percent of its income in
child care co-payments to receive a subsidy; in an additional nine states, such a family
was eligible for no child care subsidy at all.
Policy makers, at both the state and federal levels, should follow the military's example
in making significant public resources available to help subsidize care for families who
cannot afford to pay the full cost of good child care.
Lesson 5: Expand the Availability of All Kinds of Care by Continually Assessing Unmet
Need and Taking Steps to Address It.
The military made a conscious decision to focus its initial efforts on the quality and cost
of care, to some extent at the expense of expanding supply. Nevertheless, the military
estimates that it is currently meeting about 58 percent of its child care need and has a
plan, with specific goals and timetables, to reach 80 percent by 2005.
No state is providing subsidized, high-quality child care to anywhere near 58 percent of
its families.
Both the federal government and the states should follow the military's model of
continually assessing need and developing specific plans to expand child care capacity.
Lesson 6: Commit the Resources Necessary to Get the Job Done.
The military could not have achieved its successes without a substantial increase in
resources. Funds appropriated for military child care have climbed dramatically in recent
years, from about $90 million before the enactment of the Military Child Care Act to
$352 million in FY 2000.
Although it is difficult to quantify the level of public investment in civilian child care
today, it is woefully inadequate to meet the need, especially for low-income families.
Both the federal government and the states should recognize, as the military has, that
increased funding for child care ultimately pays for itself in the stability of the workforce
and the healthy development of children - and increase their investments dramatically.
NWLC will work with state and federal policy makers to implement the lessons learned in Be All
That We Can Be to improve civilian child care. Established in 1972, the National Women's Law
Center conducts public policy research, advocacy, litigation and public education efforts to
protect and advance the legal rights of women and their families, with special attention given to
the concerns of low-income women. NWLC has a longstanding record of involvement in child
care and issues of concern to women in the military.
Note to reporters: To download a copy of the report or background materials, visit
www.nwlc.org or call 202-588-5180.
###
4