{"id":451334,"date":"2024-12-18T15:27:15","date_gmt":"2024-12-18T23:27:15","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/calmatters.org\/?p=451334"},"modified":"2024-12-18T15:40:11","modified_gmt":"2024-12-18T23:40:11","slug":"california-child-care-low-wages","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/calmatters.org\/_zh\/california-divide\/2024\/12\/california-child-care-low-wages\/","title":{"rendered":"Inland Empire child care workers do vital job but rarely earn good wages"},"content":{"rendered":"
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Child care’s expense is linked to a lack of supply, which is linked to a lack of workers, which is linked to low pay and poor benefits in the industry, panelists said.<\/p>\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\n\t\t\n

On a typical day, childcare workers play with children, read books, prepare meals, change diapers, supervise art projects, introduce vocabulary, monitor children\u2019s emotional and developmental progress, plan curricula and keep records.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

For these tasks, childcare workers in the Inland Empire earn a median rate of $18.55 per hour, or about $38,000 per year for a full-time position, according to the California Economic Development Department. By comparison, public school teachers earned an average of $95,160 in 2022-23, the California Department of Education reported.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Given the complexity of the job and its importance to families, childcare workers should be recognized and paid as teachers, advocates argued at a Z\u00f3calo Public Square forum in Redlands earlier this month. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cChildcare is early education,\u201d said Maisha Cole, executive director of the Berkeley-based Child Care Law Center. \u201cSo all childcare work should be seen as a profession.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The forum asked \u201cWhat is a Good Job Now?\u201d in childcare. The answers weren\u2019t surprising: fair pay, decent benefits and recognition of the work.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cThere are sectors of childcare where there are no benefits,\u201d said Lisa Wilkin, executive director of the Child Development Consortium of Los Angeles. \u201cThere\u2019s no time off. The wages are low. The working conditions are challenging \u2026 It\u2019s such hard work for so little reward.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

But low wages for caregivers doesn\u2019t translate into low rates for parents. Parents in California pay an average of $16,000 per year for home-based infant care and $19,500 per year at daycare centers, according to the First Five Years Fund.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Inadequate childcare causes workers to miss shifts and leads many women to cut back work hours or leave their jobs entirely.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

High quality childcare is not only expensive, but it’s unavailable to many families. There aren\u2019t enough spaces for kids who need care. Speakers said training more workers won\u2019t help unless there are stable, well-paid jobs for them.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cIt\u2019s not a workforce shortage; it\u2019s a shortage of good-paying jobs,\u201d said Ai-jen Poo, president of the National Domestic Workers Alliance. \u201cUntil we raise the wages and offer better conditions \u2026 no amount of training will help.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

To ensure good jobs and affordable childcare there needs to be public investment in the system, much as there is for K-12 and higher education, speakers argued.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cChildcare doesn\u2019t have a dedicated funding source,\u201d Cole said. \u201cK-12 and colleges get money from the state, whereas childcare has to fight every year to keep funding or increase funding.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Why isn\u2019t childcare a higher priority? Speakers said lack of information about early childhood development plays a part. When people see kids playing with blocks, they may not know the children are developing spatial abilities, math knowledge and social skills, for example.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cA lot of times we don\u2019t do a good job of communicating what they\u2019re learning while they\u2019re playing,\u201d Wilkin said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Childcare providers need to tell their stories to elected officials, from mayors and city councils to state lawmakers and Congress members, speakers said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cThe more calls, the more memorable the stories are, the more this gets prioritized,\u201d Poo said, adding that paying living wages for childcare jobs is a \u201ctriple dignity investment, about the dignity of the worker, children and parents.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\t\n\t\t

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\n\t\t\t\t\tmore on child care<\/span>\n\t\t\t\t<\/h2>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\n\t
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California child care providers demand raises from Gov. Newsom as budget deadline looms<\/a><\/h3>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t
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\u2018I\u2019m already stressing out\u2019: Families to face bigger bills for subsidized child care as California ends waivers<\/a><\/h3>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t
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