Endorsing the 2002 Virtual Strike for Child Care and Early Education.

WHEREAS, There is a crisis occurring in the child care field where annual turnover rates in child care programs are over thirty percent (30%) for child care workers and fifty percent (50%) for child care aides; and

WHEREAS,

Child care teacher stability is essential to the development of children as seen in the National Child Care Staffing Study which determined that children attending programs with more staff turnover tend to be less competent in language and social development; and

WHEREAS, Low wages and lack of benefits are two major reasons why child care professionals leave their positions; and

WHEREAS, Teachers with degrees average a mere $16,000 and aides on average only make $10,000 to $12,000; and

WHEREAS,

Adjusted child care worker wages decreased while most wages increased over the last several years; and

WHEREAS, Twenty five percent (25%) of all child care workers have no health insurance compared to eleven percent (11%) of all Pennsylvanians; and

WHEREAS, QUEST (Quality Early Education through Salaries and Training) is a coalition of child care and early childhood advocacy organizations working to improve child care quality by addressing the child care teacher turnover crisis; and

WHEREAS,

QUEST is sponsoring the November 11-15 Virtual Strike Week for child care teachers in an effort to bring more attention to the alarmingly low wages and benefits they receive; and

WHEREAS, Quality early care and education requires increased, sustained public investment because working parents can hardly afford to pay more for care, and

WHEREAS, As a City Council we seek to encourage any and all efforts to increase the quality of child care that the children of our City receive; now therefore

RESOLVED, BY THE COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF PHILADELPHIA,

That we hereby endorse the 2002 Virtual Strike for Child Care and Early Education.

End