Child care staffing continues to impact programs, families
A recent 4C for Children survey showed due to the lack of teachers, there’s more than 4,000 children unable to be placed in child care programs in the Cincinnati and Miami Valley regions.
“The big problem is that we have a huge teacher shortage,” Vanessa said. “The survey results showed us that in this (Cincinnati) region alone, we’re missing more than 300 teachers. And of those teachers, each would serve six to 15 children, depending on what ages there are.”
Parents like Cincinnati mother Roxana Holland can relate to the intense struggle to find quality, affordable care.
“This is something that’s impacting families across the board,” she said during the segment. “It isn’t about if you can afford child care, it’s about if you can actually find child care. This is an issue in every mom group on Facebook.”
Roxana spent the months leading up to her child’s birth calling child care programs looking for a seat and placing her name on waiting lists. Child care providers like Garri Davis knows well how long child care program waiting lists are. As founder and CEO of Water Lily Learning Center, she shared during the segment that she fields calls from parents like Roxana and keeps a running list of families who need care.
“It’s almost like before you ever get pregnant you have to be on your list to get your kid into child care.” Roxana said.
4C for Children is hard at work finding innovative ways like the Child Care Careers Program to help rebuild the child care workforce. Since its launch three months ago, more than 100 potential early childhood professionals have inquired.
“We are bringing new people to the profession and despite all the challenges we described, it’s an extremely rewarding profession,” Vanessa said. “We’re paying folks a stipend for the timeframe of their initial training and giving them access to other opportunities along the way.”
For more information about the program and to begin the journey, fill out this interest form.