I am writing in response to the letter to the editor in the March 9th Free Press by “Hourly Employees.” Believe me, I know first hand the impact of USM’s financial situation and can empathize with the “author” regarding some of the decisions that have been made. However, I have issues with three points that were made in reference to USM Child and Family Centers: the deficit, the availability of care out in the community and the use of taxpayer dollars to subsidize child care.
Child care is a labor-intensive industry, especially due to the strict regulations regarding teacher/child ratios for infants and toddlers. Compensation is 88.5% of our budget compared with about 73% for USM as a whole. In this country, child care is one of the lowest paid industries. USM’s child care staff have been fortunate to receive the excellent benefits that other UMS employees enjoy. According to a 2008 Maine child care workforce study, only 56% of 481 child care centers offer health insurance for their employees. This lack of benefits creates high turnover and lower expectations for professional qualifications, neither of which are good for children. The majority of our staff have advanced degrees. Unfortunately, this level of education is highly unusual in our field, since the requirements for training are less than for those of dog trainers or hair dressers. Many of our teachers have worked at USM for many years, again, defying the norm for the industry. This high level of competence by our staff has provided our many work study students with an enriched experiential learning experience, prompting them to return year after year. In fact, the majority of our student parents graduate from USM, which contributes significantly to the University, though it is not reflected in our bottom line. We bring in over $867,000 in revenue, but that does not cover the cost of wages and benefits. I wonder how many other departments don’t cover their compensation costs either. USM C&FC’s deficit taken out of context can be very misleading.
My second objection is the assumption that was made about the ease in which parents can make other child care arrangements. According to the 2004 Maine’s Cost and Quality Studies, 76% of center-based and 70% of Maine’s family child care homes are considered to be “poor to mediocre.” Many of our parents are struggling finding alternative care in the community that is comparable with USM and those that are worthy have long waiting lists. USM C&FC was the first program in Maine to achieve accreditation status from the National Association for the Education of Young Children. Only 70 centers in Maine are accredited and only 8 other centers are in the Greater Portland area. Most of these do not serve infants and toddlers. The trauma that our parents are experiencing due to the lack of suitable alternatives is evident on a daily basis. Finding alternate child care is not like choosing store-brand peanut butter.
USM C&FC has a DHHS subsidy contract for eligible families and receives scholarship money generously allocated by USM’s Student Senate, thereby providing access to quality child care so that our student parents are able to earn a four-year degree. The research on the Parents as Scholars program demonstrated that PaS graduates increased their wages by nearly 50% by obtaining a college education and that nearly 90% of PaS working graduates have left the welfare system. This has major ramifications to break the cycle of poverty because the level of education of the mother is one of the most important determinants of child outcomes. USM Child and Family Centers was the lynch pin for success for many of the PaS participants.
Ninety percent of brain development occurs by age three, which is the most critical period to positively impact a child’s capacity for future learning. Dana Connors, President of the Maine Chamber of Commerce, wrote a letter of support regarding increased investment in early care and education as part of the economic stimulus package. He wrote that “high-quality early education programs prepare children for academic success and help them develop skills necessary for their personal and later career development. Children who lack early learning experiences are more likely to struggle academically, drop out of school, be arrested, become teen parents and abuse illegal drugs-all serious disqualifiers for successful careers.” Research links high quality early childhood education to “better cognitive function and language development, higher rates of attendance at a four-year college and higher rates of employment.” So basically, investing in quality early experiences for our children is investing in our future human capital. I think that makes quality child care critical to a public University, especially one that serves a highly non-traditional population and espouses transforming lives.
President Obama has certainly championed early care and education as a priority, as have Maine’s bi-partisan and unanimous recommendation by the “Commission to Develop a Strategic Priorities Plan for Maine’s Young Children” According to their report “investments in quality child care and early childhood education do more than pay significant returns to children-our future citizens. They also benefit taxpayers and enhance economic vitality. Economic research-by Nobel Prize-winners and Federal Reserve economists, in economic studies in dozens of states and counties, and in longitudinal studies spanning 40 years-demonstrate that the return on public investment in high quality childhood education is substantial.” Even Governor Baldacci’s Business Roundtable on Early Childhood Investment released its recommendations for investing in the early years with its three priorities being: 1) public private partnerships to create and sustain Maine’s comprehensive, early childhood system; 2) a public education and parent education campaign about Maine’s moral and fiscal responsibility and the value of investing in young children; and 3) promote public and private investments that will increase the number of qualified early childhood professionals. The newly formed Maine Children’s Growth Council, of which UMS Chancellor Richard Pattenaude is a member, has formerly adopted the “Invest Early in Maine: A Working Plan for Humane Early Childhood Systems”, that, among other things, advocates for access to high quality, affordable, accessible and inclusive child care with a qualified and well-compensated workforce. Sound familiar?
A recent UNICEF study showed how the declining rates of spending on children in our country has resulted in the United States ranking 20th out of 21 rich nations in “child well-being.” How can we ever compete globally if our children fare so poorly? I do believe that it is appropriate for our federal and state government to partner with parents to invest in early care and education the same way that it subsidizes the cost of higher education.
Respectfully submitted by,
Lori Freid Moses
Director
USM Child and Family Centers