The childcare industry is considered to be in crisis, and care providers in Charlotte have recently said they need over $200 million in additional public funding to support the field. Janet Singerman, the CEO of advocacy group Child Care Resources Inc., has spent over 40 years in the care field. Singerman is set to retire at the end of this month after nearly 28 years at the Charlotte-based organization.
WFAE’s Elvis Menayese spoke to her about what the funds are needed for and how the field is managing.
Elvis Menayese: Janet, you’ve spent over four decades involved in the child care field, and a large part of your time has been spent with Charlotte-based Child Care Resources Inc. I’m interested to know what initially drew you to the care field.
Janet Singerman: It's always been important for me for women, children, and families to thrive, and the work of Child Care Resources Inc. and the work of the field of child care resource and referral, is one that really focuses on creating access to opportunity for women, for children, for families, and for all those who rely on quality child care in order to prosper. So that's the family, that's the child, that's the employer. That's the community.
Menayese: Right now, child care is considered to be in a ‘crisis’ with there being a lack of funding to support and retain teachers, and keep some programs running to full capacity. Is this crisis really new, though or in your time in the field, has child care in North Carolina always faced a problem with being able to sustain itself, its staff, and the children it serves?
Singerman: It's always been inadequately financed because there hasn't been sufficient public will to adequately finance child care. There are lots of issues that impact public will around child care, and there are lots of biases that impact public will around child care. There are gender biases, there are socioeconomic biases, there are racial issues, and there are cultural kinds of biases that impact public will. We don't yet have public will for early care and education in the way that there is public will for public school education and for higher education.
Menayese: Why is that, though? Why do you think that's the case?
Singerman: I think as a society, we haven't invested in women's issues impacting women and children adequately, and I think that is again around gender-related bias, fundamentally.
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Menayese: Put some numbers to it - how much are teachers paid on average, and how much are parents paying?
Singerman: Our average classroom teacher pay is $14 an hour. In Mecklenburg, it can range up to maybe $15 to $16 an hour, but statewide, the average number is about $14 an hour. Well, you can make more at fast food restaurants, you can make more at call centers, you can make more at big box stores. And to give you a sense of what programs charge, the annual full-time rates, center-based care, the average for an infant is $16,744, and family child care home rates for an infant, on average across star ratings, is $12,168. So, if you look at center-based care, which is the more predominant form of care where more children are enrolled, you know, you're talking about more than double the cost of college tuition at UNCC or UNC Chapel Hill.
Menayese: Federal funds from the COVID-era American Rescue Plan Act ran out last year, as well as extended grants approved by state legislators, which ran out earlier this year in March. Those funds enabled care programs to increase the salaries of teachers and offer benefits. With that funding gone, how are child care programs in Charlotte coping?
Singerman: Well, they are struggling and raising tuition. Some classrooms are not open because they can't find staff who will either accept jobs or stay in their positions.
Menayese: Last month, over 20 child care programs in Charlotte closed their doors as part of the Day Without Child Care initiative to raise awareness of the child care crisis. Emma Biggs, a care provider serving about 62 children, was one of the people who closed their center. Here’s what she had to say about the initiative and why she closed.
Emma Biggs: It’s not to punish their parents, it’s to let our communities and businesses know that if we do not get funded, and we have to close our doors, then they’re not going to have employees, because our work is the reason they can go to work.
Menayese: Janet, what have you heard from advocates, and why are they asking for over 200 million dollars?
Singerman: The cost of labor has increased post-pandemic and hasn't reverted because of wage inflation, and the cost of goods and materials has impacted, you know, happened during the pandemic and has not reverted to prior levels.
Menayese: How do you feel about the field's ability to continue to support itself or receive financial support going forward? Are you optimistic about its future or not?
Singerman: It is hard to retire at this point. I think that what we know about the importance of early care and education for all who rely on it. I'm talking about employers and our economy. We know a lot about the importance of early care and education. We have a gap in the funding of its importance. Clearly, that concerns me and every child care advocate, and we're just going to keep working and working to try and leverage the kind of investment that's necessary individually, publicly, and really engaging the business sector too.
Menayese: Janet, thank you for your time, and congratulations on your upcoming retirement.
