Sun, 26 Oct 1997

Quality child care should be accessible

As Bill and I prepared for Thursday's White House conference on Child Care, we tried to recall what things were like when we were two working parents with a young child.

Back then, we did what most American parents do all the time: juggle and hope for the best.

And we were lucky. Because we were both employed, had flexible schedules and had the privilege of living in a governor's mansion with a staff for all but two years of Chelsea's young life, Bill and I did not have to worry that our daughter was being well cared for when we were out of the house.

That is not the case for most Americans. In the last four and a half years, as I have traveled our country talking to parents, no concern has been more prominent than child care. I know the questions by heart: How can I find quality child care? How can I afford it? Will child care harm my child?

According to a survey released last week by Parents magazine, nearly 75 percent of American families with young children use some form of child care. More than half of these parents worry every week whether or not their child is looked after properly.

Parents have reason to be concerned. According to research by the Families and Work Institute, 13 percent of regulated and 50 percent of non-regulated family child-care providers offer care that is inadequate. That can mean centers which are unsanitary or lack toys and other materials to encourage development. It also can mean caregivers who rarely interact with children -- or who are simply outnumbered by them. A recent University of Colorado at Denver study of child care in four states found only one in seven child-care centers to be of good quality.

And the quality care that is available is often financially out of reach for parents. According to the 1995 Census, families earning under $1,200 a month pay an average of 25 percent of their income for child care. A divorced mother I met who works as a secretary said she was able to send her child to day care only because of a scholarship and because she had moved back in with her parents. Otherwise, she told me, "I would probably have to quit my job and go on welfare. Who would watch my child during the day?"

The urgency of improving child care in America is heightened by new information about the intellectual and emotional development of children. As we learned at the White House Conference on Early Childhood Development in April, what happens to a child in the earliest years can make a difference in how well he or she can learn for a lifetime. With 45 percent of children under age one in day care regularly, the issue of quality has tremendous bearing not just on individual lives but on the future of our nation.

Fortunately, recent studies tell us that good care -- whether given at home or at a day-care center -- is good care. Done right, day care can be beneficial for children.

At the White House conference this week, experts from around the country will gather to discuss steps to raise the quality and expand the accessibility of child care. It is important to remember that any solutions that come out of the conference must involve all sectors of society. The national government has a role to play, but so do state governments, the private and non- profit sectors, school systems and individual citizens. It is important, too, that we find ways to make it easier for parents who want to stay home with their children to afford to do so.

We should take inspiration from the fact that there are models of quality child care around the country. This month, I visited two of them. At Quantico Marine Base in Virginia, I learned how the military has put in place a superb child-care system -- with high standards, mandatory training, and good wages and benefits for the staff. In Florida, I saw how the business community is getting involved. Funds raised by the Florida Child Care Executive Partnership are matched by the state and then dispersed in grants to communities with child-care initiatives.

When I asked Quantico's commander and the Florida business leaders why they were focusing on day care, their answers were remarkably similar. When parents come to work confident that their children are well looked after, they can make a much more positive contribution. It doesn't matter whether they are Marines or bank tellers.

At the conference, we will hear from representatives of the military and business. They won't be alone. For example, Treasury Secretary Rubin will speak about the importance of child care in our new economy. Gov. Jim Hunt of North Carolina will talk about Smart Start, the public-private partnership that has increased the quality and quantity of child-care centers in his state. Michelle Seligson of Wellesley will discuss the importance of after-school programs for young people.

People ask me what I want this conference to achieve. The answer is simple: I want it to call attention to the fact that we must make quality child care more accessible and more affordable. And I hope it will prepare the way for specific actions to make that happen.

-- Creators Syndicate