"The Hell of American Day Care"
Topic Response: Government Regulation in America’s Day-Care System
By: Shannon Campbell
May 22, 2013
I think anyone’s initial thought when reading this article is an unbelievable trail of disbelief. As for myself, I was even more in shock in that I was never put through a child-care system, thus making me completely uniformed about the conditions and statistics behind the business. I say business in that many of the firms that seem to be in “trouble” are private day-cares, like “Jackie’s Day-Care”, which is the main focus of the article. The story of the fire was absolutely heartbreaking, but what is even more tragic about it is that it was 100% preventable.
When reading the final sentences of the article, I couldn’t belief about the trauma that the mothers had to go through when receiving the message about their children and their young lives being lost. When I think of the word day-care, I immediately think of safety and security.
The American government, compared to France, is completely lacking in the childcare department. France treats their childcare with absolute dedication, yet the United States is turning their back when it comes to any type of childcare wrongdoings. With many government-sponsored programs, it seems that childcare is the last piece to the puzzle, yet that piece still seems to not fit. Although Obama has passed an act to invest more in the system, there is still a lack of knowledge and action going towards the system. And once this money is granted, who is to say that corruption will still not occur? Government officials can easily be paid off by unlicensed childcare workers; especially when it comes to meaningless fines. The safety and security of these facilities need to be more closely monitored, especially in urban areas with higher crime and poverty. As for the case with Jessica Tata, justice was served, but it still doesn’t stop all of the other childcare imposters that are repeating the same crime.
It’s noted that 40% of children spend their week at a day care. And this period is an incredibly influential and important time in a child’s life. It is even more especially true in the case of a not so great home life that the day-care plays an even higher role. It is where children learn to interact, create their personality, and develop the necessary skills to transition into the next phase of the early years. According to the National Institute of Child Health Development, they deemed the majority of childcare and day care operations to be either fair or poor. Childcare officials have little to no training, and actual childcare workers that are provided by the government barely make an annual income of $20,000. With millions of dollars being spent on international relations, domestic issues can easily be taken care of by giving the proper pay necessary for more workers to be employed by the government. It is noted that the military childcare facilities are best recognized by having all of the right ingredients; so why wouldn’t it be just as easy to expand this project?
Day-care can be an incredible financial burden to families, especially in a single mother case, like the many that put their children in Jackie’s Day-Care. Although there are many great assistance programs the U.S. government provides to low-income family situations, the small assistance reward that is in place now just isn’t cutting it. For a single mother who gets paid minimum wage, or even a bit higher, nearly 40% of their paycheck will go towards looking after their child.
So what is really needed to improve childcare in the United States? According to official website of the Office of Child Care, it is the parent or guardian’s choice to choose the best possible setting for their child to be taken care of in. I also think this is true; I believe it is the parent’s responsibility to do their research into finding what place is most reputable and affordable for their individual situation. As for people such as Jessica Tata, there needs to be more rules and regulations that go behind licensing a childcare facility or worker. And these rules and regulations should also be enforced in the kind of facility that is being run. That is there should be a certain kind of physical structure with the proper personnel to handle the size of the facility and how many children there are. For example, for every three children, their should be one licensed caregiver, and so on and so forth. Although many parents become desperate in situations like Jackie’s Day-Care, there are many resources to do the proper research, such as the Internet, through schools and also religious affiliations. And hopefully, within the next few years, the missing piece of childcare to the puzzle of the United States will finally fit.
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