The child care shortage in Delaware and throughout the nation was happening before March 2020, but COVID-19 took the crisis to a new level.
The lack of available child care slots is affecting the ability of many, especially women, to return to work. It’s not an exaggeration to say the child care shortage is significantly hindering the U.S. economy, according to Child Care Aware of America’s 2022 report, “Demanding Change: Repairing our Childcare System.”
“The pandemic illuminated how indispensable child care is for the well-being and economic security for our children, families and communities, while simultaneouslyrevealing the system’s many shortcomings,” the report states.
In Delaware, the Boys & Girls Club has “rarely” been unable to meet demand in its almost 91-year history, according to President and CEO John Wellons, but right now, most of the agency’s 43 locations have waiting lists.
“Our biggest challenge in meeting the demand is having enough people in house to serve them,” Wellons said. “We have to have certain staffing ratios; if we don’t have the people, we can’t take the kids.”
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Child care workers are leaving the industry and it’s tough to attract new ones, according to Child Care Aware’s report.
“Years of low wages and lack of benefits, followed by layoffs due to COVID‑19, have resulted in severe staffing shortages for child care programs,” the report states. “Providers can only charge what families can afford, which often translates into near-poverty wages and limited benefits (if any) for early educators.
The state of child care in Delaware
Delaware has 35,481 child care slots, according to “Child care Is Everyone’s Business: Why Delaware Should Care About Early Childhood Education,” a report issued by the Rodel Foundation and other organizations earlier this year.
To put that into perspective, the report notes the state’s population of children under the age of 5 is 54,261.
Great New Beginnings Early Childhood Learning Centers with locations in Bear, Newark and Middletown are currently caring for about 200 children, despite having the capacity to care for about 550.
“We are turning families away because of staffing shortages,” said owner Linda Clark.
About half of all Delaware child care centers are currently unable to meet demand, according to the report, due to a lack of employees. Numerous studies and firsthand accounts say the lack of employees is caused by poor pay.
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These days, child care workers are paid about the same as employees at Amazon, Wawa or McDonald’s, Clark pointed out — and employment at those three don’t require state certifications.
“It’s just the nature of our business, and our No. 1 priority is the safety of our kids,” Wellons said. “But when we have someone coming in for a part-time role and they see the amount of work they need to do just to start the job when they can just go to Amazon …”
And child care providers can’t simply raise fees.
“A lot of our kids qualify for Purchase of Care, so we don’t have the ability to just raise rates … to be able to properly staff and pay them,” Wellons said.
“Purchase of Care” is the state subsidy program that helps pay for child care for families whose earnings are below a certain level. More than 15,000 children benefit from the program, according to the University of Delaware.
The state controls the Purchase of Care rate, which is usually a percentage of the market rate. For example, last year, the General Assembly set the rate at 70% the 75th percentile of a 2021 market rate study.
“It’s definitely more economical to take only private-paying clients, but we don’t want to limit our POC slots,” Clark said. “We don’t even ask up front, we don’t find out until we get the paperwork, but we’re going to have to ask up front very, very soon.”
Efforts to fix child care issues
Significant investments in child care were promised as part of the federal Build Back Better Act last year, but the legislation never made it to the finish line.
Money from the American Rescue Plan Act in 2021 is partially funding the establishment of the Early Childhood Innovation Center at Delaware State University, which will “develop statewide infrastructure for a unique pathway for Delawareans seeking careers in the child care industry,” as well as expand related scholarship opportunities.
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Child care providers also benefitted directly from funding provided through the act and other coronavirus-related legislation.
At Little Einsteins in Georgetown and Millsboro, owner Lindsay Cannon used the money to give her employees large bonuses, which she feels helped her retain teachers when other child care centers were losing them.
The state itself offered $1,000 bonuses to child care workers in May, though more than one provider called it “too little, too late.”
Just days ago, the Delaware legislature voted to include $19 million in additional funding for the Purchase of Care program in the new fiscal year, an increase of 29%. It will result in the rate going up to 85% of the 75th percentile of the 2021 market rate study, according to state Controller General Ruth Ann Jones.
“This funding increase is a great first step that will help shore up staffing and make child care more affordable for hundreds of families,” said Sen. Kyle Evans Gay (D-Talleyville).
But one-time bonuses and incremental increases in funding aren’t going to be enough in the long run, according to the Child Care Aware report.
“Comprehensive policy change that provides long-term, sustainable solutions is needed to transform child care,” the report states.
