The decision of the University of Alaska Anchorage management to terminate the tenure of Tanaina Child Development Center on the campus reflects the impossible position of child care providers today. This is true not only at UAA, but in Anchorage, throughout Alaska and in the nation as a whole. As our society has evolved from the one wage earner per family model, care for young children has not achieved commensurate capacity or quality. We are undermining the abilities of young children by underfunding their earliest learning experiences.
Caring for children in groups is a challenging undertaking. The early years are the time for building the foundations of language, experience and self-control that determine each person's future. Each child develops along his/her own unique trajectory. Some need lots of stimulation and challenge, some need quiet and nurturing. Some learn language quickly, and want to sit and talk all the time. Others talk little, but need lots of vigorous outdoor play to thrive. With responsive care, children do well. Without it, their potential as learners is compromised. A loving, engaged parent with time to know each child can respond to that uniqueness. To provide this same responsiveness to four, seven or 10 children at once taxes even the most skilled and creative child care provider.
In spite of compelling research supporting the value of high-quality child care, neither government nor businesses are yet willing to subsidize the substantial cost of such care. James Heckman, Nobel-winning economist, has studied early education in detail. He estimates the annual cost of high-quality child care at over $17,000 per child, and advocates for support for early childhood as an effective long-term strategy to reduce costs to society from underperforming workers, incarceration, teen parenthood, welfare costs and costs of preventable special education. Parents of young children cannot bear the cost of quality alone. Ironically, half-measures, such as the UAA donation of space on campus to house Tanaina, are seen as progressive. Most institutions do far less.
Left to fund child care entirely through what young parents can pay, well-intentioned and hardworking managers and boards of nonprofits such as Tanaina, are faced with trying to find and retain emotionally competent and skilled workers to provide responsive care for low wages. Turnover in the field of early education is high, as able workers inevitably move to higher-paying and less demanding jobs. Under these circumstances, it is a miracle we do as well as we do.
Numbers drawn from Alaska Department of Labor statistics tell the story. The mean child care worker wage in Alaska is $11.03 per hour. High end wage for child care workers is $11.55. Comparable numbers for veterinary assistants are $12.95 and $14.17. For couriers and messengers the numbers are $16.00 and $18.73. For tire repairers and changers the numbers are $13.57 and $15.01. Couriers do not need to comfort crying clients and help them resolve disputes. Tire repairers don't have to explain how cars go. Vet techs do feed clients and clean up after bodily functions, but they don't teach new words and songs, explain why the sky is blue, nor find the right book to open a young mind to the pleasure of poetry and rhyme. Child care workers, the good ones, do all of that and more. For less money. It is no wonder they don't last long.
Early childhood programs are currently receiving considerable attention. Business Week (January 2014) reported that 15 governors, more Republicans than Democrats, included increases for early childhood programs in their 2013 budgets. Philanthropists such as Warren Buffett and George B. Kaiser have bestowed some of their fortunes to increase the quality and availability of child care in Nebraska and Oklahoma, respectively.
We are at a time in Alaska history where creativity and outside-the-box thinking are important as never before. Alaskans have historically shown themselves to be energetic and resourceful. The fiscal/political challenges facing us demand more from our leadership, our business community and our body politic than in the past. There are hopeful signs that we may rise to this challenge. As we go about solving those problems, perhaps we could also solve the dilemma of underfunded child care. We would do ourselves and our future a great benefit if we tried.
Bonny Headley has worked in child development for 35 years, the last 14 as a professor at UAA. She lives in Anchorage.
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