For two hours Tuesday, Nelson Johnson, who normally spends his days ministering to souls, ministered to the needs of four children of different ages at the LifePlay Family Child Care Home. They make less than bus drivers, service station attendants and animal trainers, yet they are responsible for the most important years in a child's development. At the same time, the cost of high quality child care is already out of reach for many parents.
Wages are one reason the profession has such high turnover rates nationwide.
Guilford County has a turnover rate of 38 percent for child care workers, according to the survey. Familiar faces aren't the only things the children lose when child care workers quit, said Rosemarie Vardell, who is a North Carolina representative for the Child Care Workforce. She spends 61.5 hours a week on her job. One solution, she said, is for the government to become financially involved, just as it has for kindergarten. I think with where we are making our investment, we are missing a window of opportunity.