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This is so incredibly sad. I am so glad that I live in New Zealand and that our Government is committed to regulating our Early Childhoid sector. Sometime I complain about the compliance requirements and the associated documentation . Next time I am sitting down to complete compliance requirements I am going to think about these families. I am so glad that in New Zealand we have a strong focus on qualifications.

When reading this article I was filled with sadness and rage. This situation tragically is the result of inconsistent licensing standards, non systemic investment in early childhood, and the absence of a set of national standards that could be linked to existing quality rating and improvement systems. Looking at the investment that was made in the 1990s in improving the military child care system, similar investments need to be made in the existing child care system. No longer can the nation afford the apathy that is currently present. If we care about equal opportunity and are advocates for all children then the improvement in our existing child care programs cannot be left to individual states or individual owners and operators. Real change means real investment. Real change means having well trained and educated professionals who are compensated with a livable wage and whose program must meet national standards that go above and beyond minimum licensing standards. This tragedy, and many like it must be addressed systemically, not haphazardly with a bandaid approach.

The system has already been created in Head Start and the Military Child Care Model. What prevents us from implementing these systems more broadly? If money is the answer, then perhaps a reflection on the cost of doing nothing needs to be investigated.

In the 49 years I have been in the field (both private and non-profit center director, Head Start teacher, manager of 4 agency centers, state licensing of centers and homes, childcare food program manager, resource and referral and family childcare network manager) this article reflects the reality of our field. The level of quality is perhaps now at the lower end of the quality continuum, as quality generally flunctuates with the state of the economy.

The truth is that high quality child care (professionally trained teachers/low staff ratios and strong parent involvement) is expensive. If the State per child cost of 1 year of public school (9 months/ 6 or so hours per day/24-30 children per class) is $6,000 (Colorado's current cost) then 12 months of care for 10-12 hours per day, with a ratio of 1:4 for infants up to 1:10 for preschoolers is going to cost much more if staff is paid a professional salary. This is much more than most families can afford to pay, especially if they have more than one child in care.

So what part of this picture needs to change in order to make childcare affordable for parents /taxpayers?

What if public policy changed the work week (as was done after WWII when the 40 hour work week was established) to make the standard work day 6 hours per week for employees, with most workplaces open for two shifts per day, say 6-6? The benefits would be as follows

PARENTS
1. Reduce childcare cost by reducing hours of care to 6 hours
2. Parents each get 1:1 time with the child and have more family time
3. Pay remains the same since work is done more efficiently due to technology

EMPLOYERS
1. Business is open longer hours to accommodate more customers
2. Employees are more productive because stress level is reduced

PUBLIC
1. Businesses are open longer hours
2. Traffic congestion is reduced since work travel is divided

CHILDCARE PROVIDERS
1. Work hours are reasonable
2. Three hours of class, lunch time and nap time is an ideal schedule for young children.
3. Higher hourly income possible because parents can afford more per hour if less care is needed

CHILDREN
1. Have 1:1 time with each parent + more family time
2. Ideal hours for good programming
3. Do not have to be rushed in the morning

Sound impossible? It depends on our values. If we really want to provide quality care, reduce stress on parents, have women be equal contributors in the workplace, and are willing to reduce our societal materialism, might this be one way to do it?

I am hoping that New Republic does an article about the wonderful family child care providers across the country and not pigeon-hole family child care as sub-standard. I worked with family child care providers as a Head Start Child Development Coordinator for Puget Sound Educational Service District. They contracted with PSESD to provide Head Start services through their programs. Their child care environments are warm, inviting and comfortable. All of these women have either a B.A. in early childhood or a C.D.A. and provide lovely learning experiences for young children.

I think that all states should have the same standard for caregivers. Everyone should be trained in child development and infant/toddler care. If they do not have a college degree they should be required to complete a certain number of training hours before they open a child care program and should be required to continue trainings during the year by taking workshops monthly. too many of our children get to kindergarten and lacks the social/emotional school readiness.
I have created a blog that gives age appropriate tips for caregivers www.sabreeharlemparents.blogspot.com You should take a look and share it with your contacts. I have written several articles discussing the need for quality infant/toddler care .Training is an essential part of quality however, many administrators do not understand that.