A new study by the University of Wisconsin
Population Health Institute shows that
a household with two children now
spends 1/4 of its income on childcare,
early childhood care in America is in crisis.
Prices are high for families.
Pay is low for childcare providers,
and waitlists are
long 13 on your side. Morning
anchor Meredith Zahard has a look at the
problem and potential solutions. The
cost of early childhood care in
Michigan is high. Very high childcare.
Is the single most expensive cost
for a family that's going to be
higher than a mortgage payment
in West Michigan cost per week
range from $130 for in home care to
$250 or more for care in a center.
And that's per child. But why?
When providers themselves are
paid so little on average between
$18,500 and 23,000 per year,
Penny Blackall has worked at
this Center for 30 years,
so if I wouldn't have a supplemental
wage with my husband could never make it.
And that means the industry loses talent.
Well, some of the college students
that work for us are naturals,
but they can't afford to live off
this and pay their student loans.
Grand Rapids Early Discovery Center
director star Morgan explains
how low pay leads to less access,
and these are teachers most of
the time teachers with bachelor's
degrees and we're paying them barely
minimum wage or a little bit higher.
Definitely not a livable wage.
We can't get teachers.
We can't staff the classrooms,
which means we can't fill the classrooms.
We have waiting lists.
I have over 100 families on our waiting list
so why not increase pay
in early education the the
operating budget about 80% is wages.
You can't increase wages
without significantly increasing
the tuition for families.
Rochelle Mckissick Harris is keenly
aware of the situation having been
on all sides of it first as a care
provider then as a center director.
Now as a mom looking for full time.
Infant care
we're seeing it from both sides.
I I understand the crisis that we're in,
but as a parent it puts
you in a crisis as well.
When you can't secure childcare and you
can't return back to work and all of
those things they they play together,
we can't have a workforce without childcare.
So what has helped?
The $1.4 billion earmarked for
childcare businesses thanks
to the American rescue plan,
which helped keep the industry afloat?
The COVID stimulus packages.
Also helped families in the form
of child care tax credits delivered
by check for several months.
They really made a difference for
our family and so if there was
any way that we could make that
sustainable if the government
could go ahead and and provide the
support that early childhood needs,
we could definitely see a turn
around in this crisis.
It's always been a crisis,
but the pandemic definitely
highlighted highlighted in more
over the last two years.
More than 11 million
people left the workforce.
Over childcare issues.
Hundreds of thousands of women
in Michigan did the same.
We need to really work together in
a bipartisan way to make sure that
beyond this influx of money that's
coming in now to help stabilize
childcare that beyond that,
we need to think about models that will work.
Vibrant futures and the GR
chamber are piloting
a Tricare model with that childcare
costs are split three ways,
1/3 covered by parents.
1/3 covered by the state and
1/3 covered by the employer.
I think employers
are willing to listen right now
and I think we also have to look
at our state and our legislature.
They're willing to listen
as well and work together,
and it's the first time in our
history where everyone is saying,
hey, we need to do something
so much hinges on care.
I think early childhood has been
made to look like daycare and
babysitting more so than it is
actually teaching our children,
educating our children.
And preparing them to go into
kindergarten into the school system.
And so I think if we can change the lens
that people are seeing early childhood,
then there might be more investment into it
with 13 on your side. I'm Meredith terhaar.