JEFFORDS DISTURBED BY REPORTED CUTS IN CHILD CARE PROGRAMS
WASHINGTON - 03.27.01 | "Although I have been around here for long enough not to believe everything I read in the papers, I am very disturbed with the notion that the President's budget will include an 18% cut in child abuse programs, eliminate funding for the Early Learning Opportunities Act and cut $200 million from the Child Care and Development Block Grant," said U.S. Sen. Jim Jeffords, R - Vt., today at a hearing of the Senate Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions Committee. Jeffords was referring to a report in the New York Times on Friday indicating the President's budget to be unveiled next month would reduce funding for several federal child care programs.
Chairman Jeffords called the hearing entitled, "Early Education and Child Care: How Does the U.S. Measure Up?" to examine the types of early education and child care for preschool aged children that are available in other industrialized nations.
Jeffords continued, "We know that the best predictor of quality early education and care and positive outcomes for children is a trained, competent teacher. But we have a child care workforce that has little education and training beyond a high school diploma, is paid an average of $6.12 an hourless than parking lot attendants, and have few, if any, benefits. It is little wonder that the turnover rate is close to thirty percent a year."
Kathy Apgar the Director of the Bristol Family Center and President of the Vermont Association for the Education of Young testified, "In Vermont, we know that there are approximately 25,000 children between birth and age 8 in unregulated, undocumented child care. We know that we need 1,200 infant/toddler slots in regulated care just to begin to meet the need for working parents yet we are helpless to provide for this population."
87 percent of Vermont children under the age of six live with two working parents and only 56 percent of the estimated need for child care in Vermont is met through regulated care. Regardless of a family's income, child care is the third greatest expense after housing and food for families of three to five year old children.
Jeffords has been a leader in Congress to increase funding for the the Child Care Development Block Grant and child care tax credits and is a co-author of the Early Learning Opportunities Act. In 2000, Jeffords secured $303,750 for a new apprenticeship program for child care workers. He received the 1999 parenting leadership award from Parenting Magazine for his work on child care issues.
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