Child care programs throughout the region are experiencing high turnover. Those who remain share the burden of constantly training new co-workers, which adversely affects the quality of care for children. Experts believe that the problem of turnover is a result of inadequate compensation. Child care staff earn very low wages.
Low pay prevents child care workers from seeking further education.
Consequently, many child care providers have minimal education that further impacts the quality. Our vision is to live in a community where there is a sufficient supply of professionally trained and committed child care workers to meet the needs of children and families. To create this vision we are developing a provider education project that is tied to higher pay and better benefits. In addition, we have identified ways to use our existing child care system more effectively and are working to develop these improvements across local programs. Although a large portion of our work is specific to Hamilton County, we have been active in surrounding areas.