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The Foundation for Child Development
is pleased to present you with this copy of:
FOUNDATION
FOR CHILD
DEVELOPMENT
CHILD CARE EMPLOYMENT:
IMPLICATIONS FOR
345 EAST 46 STREET
WOMEN'S SELF-SUFFICIENCY
NEW YORK, NY
AND FOR CHILD DEVELOPMENT
10017-3562
TEL: 212-697 3150
FAX: 212-697 2258
by
MARCY WHITEBOOK AND DEBORAH PHILLIPS
AACC
I 9 0 0
2000
F C D
THE FOUNDATION FOR CHILD DEVELOPMENT
WORKING PAPER SERIES
CHILD CARE EMPLOYMENT:
IMPLICATIONS FOR
WOMEN'S SELF SUFFICIENCY
AND FOR CHILD DEVELOPMENT
MARCY WHITEBOOK AND DEBORAH PHILLIPS
WORKING PAPER SERIES
CHILD CARE EMPLOYMENT:
IMPLICATIONS FOR
WOMEN'S SELF SUFFICIENCY
AND FOR CHILD DEVELOPMENT
Marcy Whitebook, Ph.D.
Center for the Child Care Workforce
Deborah Phillips, Ph.D.
Board on Children, Youth, and Families
National Research Council/Institute of Medicine
January 1999
Foundation for Child Development
345 East 46th Street
New York, NY 10017-3562
212/697-3150
212/697-2258 (fax)
ffcd.org
ABSTRACT
Reliable child care services are widely viewed as pivotal to the success
of welfare reform, because most welfare recipients depend on child care
in order to seek, gain and maintain employment. Others of the working
poor also need it in order to avoid dependency on public assistance. As
a result, current policy decisions and research efforts are largely
focused on how to build the U.S. child care supply, but unfortunately,
they typically pay scant attention to child care employment itself as a
precarious, low-wage job sector.
Current decision making is driven by an emphasis on child care as an
essential support service for working parents, with little regard for the
fact that child care employment also involves urgent and complex
research and policy questions. Child care is one of the fastest-growing
occupations in the country, and one of the largest employers of low-
income women; it is being increasingly identified as a job opportunity for
women coming off welfare; and the poor conditions that are
characteristic of child care jobs raise serious concerns not only about
the viability of childcare employment as a living-wage job, but also about
the quality of services available to millions of children.
This document represents the opinions of the authors, not those of their
organizations or the foundation.
Also in the Working Paper Series
THE WELL-BEING OF CHILDREN
IN WORKING POOR FAMILIES
Sheila Smith, Editor
REDUCING POVERTY AMONG AMERICAN CHILDREN
THROUGH A "HELP FOR WORKING PARENTS" PROGRAM
Barbara R. Bergmann
THE WORKING POOR IN AMERICA: A BIBLIOGRAPHICAL RESOURCE
Compiled by Ricardo E. Barreras
REGULATION: AN IMPERATIVE FOR ENSURING
QUALITY CHILD CARE
Harold S. Gazan
The above working papers may be ordered directly from FCD. The last three may also be
downloaded from the FCD web site, ffcd.org.
INTRODUCTION
Proponents of the Personal Responsibility and Work
COMPELLING EVIDENCE
Opportunity Reconciliation Act of 1996 (PRWORA) argue that
EXISTS THAT MUCH
employment will lead to economic advancement (Levitan,
EMPLOYMENT,
S.; Gallo and Shapiro, 1993). Compelling evidence exists,
PARTICULARLY IN THE LOW-
however, that much employment, particularly in the low-
WAGE SERVICE SECTOR, IS
wage service sector, is itself a cause of poverty (Kim, in
ITSELF A CAUSE OF
press; Cunningham and Reed, 1995; Kasarda, 1996). In
POVERTY.
1991, some two million adults in the United States lived in
official poverty, despite the fact that they were employed full-
time throughout the year, and nearly four times that number
lived in poverty because their jobs were either part-time or
seasonal (Barreras, 1998). In 1994, about 4.5 million
children lived in two-parent families in which both parents
combined worked 35 hours or more per week, or in a single-
parent family in which the parent worked 20 or more hours
per week, but remained in official poverty (Wertheimer and
Moore, 1998).
Interest in families who labor in low-wage jobs, remain in
poverty, and find it difficult to meet their children's
developmental needs for food, housing, health care, and
quality childcare, has risen sharply in recent years, and is
THE GROWING RANKS OF
likely to persist as the ranks of the working poor swell in
THE WORKING POOR
response to the work requirements and time limits recently
REFLECT AN INCREASING
imposed by the PRWORA (Zaslow, Tout, Smith and Moore,
DEPENDENCY ON THE LOW-
1998). It is likely that many, if not most, former welfare
WAGE SERVICE SECTOR TO
recipients will find employment in entry-level jobs paying
PROVIDE CAREGIVING
minimum wage or slightly higher (Weisbrot, 1997). The
FUNCTIONS IN FOOD
growing ranks of the working poor, however, cannot solely
SERVICE, HEALTH CARE,
AND EDUCATION-RELATED
be attributed to changes in welfare policy. They also reflect
INDUSTRIES SUCH AS
an increasing polarization of wages between the wealthiest
CHILDCARE.
and poorest Americans, and an increasing dependency on
the low-wage service sector to provide caregiving functions
in food service, health care, and education-related
industries such as childcare (Kasarda, 1996; American
Psychological Association, 1998). Despite the current large-
scale effort to move former welfare recipients into the
workforce, American working poor families remain at risk
for needing public assistance (Edin and Lein, 1997;
Hartmann, Spalter-Roth, Yi and Shaw, 1997).
1
THE CHILDCARE WORKFORCE
Our particular interest is in the childcare workforce, a fast-
THE CHILD CARE
growing subgroup of the working poor (U.S. Department of
WORKFORCE IS COMPRISED
Labor, 1998). The workforce is comprised primarily (98
PRIMARILY OF WOMEN IN
percent) of women in their child-bearing years, the majority
THEIR CHILD-BEARING
of whom are mothers, often of young children. It is striking
YEARS, THE MAJORITY OF
that in the context of substantial policy attention to the
WHOM ARE MOTHERS,
working poor and numerous studies of welfare recipients'
OFTEN OF YOUNG
efforts to make the transition from dependency to
CHILDREN.
employment, no attention is being given to the hundreds of
thousands of women who labor in very low-wage jobs as
childcare providers, with an average hourly wage of $6.70.
Several million childcare workers spend their days caring
for and educating the young children of working parents.
SOME CHILD CARE
Approximately three million work in some kind of
SETTINGS ARE LEGALLY
governmentally regulated setting, whether in a childcare
EXEMPT FROM LICENSING
(ALTHOUGH MAY BE
center, a Head Start facility, a public or private school, their
own home, or the home of a child in their care. Some of
UNDERWRITTEN BY PUBLIC
FUNDS), IN WHICH CASE
these settings are legally exempt from licensing (although
LITTLE IF ANY PRE-SERVICE
may be underwritten by public funds), in which case little if
OR ONGOING WORKER
any pre-service or ongoing worker training or preparation is
TRAINING OR PREPARATION
required. Other settings may require a college degree,
IS REQUIRED.
credential or other certification. And while actual counts are
unavailable, it is estimated that at least half again as many
workers are caring for children in unregulated settings.
Childcare employment intersects every aspect of efforts to
build economically viable and healthy communities. A
CHILDCARE WORKERS NOT
skilled and stable childcare workforce is a pre-condition to
ONLY PROVIDE CRUCIAL
providing high-quality childcare services that are both
SUPPORT TO WORKING
reliable for working parents and developmentally sound and
POOR AND MARGINALLY
nurturing for children (Whitebook, Howes and Phillips, 1990).
SELF-SUFFICIENT FAMILIES,
To be truly dependable and growth-enhancing - with well-
BUT THE MAJORITY ARE
trained caregivers who remain on the job - childcare
THEMSELVES A LARGE
programs must also provide decent and sustaining
SUBGROUP OF THE
employment conditions. To the contrary, the current
WORKING POOR, WITH
childcare job market, with few exceptions, itself fuels poverty
THEIR OWN TENUOUS HOLD
(Center for the Childcare Workforce, 1998a). Childcare
ON SELF-SUFFICIENCY.
workers not only provide crucial support to working poor
and marginally self-sufficient families, but the majority are
themselves a large subgroup of the working poor, with their
own tenuous hold on self-sufficiency.
Despite increased public investment in the U.S. childcare
system during the last ten years, there is considerable
evidence that the proportion of childcare workers earning
2
poverty-level wages has increased during this period
(Kasarda, 1996), leading to problems of unstable care,
JOB CONDITIONS IN THE
under-staffing, and the strong potential for unsafe conditions
FIELD REMAIN WOEFULLY
for children (Bellm, Burton, Shukla and Whitebook, 1997).
INADEQUATE.
Job conditions in the field remain woefully inadequate:
The average center-based childcare teacher nationwide
earns roughly $6.70 an hour, despite above-
average levels of education (Whitebook, et al., 1990).
CHILDCARE WORKERS EARN
Roughly one-third of teachers are paid the minimum wage
POVERTY-LEVEL SALARIES,
(Whitebook, et al., 1990). More than two-thirds of full-time
DESPITE ABOVE-AVERAGE
childcare workers have annual earnings below the poverty
LEVELS OF EDUCATION.
threshold, the highest concentration of poverty-wage
workers in any industry (Kasarda, 1996). Even those at the
highest end of the pay scale, who are likely to have a BA
degree and several years of experience, earn on average
less than $20,000 a year (Whitebook, Howes, and Phillips,
1998). Family childcare providers, who care for small
groups of children in their own homes, earn even lower
wages: those who are subject to licensing or other forms of
regulation earn between $8,344 and $10,000 per year after
expenses, and non-regulated providers earn only $5, 132
(Helburn and Haines, 1996; Burton, Whitebook, Sakai,
Babula and Haack, 1994). Providers can work very long
hours, often 50 or more per week with children as well as
several hours shopping, cleaning, preparing activities, etc.
Further, to earn even this modest level of income, providers
generally need to maintain high enrollments, and often
make costly renovations to their homes to make them safe
and appropriate for group childcare.
POOR AND MINORITY WOMEN
Childcare is a relatively easy field of employment for
ARE DISPROPORTIONATELY
anyone to enter. But because of unequal access to
REPRESENTED AT ENTRY-
training, education and other avenues of career advance-
LEVEL JOBS.
ment, poor and minority women tend to remain dispropor-
tionately at the entry-level, lowest-paid childcare jobs
(National Black Child Development Institute, 1993).
Despite workers' high exposure to illness and physical
strain on the job, fewer than one-third of childcare
centers provide fully-paid health insurance. Many more
centers offer partial coverage; however, anecdotal reports
suggest that teaching staff frequently do not utilize partially-
paid benefits due to their inability to afford the premiums, a
phenomenon that is common across industries (Ginsburg,
Gobel, and Hunt, 1998). Even fewer offer a pension plan. (In
seeking access to health insurance and other benefits,
family childcare providers fare even worse.) Many center-
based childcare staff are expected to work without breaks,
3
CHILDCARE WORKERS HAVE
and often for extra hours without pay. Fewer than four
FEW BENEFITS.
percent have a union contract. Ironically, too, childcare
workers rarely receive assistance with their own childcare
needs, and many find it unaffordable to purchase the care
that their own programs offer.
Roughly one-third of the nation's childcare workforce
leave the job each year - most often, to earn a better
HIGH TURNOVER
living elsewhere. At such a rate of turnover, the shortage of
CHARACTERIZES THE
trained and qualified workers has become a national
WORKFORCE.
staffing crisis (Whitebook and Bellm, 1999). Those who do
remain on the job share the extra burden of constantly
training new co-workers, and the quality of services that
children and parents receive continues to decline
dangerously.
PATTERNS OF WORK
CHILDCARE WORKERS VARY
The similarities among childcare workers in terms of wages,
CONSIDERABLY IN THEIR
working conditions, and status belie the tremendous
PATTERNS OF WORK AND IN
diversity that characterizes the workforce with respect to job
WHETHER THEIR
settings, family economic status, education, ethnic and
EMPLOYMENT IS COMBINED
linguistic backgrounds, and pathways into the occupation.
OR INTERSPERSED WITH
Like other members of working poor families, childcare
RELIANCE ON PUBLIC
workers vary considerably in their patterns of work and in
ASSISTANCE.
whether their employment is combined or interspersed with
reliance on public assistance (Spalter-Roth, Burr, Hartmann,
Shaw, Braunstein and Dennis, 1995). Some are heads of
households working full-time, year-round in low-wage jobs
that fail to lift their families out of poverty. In other cases,
work is highly intermittent, or low-wage jobs are held by
multiple family members in order to increase family income.
Just as working poor families are clearly a very diverse
group, childcare workers also represent a wide variety of
work patterns, family structures, and household incomes.
HOUSEHOLD FINANCIAL RESPONSIBILITY
At the time of the original National Childcare Staffing Study
SINGLE CENTER-BASED
in 1989 (Whitebook, et al., 1990), there were large
TEACHERS SELDOM
differences among members of the childcare workforce
ACHIEVE SELF-SUFFICIENCY
regarding levels of financial responsibility for their
FOR THEMSELVES OR THEIR
households. While the composition of the workforce has
CHILDREN.
shifted since then, as we discuss below, we found at that
time that nearly half of center-based teachers were married
or living with a partner, and approximately one-fourth of
them were living in households with incomes above the
median. In stark contrast, single center-based teachers
seldom achieved self-sufficiency for themselves or their
4
children. On average, married staff with children were
responsible for 20 percent of the household income,
compared with 35 percent for those married without
children, while the earnings of single parents made up 74
percent of household income.
INCOME VARIATION
In data from the early 1990s, approximately three-fourths of
AMONG HOME-BASED
home-based providers were found to be married or living
PROVIDERS, CONSIDERABLE
with a partner; 40 percent lived in households with annual
VARIATION IN HOUSEHOLD
incomes below $20,000; one-third in households with annual
INCOME WAS FOUND TO
incomes ranging from $20,000 to $40,000; and one-quarter in
EXIST DEPENDING ON
households with annual incomes over $40,000. Even among
WHETHER THEY WERE
home-based providers, considerable variation was found to
REGULATED OR
NONREGULATED, AND/OR
exist depending on whether they were regulated or
nonregulated, and/or whether they were relatives of the
WHETHER THEY WERE
RELATIVES OF THE
children receiving care. In the latter case, nearly two-thirds
lived in households with annual incomes of less than
CHILDREN RECEIVING CARE.
$20,000, compared to one-quarter for those who provided
regulated care (Kontos, Howes, Shinn and Galinsky, 1995).
EFFECTS ON CHILDREN
While there is some research evidence that low-wage
ALTHOUGH CHILDCARE
childcare jobs have a negative effect on children using
WORK DOES PERMIT
these services, there are no data on the impact of childcare
AUTONOMY AND
employment on the many children of childcare workers
OPPORTUNITIES FOR
themselves, even though current policy efforts may swell the
PROBLEM SOLVING IN SOME
childcare workforce with former welfare recipients who are
SETTINGS, THESE BENEFITS
typically mothers of young children (Zaslow and Emig, 1997;
MAY NOT OFFSET THE LOW
Moore, Zaslow and Driscoll, 1996). The existing research on
WAGES AND NONSTANDARD
maternal employment is primarily focused on middle-
WORK HOURS THAT
income families. When low-income families are studied
CHARACTERIZE MANY OF
separately, the results are fairly consistent in showing that
THE NEW CHILDCARE
children are not hurt by and often benefit from maternal
EMPLOYMENT
employment, in particular with regard to cognitive outcomes
OPPORTUNITIES.
(Allesandri, 1992; McLoyd, Jayaratne, Ceballa and Borquez,
1994; Moore and Driscoll, 1997; Vandell and Ramanan, 1992;
Zaslow and Emig, 1997). More recently, investigators have
explored how the circumstances of work (e.g., wages, hours
and working conditions) mediate the effects of maternal
employment on children in low-income families (Menaghan
and Parcel, 1995; Parcel and Menaghan, 1994). This
literature has documented the negative effects on children's
home environments of low-wage jobs that are low in
"occupational complexity" - defined as jobs with highly
routinized work, few opportunities for problem solving and
little autonomy (Menaghan and Parcel, 1995). Negative
5
effects on the home environments of jobs that require non-
standard work hours have also been found (Heymann and
Earle, 1996). Although childcare work does permit
autonomy and opportunities for problem solving in some
settings (Bloom, 1996; Whitebook et al, 1990), these benefits
may not offset the low wages and non-standard work hours
that characterize many of the entry-level childcare
employment opportunities.
ETHNIC AND LINGUISTIC BACKGROUND
The ethnic and linguistic background of childcare workers
also reflects tremendous diversity. A study of 432 childcare
centers in California found that 50 percent of the centers
employed staff from multiple ethnic groups, and nearly one-
WITHIN CHILDCARE
third (31 percent) employed staff from two ethnic groups
PROGRAMS, WOMEN OF
COLOR ARE
(Phillips and Crowell, 1994; Chang and Sakai, 1993). One-
DISPROPORTIONATELY IN
third of the staff in the National Childcare Staffing Study
ENTRY-LEVEL POSITIONS.
were women of color (Whitebook, et al., 1990). Within
childcare programs, women of color are disproportionately
in entry-level positions, although in certain sectors of center-
based care, a far greater percentage of staff are women of
color, often employed in the better-paying childcare jobs.
The San Francisco Unified School District, for example,
pays the highest wages in the city, and two-thirds of the staff
are people of color (Childcare Law Center, 1995). Among
home-based providers, there is a higher concentration of
women of color among relatives and unregulated caregivers
than among those who are regulated. For example, a
recent study found 71 percent of regulated providers were
Caucasian, in contrast to 59 percent of non-regulated and
28 percent of relative caregivers (Kontos, et al., 1995).
EDUCATIONAL BACKGROUND
Similarly, tremendous diversity among members of the
childcare workforce exists with respect to educational
DEPENDING ON WHETHER
background. Among home-based providers, approximately
PROVIDERS ARE
one-quarter have not completed high school, yet nearly 20
REGULATED OR
percent have completed college or more (Kontos, et al.,
NONREGULATED, AND/OR
1995). Again, depending on whether providers are
ARE RELATIVES PROVIDING
regulated or non-regulated, and/or are relatives providing
CARE, THE DISTRIBUTION
care, the distribution of educational level shifts dramatically.
OF EDUCATIONAL LEVEL
Only six percent of relatives providing childcare have
SHIFTS DRAMATICALLY.
completed college and nearly half have not completed high
school. In contrast, one-quarter of regulated providers have
completed college or more, and only 22 percent have not
completed high school. More than one-half of the assistant
teachers and nearly three-quarters of the teachers in the
6
National Childcare Staffing Study had some college
background (Whitebook, et al., 1990).
MOTIVATIONS FOR ENTERING THE FIELD
Given the diversity of the childcare workforce, it is not
surprising that members come to the work for a variety of
ONLY 3 PERCENT
reasons and via different pathways. To date, we know little
PROVIDING HOME-BASED
about their motivations for entering the field. The most
CARE STATED THAT WANTING
comprehensive examination of this question is for home-
TO WORK WITH CHILDREN
based care, and the data were collected prior to the
WAS THEIR PRIMARY
changes in childcare funding resulting from welfare reform
REASON FOR PURSUING
(Kontos, et al., 1995). Nearly half of the participants in that
THIS OCCUPATION.
study claimed that staying home with their own children was
the primary motivation. One-fifth decided to become
providers to help the mothers of the children in their care,
but interestingly, only 13 percent stated that wanting to work
with children was their primary reason for pursuing this
occupation.
OVER TWO-THIRDS OF
Again, differences emerged depending on the sector of care
REGULATED PROVIDERS
in which providers worked. Nearly two-thirds of regulated
STATED THAT CHILDCARE
providers stated that staying home with their children was
WAS THEIR CHOSEN
their primary reason for becoming a provider, in contrast to
OCCUPATION.
only 22 percent of relative caregivers. As might be
expected, nearly 60 percent of relative caregivers stated
that their main reason was the desire to help the mothers of
the children in their care. Over two-thirds of regulated
providers stated that childcare was their chosen occupation,
in contrast to 43 percent of non-regulated and 23 percent of
relative caregivers.
WORK ENVIRONMENT
Despite the rather bleak picture of childcare as a proverty-
level occupation, it is important to recognize that childcare
FOR WOMEN COMING OFF
employment can and does provide living wages and lifelong
WELFARE, DIFFERENT
career opportunities for a small segment of the workforce.
OPTIONS REPRESENT VERY
Yet we only partially understand the circumstances that
DIFFERENT WORKING
allow some workers to access and keep such childcare
CONDITIONS, WAGES,
jobs. We know, for example, that the childcare work
BENEFITS, AND LONG-TERM
environment itself has a great deal to do with the quality of
PROSPECTS FOR
childcare employment. But we know little about how
SUSTAINABLE EMPLOYMENT.
childcare providers' education and employment histories,
and the families in which they live, influence the sector of the
childcare industry in which they become employed, or their
long-term prospects in the field. Women in similar
economic circumstances may find employment caring for
7
children in their homes or in center-based care. For women
coming off welfare, these different options represent very
different working conditions, wages, benefits, and long-term
prospects for sustainable employment. Within each sector,
there is also considerable variation in job conditions
(Layzer, 1993).
For example, the prospects for women working in Head
Start or public school programs can be notably more
THE PROSPECTS FOR
promising than employment in private childcare. The 1998
WOMEN WORKING IN HEAD
National Childcare Staffing Study update found that centers
START OR PUBLIC SCHOOL
employing Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF)
PROGRAMS ARE NOTABLY
recipients were more likely to pay lower wages across all
MORE PROMISING THAN
positions and to experience higher teaching staff turnover
EMPLOYMENT IN PRIVATE
(Whitebook, et al., 1998). Fewer than 20 percent of the
CHILDCARE.
programs currently offered TANF recipients college-credit-
bearing training, which is always required by better-paying
childcare jobs that offer the best hope of achieving
economic independence; most paid only slightly higher than
minimum wage.
By contrast, employment in Head Start, which has been and
EMPLOYMENT IN HEAD
continues to be α pathway into the workforce for many
START, WHICH HAS BEEN
welfare recipients, emphasizes ongoing professional
AND CONTINUES TO BE A
development and opportunities for college-based training
PATHWAY INTO THE
(Whitebook and Gaidurjis, 1995). In most cases, despite low
WORKFORCE FOR MANY
salaries, Head Start jobs provide health and retirement
WELFARE RECIPIENTS,
benefits that are typically unavailable in private childcare
GUARANTEES ONGOING
settings, and while many Head Start programs lament the
PROFESSIONAL
fact that their teachers, once trained, often move on, they
DEVELOPMENT AND
typically access public school-based programs that offer
OPPORTUNITIES FOR
higher wages than Head Start programs. In California, for
COLLEGE-BASED TRAINING.
example, assistant teachers in public school settings with a
few college courses earn more than teachers in private
childcare with Bachelor's degrees (Whitebook and Burton,
1996).
Within home-based care, incomes vary depending on
clients' income. Family childcare providers in middle- to
high-income neighborhoods can earn substantially more
than those offering services to working-class or poor
families. Furthermore, providers who are part of a network
typically have access to better benefits and training
opportunities (Kontos, et al., 1995).
ECONOMIC EQUITY
To the extent that policy makers consider childcare
employment for welfare recipients, they do SO with little
8
concern about issues of economic equity. While there is a
great deal of interest in building the childcare system to
meet the increasing demand for services, there is a dearth
of attention to the quality of the jobs being created.
Ironically, childcare jobs and services are seen as essential
to the success of welfare reform, even though childcare
employment is highly unlikely to offer a livelihood that can
sustain a single adult, let alone her children.
Over half of the states are currently operating programs
specifically targeted to creating childcare employment for
FOR MORE EXPERIENCED
TANF recipients (Center for the Childcare Workforce,
AND TRAINED TEACHERS
1998b). As currently designed, the majority of these
AND PROVIDERS, AN INFLUX
programs place limited emphasis on skills training and
OF UNTRAINED, ENTRY-
education and are thus unlikely to prepare participants for
LEVEL WORKERS COMING
the small number of better-paying childcare jobs, which
OFF THE WELFARE ROLLS
require college course work and degrees (Bloom, 1997;
IS LIKELY TO DRIVE WAGES
Roberts and Padde, 1998). And for more experienced and
DOWN FURTHER AND
REDUCE OPPORTUNITIES
trained teachers and providers, such an influx of untrained,
FOR ADVANCEMENT.
entry-level workers coming off the welfare rolls is likely to
drive wages down and reduce opportunities for
advancement even further (Weisbrot, 1997).
SHORTAGES OF QUALIFIED TEACHERS
A serious teacher shortage in many elementary school
districts is creating new incentives for the best-trained, most
MANY DIRECTORS REPORT
experienced childcare workers to leave the field for better-
HIRING TEACHERS THEY
paying careers. In California and other states, recent class-
WOULD HAVE PREVIOUSLY
size reductions in the early primary grades have greatly
CONSIDERED AS
increased opportunities for well-trained childcare teachers
UNQUALIFIED.
and family childcare providers to obtain better-paying
elementary teaching jobs. Reports from the field are now
proliferating of the severe difficulty that childcare programs
are having in recruiting and hiring qualified replacement
staff; many directors report hiring teachers they would have
previously considered as unqualified (Whitebook, et al.,
1998). In 1998, Congress passed a similar class-size
reduction policy nationwide.
IMPACT OF POOR EMPLOYMENT CONDITIONS
To date, investments in childcare employment, though
limited, have most often been motivated by the desire to
improve the quality of services for children, while only
secondarily providing better opportunities for advancement
for low-income teachers and providers (Bellm, et al., 1997).
In reality, these two goals should be closely linked, since
high turnover and low compensation among caregivers
9
POOR CHILDCARE EMPLOY-
have been shown to have direct and harmful effects on the
MENT CONDITIONS HAVE A
quality of care children receive, and on children's ability to
DOUBLY NEGATIVE IMPACT,
socialize and learn. Research has also shown that poor
AFFECTING NOT ONLY
children are more vulnerable than others to low-quality
CHILDCARE WORKERS
childcare, and that they benefit more than others from
THEMSELVES (AT LEAST
better-quality care (Whitebook, et al., 1990; Whitebook,
HALF OF WHOM HAVE
Phillips and Howes, 1993; Helburn, 1995). Poor childcare
CHILDREN OF THEIR OWN),
employment conditions, therefore, have a doubly negative
BUT WITH BROADER
impact, affecting not only childcare workers themselves (at
CONSEQUENCES FOR THE
least half of whom have children of their own), but with
EDUCATIONAL AND
broader consequences for the educational and economic
ECONOMIC WELL-BEING OF
well-being of the children, families and communities that
THE CHILDREN, FAMILIES
childcare programs serve.
AND COMMUNITIES THAT
CHILDCARE PROGRAMS
CONCLUSION
SERVE.
To the extent that public policy efforts and private
investments have focused on the childcare workforce, they
PUBLIC POLICY EFFORTS
have emphasized training and professional development
AND PRIVATE INVESTMENTS
programs, with fewer voices addressing the need for
HAVE EMPHASIZED TRAINING
improved compensation to stabilize this workforce. In 1998
AND PROFESSIONAL
alone, however, the severity of the shortage of qualified
DEVELOPMENT PROGRAMS,
early childhood teachers has prompted Congress to fund
WITH FEWER VOICES
increases in salaries for Head Start workers, and there have
ADDRESSING THE NEED FOR
been numerous actions at the state level. The California
IMPROVED COMPENSATION
legislature, for example, passed a bill (later vetoed by the
TO STABILIZE THIS
Governor) that would have provided stipends of up to $6,000
WORKFORCE.
per year to retain trained teachers and providers in the
childcare system. Several states have trained teachers and
providers in the childcare system. Several states have
implemented T.E.A.C.H., a program providing scholarships
and bonuses to early childhood workers who complete
college-level training. At this point, however, these efforts
have touched only a small segment of the workforce.
Overall, unfortunately, the current atmosphere of
THE MASSIVE EFFORTS TO
desperation - not only to move TANF recipients into the
REFORM THE U.S. WELFARE
workforce, but to find a sufficient number of childcare
SYSTEM AND TO EXPAND
workers to staff new and expanding programs - is coming
CHILDCARE SERVICES ARE
into serious conflict with common sense, as programs are
UNLIKELY TO SUCCEED
being developed and childcare hiring decisions being made
UNLESS WE COME TO A
that run counter to the goals of employing promising
CLEARER UNDERSTANDING
candidates, ensuring economically viable jobs, and
OF HOW CHILD CARE JOBS
providing reliable, developmentally sound services for
CAN BEST OFFER
working parents and their children. The massive efforts to
ECONOMIC SECURITY FOR
WORKERS AND STABLE,
reform the U.S. welfare system and to expand childcare
HIGH QUALITY EXPERIENCES
services are unlikely to succeed unless we come to a
FOR CHILDREN.
clearer understanding of how child-care jobs can best offer
10
economic security for workers and stable, high quality
experiences for all children.
11
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