JOBS, EDUCATION AND THE WORKFORCE

SUPPORT FOR QUALITY CHILD CARE AND EARLY EDUCATION

WHEREAS, the importance of quality child care and early education has been a recent focus at the national, state and local level; and

WHEREAS, recent brain development research confirms the impact of early experience on adult capabilities and lifetime success, with participants of quality care programs showing healthy social and emotional development into adulthood; and

WHEREAS, quality early experiences lead to increased civic participation, school success, public safety, family and child health, and self-sufficiency; and

WHEREAS, care of poor quality does not provide the purposeful stimulation necessary to develop cognitive skills, and a 1995 General Accounting Office study found that 59 percent of low-income children attend early childhood centers that fail to provide the full range of child development, health, and parent services needed to support school readiness; and

WHEREAS, such quality care and education programs are not only necessary for human development, but are an important economic development tool for local governments that help provide a higher quality workforce and aid in attracting businesses and homeowners; and

WHEREAS, the national Perry Pre-School Study determined that for every dollar invested in high quality pre-school programs, seven dollars are saved in remedial schooling, criminal justice, and welfare spent as the child matures; and

WHEREAS, the 10 million children whose parents work low-income jobs, often with non-traditional hours, are being joined by other children whose parents are rejoining the workforce because of welfare reform, which has created an atmosphere that could compromise the primary parental obligation of safe, reliable, quality care; and

WHEREAS, even with the increased funding provided by the Personal Responsibility and Work Opportunity Reconciliation Act to the Child Care Development Block Grant, the program is able to serve only one in 10 eligible families needing child care; and

WHEREAS, female labor force participation will hit a record high in the year 2000, when an estimated 70 percent of women with pre-school age children will be working and in need of child care; and

WHEREAS, recent turnover rates in the ranks of the approximately three million child care teachers, assistants and family care providers have topped 40 percent annually due to the low level of pay experienced by most workers, which discourages continuity; and

WHEREAS, a recent report by the Center for the Child Care Work Force showed that child care workers receive a median hourly wage of $6.12, less than that paid to parking lot attendants and animal caretakers, and that child care workers receive little training and tend to have a high turn-over rate; and

WHEREAS, the current dependent care tax credit provides important assistance to middle and upper income families but is unavailable to low income working families who do not pay taxes because it is not refundable,

NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED that The U.S. Conference of Mayors strongly urges the President and Congress to establish and enforce minimum quality standards for licensed child care providers based on the four overarching hallmarks of quality child care as stated by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services’ Child Care Bureau:

• a safe and health learning environment for each individual child;
• parent involvement;
• training and support for care providers;
• continuity of care, and

BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that The U.S. Conference of Mayors urges Congress to pass legislation that would increase significantly the availability of affordable, quality child care to families, with additional resources targeted in particular to lower income families; and

BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that The U.S. Conference of Mayors urges Congress to include in any child care legislation passed funding that could be used for the construction or renovation of child care facilities; and

BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that The U.S. Conference of Mayors urges Congress to include in any child care legislation passed funding that could be used to increase the salaries of child care workers and provide them training; and

BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that The U.S. Conference of Mayors urges Congress to make the dependent care tax credit refundable so that it can provide the same help to low income families that it currently provides to middle and upper income families; and

BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that The U.S. Conference of Mayors urges all its members to play a more active role in making early education more accessible and affordable so that by age four, every child, regardless of economic circumstances, has a pre-K experience; and

BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that The U.S. Conference of Mayors urges all its members to encourage school-based programs to better utilize our schools and to strengthen both our schools and the link between families and schools; and

BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that The U.S. Conference of Mayors calls upon the federal and state governments to provide more financial support for parents who do not otherwise have the means to provide their child or children with a quality pre-K experience.