This week marks the 50th annual Week of the Young Child. This celebration acknowledges the importance of children’s early experience for healthy development and recognizes the critical work early childhood educators and caregivers provide in supporting children and families.
This year also marks the 50th anniversary of the Comprehensive Child Development Bill of 1971. This legislation passed the House and Senate with bipartisan support before, ultimately, being vetoed by President Richard Nixon.
The goal of the legislation was economic development with a focus on supporting working families by creating a nationwide system of high-quality, affordable childcare. The legislation set childcare quality expectations and reduced the cost of care for families by implementing a sliding fee scale to ensure that every family who needed childcare could afford it.
While the Nixon administration had been influential in developing the legislation, organizations concerned about the women’s rights movement in the 1970s expressed opposition to the legislation. As a result of this opposition, Nixon vetoed the bill and families were again left with little support for finding affordable, high-quality childcare.
A report compiled by Child Care Aware in 2020 shows that over half of Utah children under age six have all available parents in the workforce. The average dual income Utah family can expect to pay around 10% of their annual income for infant or toddler care. Many families with more than one child in childcare may pay more for childcare than for housing. Even with the high cost of, the average childcare provider in Utah earns $10.26 per hour, resulting in many families of childcare workers falling below federal poverty level.
Both Presidents Trump and Biden emphasized the need to increase the availability and affordability of childcare as a key component for building the economy. Both presidents pushed for emergency funding to mitigate the economic challenges faced by childcare providers resulting from the COVID-19 pandemic.
As our country emerges from the economic challenges posed by the pandemic, we have a great opportunity to move beyond simply shoring up a system that has been historically under-funded by investing in the economic infrastructure needed to support working families and professionals within the childcare field for the long term.
On the state and local level, businesses continue to recognize the economic value of supporting employees through on-site childcare or through assisting workers in securing affordable high-quality childcare. Tax incentives to businesses can strengthen options for families while encouraging businesses to be aware of the role childcare plays in staff well-being.
Communities are recognizing the role childcare plays as part of local economic infrastructure and can encourage economic growth by offering incentives to encourage the establishment of high-quality childcare programs in their communities. Education and professional development programs are available to increase the knowledge and skills of people already in the childcare field, and a growing number of professional preparation programs are being offered by higher education institutions to increase the training and professionalism of people entering the field.
Finally, subsidies to families and programs can assist in the affordability of childcare for families as well as to increase the compensation received by childcare professionals.
As we celebrate the Week of the Young Child this week, please take time to recognize the critical role early care and education plays in our society and support measures to benefit the childcare workers and early childhood educators who serve tirelessly to provide safe, healthy, and enriching care and learning for our children.
Jared Lisonbee is the president of the Utah Association for the Education of Young Children, the state affiliate of the National Association for the Education of Young Children which is the sponsor of the Week of the Young Child and is the largest professional organization for early childhood education and care professionals.
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