Article Link: http://exchangepress.com/article/reflecting-on-the-past-25-years-of-for-profit-child-care/5020317/
For 25 years, Exchange has been tracking developments in the for profit child care sector. With this report, we have asked CEOs of organizations in the Exchange Top 50 (see page 19) to reflect on what have been the most significant developments in this sector over these 25 years. Here is what they told us:Acceptance of For Profit Programs as Valued Providers of Services
When Exchange started researching reports on the various sectors in the field, for profit child care was widely disparaged. Gail Johnson of Rainbow Station, reports, “In 1989 . . . I entered as a for profit company and felt immediately ostracized by early educators. . . . I applied for grants and was refused. . . . I was made to feel that I was stealing food from the mouths
of mothers and children by looking for a ‘profit.’”
Over time, views changed, and Johnson and others have observed that for profit providers are now regarded as full partners in the field. Peter Maslin, CEO of KinderCare Learning Centers, observed that a watershed development occurred in 2003 when the Child and Adult Care Food Program was extended to include for profit providers when 255 of their children ...