Early Educators Call on WA Lawmakers to Address Real Drivers of Child Care Crisis
For Immediate Release: Monday, January 19, 2025
Contact: Kristin Hyde, 206-491-0773, kristin@powerhouse-strategic.com
Olympia, WA - Today early educators and advocates for child care participated in a day of action calling on state lawmakers to take action to address the child care crisis impacting families and businesses across the state. Advocates outlined their priorities for the Governor and state legislature:
No more cuts to child care funding
Pass HB 1128/SB 5062 to establish a statewide Child Care Workforce Standards Board to address low wages, understaffing, high turnover and high costs at Washington’s 6,000 child care centers.
Streamline regulations to help child care programs open and expand, and change the state’s rate subsidy rate setting tool to accurately capture the cost of quality care.
Tricia Schroeder, President of SEIU 925, which represents early educators, shared: “The Governor is proposing massive cuts to child care that kick 14,000 low income families out of child care. This is the wrong direction. We are calling on state lawmakers to push back, no more cuts to child care. We are also asking them to address staff shortages and other workforce challenges by passing HB 1128/SB 5062 to establish a Child Care Workforce Standards Board.
Early childhood educators are some of the lowest paid workers in America, struggling to afford housing, food and healthcare, while providing essential services to working families. The Trump Administration and random social media influencers are making allegations targeting Somali child care providers, spreading suspicion and triggering harassment and attacks on small businesses that provide essential child care in our communities. It’s a ploy to distract attention from the failure to address the real child care crisis. The state has the authority to investigate and take action if there are credible accounts of fraud, and we encourage them to do so.
Child care providers make it possible for people to work and ensure young children receive high quality education in a safe environment and are equipped with the skills they need for school and life, yet most child care providers don't make enough to afford a basic one-bedroom apartment. They skip lunch breaks, or work while they are sick because of short staffing, or inadequate time off. The Child Care Workforce Standards Board will bring together workers, employers, parents, and the state to transform the child care industry in Washington, a giant step toward building the child care workforce we desperately need.”
Logan Hodge, an early educator in Seattle, shared: “Although the work can be emotionally and physically taxing, it is also the most rewarding and important work I have ever done. My four-year-old students are some of the kindest, funniest, and most curious friends I have ever had, and I am here in Olympia today for their sake as much as my own. It should not be controversial to say that children and early educators across Washington State deserve better. As a teacher, I have experienced the childcare crisis firsthand. There is nothing worse than having to explain to a class of preschoolers why their favorite teacher won’t be coming back, because that teacher couldn’t afford to pay rent and medical bills on our salary… The costs are too high for working parents, and there’s a shortage of quality care centers and early educators to staff them. Funding cuts, low wages, high turnover, and short staffing are driving this crisis. Most early educators are making far less than what is needed to afford a modest 1-bedroom apartment in Washington. Most of us make less than $25/hour, qualifying us for emergency food assistance.”
Tammy Grice, an early educator in Tacoma, shared: “I’ve been working with children and their families for more than 30 years. One of the things I have noticed in the early learning field is that Early Educators consistently get treated like “baby sitters” instead of the professionals we are. We don’t just keep children alive. We help them reach their full potential. But when educators are treated with low wages and minimal benefits, it makes quality educators reevaluate their career choice. Early learning educators are professionals. We have professional degrees and are required to do annual continuing education, but we don’t have the professional pay and benefits to match.The lack of support and proper funding for the industry are reasons there is high turnover. When early educators cannot afford the cost of rent, food, health care and other basic needs to survive, they are finding different lines of work.”
Kelly Edens, Deputy Director with the Washington Children's Campaign Fund commented:"Child care work is the work that makes all the other work possible. At a time of rising hateful rhetoric towards Somali and immigrant providers, we must be clear: these workers deserve the respect, dignity, and a voice in the decisions that affect them. This is why the Children's Campaign Fund Network stands in strong support of the work SEIU 925 leads. Especially as we organize together to fight back against the harmful early learning cuts proposed in Governor Ferguson's budget."
Background
In Washington state, there are an estimated 20,000 early educators working in more than 6,000 child care facilities, the majority of whom are women, immigrants and people of color. These essential educators are among the lowest paid workers in our economy. Early educators often don’t have access to benefits such as employer-provided health care, consistent meal and rest breaks, and paid time off, driving high turnover and inadequate staffing which impact the quality of care children receive.
Findings from a recent survey of childcare center workers underscore the problem:
88% make $29/hour or less, far below what is needed to afford a modest 1-bedroom apartment in Washington (66% make between $16.66/hour-$25/hour)
81% say they have skipped rest or lunch breaks or worked while sick or with a serious medical condition due to understaffing, not knowing their rights, or inadequate paid time off.
More than half say accessing affordable health insurance is a big challenge
Early educators say they need better pay, better benefits, better staffing and more training to better be able to handle behavioral issues
Washington state early educators are advocating for legislation that would create a Child Care Workforce Standards Board as a step toward improving conditions for child care workers. The Board would bring workers, employers, parents, and agencies together to develop rules to improve standards in the industry. Other states have used workforce standards boards to raise standards for similar workforces, including nursing home and domestic workers, including California, Colorado, Michigan, Minnesota, New Jersey, and New York.
Companion bills (HB 1128/SB 5062) to establish a Child Care Workforce Standards Board are supported by SEIU 925, representing thousands of child care workers, the Washington State Labor Council, the Washington State Building and Construction Trades Council, MomsRising, the Imagine Institute, Children’s Campaign Fund, and other stakeholders.
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