ANDERSON — Getting a new job is supposed to be cause for praise.
But for many low-income families with young children in Madison County, parents face the choice between a minimum wage job and making sure their children are in capable hands.
Stephani Fertucci, director of the Madison County Children's Bureau, said she often works with young mothers who are struggling to find affordable, competent child care.
“It’s exciting when they get a job but then it’s like: 'How do we make sure these kids are safe?'” Fertucci said. “The need I see is, once we can get them minimum-wage employment, then they can’t afford to have child care at a licensed child care center.”
Nearly one in three young children lives in poverty in Madison County, well above the state average of 26 percent, according to the 2017 Indiana Early Learning Advisory Committee annual report.
Couple that with an average annual cost of childcare for children aged infant to 5 at $7,237 and it’s easy to see why 76 percent of preschool children aren’t in high-quality child care centers.
State vouchers
When Jerry Alexander, pastor at Anderson Central Wesleyan Church, saw the need for many of his congregation’s low-income families, he knew he had to do something to help his community.
“There are people who can’t get out of their economically stressful situation because they can’t afford child care,” he said.
Alexander was approached by state officials to open up a child care facility catering to low-income residents who could use Child Care Development Fund vouchers to help mitigate some of the cost.
In order to qualify for CCDF vouchers, families must work with an intake agent to determine the level of need and help find a qualified childcare provider.
When Honey Bees Child Development, 2406 Delaware St., Anderson, opens next month, Alexander said he expects families will only have to pay $10 to $15 weekly out of pocket.
“It’s a high percentage of young females now having children and they are stuck,” Alexander said. “This is an opportunity to help them be able to afford to go to work.”
Honey Bees will offer space for 50 children aged 6 weeks to 5 years old when it opens July 15, with plans to eventually offer space for up to 200 and after-school care for kids ages 5 to 10.
Early education
With child care costing an average of 36 percent of an impoverished family’s annual income, many families are forced to hand their children off to family or neighbors in order to work.
“That’s where we get into unsafe childcare situations, because they don’t have any other options,” Fertucci said. “I just think it’s important to make sure your children are with someone safe and reliable, while that’s so difficult sometimes.”
It’s not just physical safety and health that matters, though that’s obviously most important, Fertucci said. But while grandparents, friends or neighbors could keep a child safe, they may not work to teach young children fundamental learning.
“It might not be on their mind; they are going grocery shopping or going about their day and they are doing this as a favor, so it’s not on their mind to teach kids their alphabet or their colors,” she said.
It’s that focus on getting children ready for school that pushed Andrea Kirkpatrick, director of St. John’s Early Literacy Preschool in Anderson, to focus on early education programs at her facility.
The program recently received a Level 3 rating from the state’s Paths to Quality rating system for its program that focuses on early education.
“We are now even more accountable to the children and families that we serve,” Kirkpatrick said of the rating.
Paths to Quality is a voluntary four-tier rating system that awards child care facilities a higher score based on programs and curriculum. This allows families to be better informed in their choice of facility, Fertucci said.
The four levels include:
Level One: Health and safety needs of children met.
Level Two: Environment supports children’s learning.
Level Three: Planned curriculum guides child development and school readiness.
Level Four: National accreditation (the highest indicator of quality) is achieved.
A higher-level facility can help make sure children are at age-appropriate development and ready for school.
For families that can’t afford professional child care and don’t qualify for state vouchers, Fertucci offered some advice in finding someone to watch their children.
Most important, she said, is to make sure they have emergency contact numbers, not just for the parents but also for the child’s doctor as well.
“Do some investigative work," she said. "Don’t just trust someone random or convenient with your child.”