“Child care workers are disappearing.” As a family child care educator, I echo this statement from Camelia Babson Haley in her recent letter to the editor (“Without child care, Maine’s economy stalls,” May 16). Maine has lost 43 family child care programs in just the past year.
One bill that can help reverse this decline is L.D. 1799, An Act to Expand Maine’s High-quality Early Learning and Care for Children by Increasing Public Preschool Opportunities in Communities, sponsored by Sen. Eloise Vitelli. This bill will strengthen Maine’s mixed-delivery public pre-K opportunities in family child care centers, Head Starts and public schools.
While publicly funded pre-K is expanding around the state, there are no active family child care pre-K partnerships. This legislation can help reduce barriers for family child care providers who wish to participate.
Another bill, L.D. 1726, An Act to Build Maine’s Economy by Supporting Child Care for Working Families, sponsored by Senate President Troy Jackson, would increase wages for providers by increasing investments in a monthly wage supplement program. The wage supplement is an important part of helping family child care educators boost wages, which currently average just $16.05 an hour. Climbing business costs have become more of a burden while wages have remained stagnant.
Educators are a part of this community because of their love for children, but many educators are being forced from this profession because of the instability of the wages that are needed to support themselves. Support of these bills can help put Maine back on track to rebuild our vital family child care businesses.
Jennifer Wescott
Chair, Family Child Care Association of Maine
Westbrook
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