In Virginia, securing quality child care is a lot like looking for a needle in a haystack. It is nearly impossible. For example, Discovery Day Care Inc. and Discovery Day Camp in Lebanon currently have 31 children on waiting lists for the two facilities. But it’s even worse elsewhere. In Blacksburg, a city located ten miles from Newport, the wait list for Rainbow Riders Childcare Centers has already topped 1,100 children and is climbing.
The Shortage Is A Nationwide Problem
The shortage of childcare services existed before the pandemic. However, the pandemic, with many protocols impacting public services, essentially turned the lack of childcare into the crisis we all know of today.
In Virginia, 47 percent live in what is known as a childcare desert. In this area, childcare options are not meeting demand. Either there are not enough providers or not enough available space with existing providers. Statistics show that in 2021, over 44,000 residents of the state responded to child care issues by making career sacrifices.
Some Numbers To Mull Over
The two main issues with the current child care system are that parents and service providers bear the cost and that child care workers earn less than minimum wage. For example, as of October 2020, the average annual price in Virginia for full-time, center-based child care for infants was just over $14,000.
Under federal law, just 5.1 percent of eligible children received assistance through the Child Care and Development Block Grant in 2016, the last year that statistics are available. In addition, the median wage in 2019 for childcare professionals in the state was an hourly rate of $10.96. Finally, children from low-income families who are Black or Hispanic are impacted most by a lack of access to quality child care.
The Child Care Industry Continues To Be Fragile
Kristi Snyder, the Rainbow Riders Childcare Center administrator, says, “The ledge is out there. We’re going to fall off the ledge at some point.” She says that if the state and federal governments do not implement steady investment and subsidies, “the child care industry will collapse.”
She says this has always been a fragile industry, but COVID-19 magnified that when parents removed their children from child care centers. That halted the income that kept many childcare facilities in operation. Unfortunately, it also resulted in the burnout of many early childhood educators already earning little for their time.
Ready Regions Program Shows Progress
In Virginia, nine “Ready Regions” were established at the beginning of 2022. These regions went into effect to increase the availability of quality child care services. In addition, the program makes it easier for identified areas to access and distribute funding from state and federal sources.
Plus, the United Way of Southwest Virginia is involved. The group currently heads up over a dozen new programs funded by these sources and has already utilized over $5 million of those subsidies.
Government Funding Helps Form Ready Southwest
The combination of state and federal funding and various partnerships inspired the creation of Ready Southwest, a non-profit, public-private group. The partnership assists with establishing a framework for an employer-sponsored child care benefit program and a Shared Service Alliance. United Way of Southwest Virginia reports that Ready Southwest has already created additional access for 800 children for child care.
What They Had To Say
Travis Staton, United Way of Southwest Virginia president and CEO, says, “We’re providing all the technical assistance. We help employers to stand up for these programs. And then through the private funds, we are providing a match.” The territory served by the United Way of Southwest Virginia is impressive. It includes 21 localities and spans 7,000 square miles. Yet, the 214 licensed child care centers in that territory have room for only 14,000 children.
Estimates put the number of children requiring child care at over 11.1 million in Virginia alone, with about 7,000 still needing space in the region overseen by Ready Southwest. However, Staton adds, “We’re hoping that over the next two years, our data will show (that) employers that offer programs that help employees cover child care expenses will have better hiring and retention rates than employers that do not.”
The Work/Child Care Connection
Stanton says that a lack of child care is a barrier to employment. He explains that employees leave their jobs when they cannot find suitable child care. Often, this results in parents staying home to care for their children. However, population projections for Southwest Virginia over the next decade have identified a trend. That trend is a pronounced decline in population. Stanton says, “It’s not good numbers. We don’t need to lose any more individuals.”
The Answer Right Now Is More Subsidies
Although many childcare providers live in poverty, COVID-related subsidies helped open doors at numerous facilities. But according to Snyder, for the child care industry to survive in Virginia, there must be a two-pronged subsidy approach.
First, there have to be more subsidies available. Second, the subsidy rate must increase. “This is the path forward to ensure that every family has access to child care by increasing the child care subsidy rate so that families have access to it,” she says. “And then maybe pay on a sliding scale based on their income level.”
Staffing Continues To Be An Issue
While some childcare providers are willing to expand to open additional spaces, finding qualified childcare workers is a significant hurdle. Why quality workers? Suzanne Potts, the owner of Discovery Day Care Inc. and Discovery Day Camp, explains that without quality workers, “the alternative is that these kids receive attention by people that may not take care of them properly, or may not give them the structure and education that they need before going to school.”
Sandra Chiu works as Director at LadyBug & Friends Daycare and Preschool.