It Is Only Our Future

A society that entrusts its’ most valuable assets to its lowest paid workers, and then further works to see that these low paid employees have no incentive to make long term commitments towards preserving these valued assets, is doomed to failure. Yet, that is exactly what we are doing. This may explain many problems we have.

Child care workers literally hold our future in their hands. Research indicates that 90 percent of brain development occurs during the first three years. It is critical that these young minds are stimulated and become ready to learn. The care of children by parents and child care workers requires proper brain stimulation.

Child care employees should be experts in infant care, child learning, health, and emergency procedures. We should want skilled employees remaining in the child care profession. Instead, many child care employees are minimum wage employees in a profession with a high turnover rate. How can we expect people to devote themselves to a career involving the greatest of responsibilities when they receive such low wages and few incentives to remain?

Innovative programs have kept child care workers in their jobs by offering child care employees scholarships as incentives to remain at their jobs. This has had several advantages. It has kept child care workers in the jobs. This gives children an important stability in their lives. For child care employees, they become better employees by gaining both more knowledge while gaining more experience.

Unfortunately, this brilliant idea of scholarships for child care employees has become a victim of politics. The Republican legislative leadership has killed funds for these scholarships. This is a step in the wrong direction. These scholarships should be restored, and expanded. After all, it is only our future at stake.