The 21st Century Magazine, at South Florida's www.miami-dade-online.com.
Child Care: Access, Affordability and Quality
Dr. Jeffrey Pickens, Ph.D.
Family Central Inc.
April 11, 2000
It is the year 2000, and the U.S. Census Bureau is once again undertaking a count of U.S.
residents. Each decade, the constitution requires that we look carefully at our changing
population and workforce. Throughout Florida, millions of working parents are struggling to
balance the obligations of work and home life. In 1999, there were over 15 million residents in
Florida (a 1.5 percent increase over last year, and a 17 percent increase since the last census in
1990). Last year alone there were almost 160,000 newborn infants born in Florida! With so many
new citizens to take care of, it is important to reflect on child care in our local area. How is South
Florida doing in terms of assisting workers to find affordable and high quality child care? This
article discusses several child care issues, and a recent survey of child care centers. Lets take a
closer look at local child care data to gain a better picture of how we are doing in building truly
"family-friendly communities" in Southeast Florida.
In 1999, the National League of Cities teamed with the National School Boards Association, the Youth Crime Watch of America and the Joe DiMaggio Children's Hospital to issue a report entitled: "Ten critical threats to America's Children". This report on national trends affecting children listed several warning signs for the next millenium. There were warnings about drugs, violence and teen pregnancy. However, by far the most significant threat remains poverty - with about 14.5 million children (nearly one in five) experiencing poverty and the associated threats to a child's physical and emotional health, school readiness and achievement. About 65 % of American women with children under 6 years are in the workforce (compared to 6 % in 1955), and this number continues to increase. But women often do not earn sufficiently high salaries. In our area, about one third of female headed households with children under 18 are classified near the poverty level. Thousands of parents considered "the working poor" are on waiting lists for subsidized child care and other services. Thus many families continue to struggle to make ends meet right here in Dade and Broward Counties.
Different types of child care
The main issues in child care are those of availability, affordability and quality. There are several types of child care. The most common types in South Florida are: "Child Care Centers" - a business facility dedicated exclusively to providing child care, and "Family Child Care Homes" - where child care is provided in the home of a caregiver. Relatives and extended families often make up the majority of informal child care arrangements. Child care varies in quality across all types of settings, and so it is important for parents to be informed consumers, do some research and carefully select the best child care arrangements for their children.
Prices for child care vary considerably, by such factors as geographic area, type of provider and age of child. The average monthly prices for child care in Florida are shown in Figure 1. Given that these are average prices, it is clear that many families pay more or less than this amount. Centers in Florida charge an average of $325 per month for preschool care and $416 per month for infant care. This means that, on average, a family with $15,000 in income and one preschool child would spend about 25 % of its total monthly income on child care expenses, and a family needing infant care would spend about 33 % of its monthly income! Luckily, there are programs to subsidize child care costs for families who can not afford to pay, and these families pay a much smaller monthly co-payment rather than the full market rate. However, according to the Urban Institute for the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, in April 1999 there were 18,790 children on the waiting list for government subsidies in Florida! Many eligible families do not know that they are eligible. But Florida and many others states cannot recruit more families into the subsidized child care system since they are having difficulty just meeting the needs of those already enrolled. Furthermore, not all providers in Florida accept children who receive subsidies. For example, in the city of Miami only 50 percent of centers and 32 percent of family homes accept subsidies. In the remainder of Dade County, only 32 percent of centers and 21 percent of family homes accept subsidized child care dollars! Thus even in a time of a strong economy, it is a challenge for Florida to meet the needs of its low-income workers who need child care. To be sure, the task of finding affordable, high-quality child care is a tremendous challenge for parents at all socioeconomic levels.
Parents frequently struggle to find an appropriate, affordable and high quality child care slots for their children. Young infant care, and child care during off-work, after-school and weekend hours are often the most difficult to arrange. However, according to the Bureau of Children's Services, a recent survey counted over 60,000 "slots" for children across 492 Child Care Centers and 245 licensed Family Child Care Homes in Broward, and over 80,000 "slots" for children across 880 Child Care Centers and 266 licensed Family Child Care Homes in Dade. While all of these are licensed child care settings, note that only some are accredited centers or those that have been awarded the "Gold Seal of Excellence" by the Department of Children and Families. Therefore, finding the right situation for your family requires some serious shopping around.
Figure 1. Average Child Care Prices - State of Florida
Source: Urban Institute, Florida Children's Forum, 1999 Quality Of course, in addition to costs, the quality of child care is of primary concern to working
parents. Many child care situations are not the kinds of safe, nurturing and stimulating
environments that best protect and prepare young children. Some facilities are downright
hazardous. One factor to examine closely are caregiver-child ratios, which tells you how many
children each caregiver must attend to. Clearly a ratio of 3 babies to one caregiver provides a
higher quality of care than higher ratios. Likewise, the numbers of same aged children
grouped into classrooms also affects the quality of care. Suggested child-staff ratios and
optimal group sizes for different age groups are shown in Figure 2. In seeking child care, it is
also important for families to look for businesses that are licensed in the State of Florida, and
preferably those that are experienced and accredited. Providers are accredited by national
organizations based on criteria designed to measure quality. Accreditation is one indication
that a provider has demonstrated commitment to providing quality care. The most
comprehensive national standards are administered by NAEYC, the National Association for
the Education of Young Children (www.naeyc.org) but there are other forms of accreditation
as well. Many referral services can inform parents about available child care centers, their
costs and their credentials, licensing and accreditation information. For example, Family
Central Inc. has this information posted for the public on its web site (www.familycentral.org). Figure 2. Optimal child-caregiver ratios and group sizes for different age groups The South Florida Survey Family Central, Inc. is designated as the central child care agency for all of Broward and
Northern Dade Counties (Hialeah, Opalocka, Carol City and North Miami). Family Central
administers much of the Department of Children and Families' subsidized child care funding,
as well as many intervention and training programs serving over 38,000 South Florida
families. Family Central recently conducted a survey of over 200 of its affiliated Child Care
Centers in Dade and Broward. Surprisingly, only 10 % of centers in Dade and 14 % in
Broward were accredited. However, the good news is that many non-accredited centers
reported that they were interested in becoming accredited. About one quarter of these child
care centers were already involved in the process of pursuing accreditation with the help of
some new local programs that encourage them to do so. About 50% of the child care centers
surveyed in Dade and Broward indicated that they were interested in reducing child-staff
ratios, raising standards, and improving their curriculum to increase the quality of their
programs. Unfortunately, many of these centers are still struggling to simply survive as new
child care businesses, and so they do not have the time or resources to devote to changing
and improving existing programs. To achieve accreditation, a child care center undergoes a program of self-study, and then
direct observation by trained observers called "validators". The accreditation process
measures the readiness of child care center directors and teachers/staff, and looks at the
interactions among caregivers and children in their care. NAEYC accreditation procedures
check whether teachers focus positive attention on children, and measure the teacher's ability
to respect all children with sensitivity to diversity and culture. Careful observations are made
of caregivers' teaching strategies, and the teachers' techniques for modeling and rewarding
good behaviors, setting appropriate limits, and their skills in conflict resolution and fostering
cooperation. Additional aspects of the accreditation procedure look closely at curriculum (e.g.
use of developmentally appropriate activities and materials), relationships among teachers
and families, levels of staff training and qualifications, staffing ratios, health, safety, nutrition,
organization and the physical child care environment as well. No wonder that accredited
centers tend to provide the highest quality of child care! In the Family Central survey, many South Florida child care centers indicated a need for more
state assistance to upgrade their resources and facilities. Other centers indicated a need for
technical assistance and mentoring to help them achieve the high quality standards required
for accreditation. The bottom line for South Florida is that the child care system is still
struggling to serve more families and raise the quality of programs that are offered. The state
and county agencies are working hard to improve the system, with new programs to increase
training and program quality at many local child care centers and homes. In the meantime, it is
important for parents to use available resource and referral services to do some research on
what kinds of programs and services are available in their area. By doing some careful
shopping, parents can find healthy, stimulating and safe child care that will best help to
prepare our children for life in the new millenium. About the author: Dr. Jeffrey Pickens, Ph.D. is a developmental psychologist and parent, who has written
extensively about children and families. He is director of the Department of Research for
Family Central Inc. in Broward. Reach him at JPickens@familycentral.org or (954) 724-7560.
Infant (to 1 year)
Preschooler 1-4 yrs
Average Monthly Prices
(Full Time Care)
Average Monthly Prices
(Full Time Care) Center-based
$416
$325 Licensed Family Child
Care Home
$386
$355
Child:Staff ratio
Maximum group size Birth-24 months
3:1
6 25-30 months
4:1
8 31-35 months
5:1
10 3 year olds
7:1
14 4 year olds
8:l
16 5 year olds
8:l
16 6-8 year olds
10:1
20 9-12 year olds
12:1
24
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