Letters: State, local officials should invest in child care
It is no secret that COVID-19 wiped out decades of progress on our families in the workforce, especially the impact it made on childcare. Like many other small businesses and nonprofits, childcare centers struggled to withstand the aftermath of the pandemic financially and some were forced to close permanently. Workers were called back to work and faced a whole new world of barriers. Some had to wait for backpay from Unemployment Compensation, others were trying to rebuild after losing their homes and many have been unable to return to work due to the endless waitlist for childcare.
Pocono Services for Families and Children has been providing quality school readiness programs since 1965 and we have been lucky enough to be one of the few centers to work through and remain open after the pandemic. Like so many, we have lost staff, continue to struggle to maintain staff, and hire new staff. We rely on our state funds to support our programs and partners to provide high-quality early education, health services, and family support to meet the challenges they face.
It’s up to our community and our representatives to invest in our families and invest in childcare to support our working families. I strongly urge our elected officials to continue financial investment, supportive laws, and policies to help PA families. Doing so will strengthen our commonwealth's children, families, and our shared future. This year’s budget may have been passed, but it’s not too late to start urging their support for next year!
Kristi Hammond, executive director of Pocono Services for Families & Children
My name is Ana Velez, and I am the owner of Genesis Day Care and Learning Center. My Center closed during the COVID-19 Pandemic from March 13, 2020, to June 8, 2020 and has been facing serious challenges in recruiting staff since that time. We have a long waiting list of children, but we are unable to assist those families due to the issue that we are having in hiring highly qualified professionals that require higher salaries. It is also hard for our day care to compete in the non-educational sectors, which can pay a greater salary to entry-level staff.
While some providers have been forced to close, we are doing everything possible to keep our center open to continue serving the families that depend on us to continue working. I love children, and it gives me pleasure to be part of their formative years.
I strongly urge PA’s state and local officials to invest in this critical system and provide childcare providers with the support, training, and compensation they need to do their important work. Monroe County’s current and future workforce are depending on this support.
Ana Velez, owner of Genesis Day Care & Learning Center
This article originally appeared on Pocono Record: Letters: State, local officials should invest in child care
