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Infant Toddler Child Care in America: Three Perspectives Carol Brunson Day cday@nbcdi.org. Program for Infant Toddler Care Celebrating Twenty Years San Francisco Marriott Hotel October 5, 2006. Predictions for the next ten years.
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Infant Toddler Child Care in America: Three PerspectivesCarol Brunson Daycday@nbcdi.org Program for Infant Toddler Care Celebrating Twenty Years San Francisco Marriott Hotel October 5, 2006
Predictions for the next ten years • Increase in the number of women of childbearing age in the labor force (between ages 15 to 44) • Increase in the number of children under 5 years of age • Decline in the in the proportion of children being cared for exclusively by parents or other relatives • Increase in cultural and linguistic diversity among the child population in the U.S.
Child Care Worker – Workforce Profile • Required training and qualifications vary widely. • Surveys show 80% have some college, but details are unknown about percentages holding college degrees or formal credentials issued by the profession. • Large numbers of workers leave these jobs every year. • Although the pay generally is very low, more education usually means higher earnings.
U.S. Department of Labor Child Care Workers – Attend to children at schools, businesses, private households, and child care institutions. Perform a variety of tasks, such as dressing, feeding, bathing, and overseeing play. Exclude “Preschool Teachers” (25-2011) and “Teacher Assistants” (25-9041). • Mean hourly wage of $8.74 and a mean annual wage of $18,180.Workers earning the highest wages (in the 90th percentile) earn $26,190 ($12.59 an hour). • Workers earning the lowest wages (in the 10th percentile) earn $12,540 ($6.03 an hour). Source: www.bls.gov/
In contrast for PRESCHOOL TEACHERS, wage estimates for this occupation show a mean annual wage of $25,150. The same source cites KINDERGARTEN TEACHERS’ median annual earning of $45,260. U.S. Department of Labor Source: www.bls.gov/
Gender and Race Profile of the Workforce Bureau of Labor Statistics – ftp://ftp.bls.gov/pub/special.requests/lf/aat18.txt
Evidence of Rising Qualifications • Eager to Learn: Educating Our Preschoolers (National Research Council, 2000) • Staff Qualifications for Head Start programs in proposed reauthorization before the U.S. Congress (2006) • Center Accreditation System of the National Association for the Education of Young Children – NAEYC (2006) • Universal prekindergarten movement has established as a quality standard a teacher with a BA degree (PreK Now)
Strategies for Higher Education Institutions • Preserve pathways into the profession that have given us as rich and diverse a workforce as the children and families we serve. • Promote formal education of personnel from their first entry point into work in early education and care. • Eliminate articulation barriers between levels of preparation. • Promote mechanisms that support degree attainment and monitor student progress toward those goals.