Ashton White and her husband each earn around $36,000 per year. They currently receive federal assistance through the Child Care and Development Block Grant. Without that subsidy, the cost of sending their two youngest children to Cubby’s Child Care Center would cost $1,685 – about a third of their income.

 

“That’s twice our mortgage payment. Once child care assistance ends, we’ll have to withdraw our children from child care and that will be devastating as a family,” White said. “We have no family members capable of caring for them and we can’t afford to stop working.”

 

White shared her dilemma – a common one – at Tuesday evening’s “A Day Without Child Care Town Hall,” held at Bridgeport Municipal Building.

 

Childcare providers, parents, business leaders, delegates and other government representatives met to learn and discuss solutions to the current childcare crisis and how important it is to families, businesses and the community.

 

“This crisis is multi-faceted, and it is not new,” said Jennifer Trippett, director of Cubby’s Child Care Center and a representative of Champions for Child Care with WV Association for Young Children. “The crisis is not because of COVID, but maybe because of COVID, more people understand it.”

 

The obstacles include staffing shortages and ability to pay childcare workers a living wage, the rising cost of childcare across the board, wait lists to get a child into childcare, and the trickle-down effect it all has on the community: Parents quitting the workforce to care for their children, which causes breakdown in communities.

 

“West Virginia parents pay more for childcare for one child than if that child was attending West Virginia University. We need the community to know that,” said Amy Jo Hutchinson, economic justice and community organizer and leader of Rattle the Windows, a West Virginia grassroots movement.

 

According to Child Care Aware of America and TEAM for West Virginia Children, 42.6 percent of West Virginia children under age 6 need but cannot get childcare. In fact, our state ranks dead last for childcare accessibility.

 

Trippett said Cubby’s has a waitlist of 271 and Sonda Williams, operator of Miss Lucy’s Childcare – a much smaller operation – has 62 families waiting.

“We have small facilities, with a maximum of 12 in each facility (infant and toddler),” Williams said. “We don’t have a lot of subsidized children. Our employees are only making $15 an hour and we have to let some go because they have children and can’t afford childcare. But we can’t get that money from the state because they work for me.”

 

Currently, Williams’ workforce is down, therefore her teacher to child ratio is down and she only has 12 total children; three of them attending free because she has decided to provide that perk to keep good employees.

 

“But I’ll do that to keep qualified, wonderful employees there to care for the children,” she said.

 

 About a third of Trippett’s enrolled children at Cubby’s are government subsidized, but those payments are not what she typically charges per child.

 

“I’m losing money on 195 kids,” she said.

 

She said she would love to invest in some enrichment programs for her enrollees, but she cannot afford to.

 

Ann Crowe is a 30-year developmental delay teacher in Harrison County. She talked about the importance of high-quality childcare and its effect on later years.

 

“It provides structure, a caring environment, quality staff, and the social/emotional development these children crave,” she said. “Age-appropriate toys, activities and games provide the stimulation they might not get at home. They learn different skills and gain empathy by being with people.”

 

Quality daycare provides an important educational foundation, easier transition into public school, and possibly even plays a role in eventual need for special education, Crowe said.

 

Christi Ritz, Executive Director of the WV Association for Young Children, mentioned a trio of bills in recent legislature addressing enrollment-based subsidy vs. attendance-based subsidy.

 

“Before COVID, if you had a child receiving childcare assistance, centers were only paid for days the children attended. If they showed up two days, they got paid for two days,” she said.

 

That presents yet another dilemma because if the child is enrolled, he or she is taking up a spot that cannot be filled by another child who might attend five days per week.

 

“You cannot run a business successfully if you don’t know what your income will be each week,” said Helen Post Brown, President of the WV Association for Young Children and owner of Sunbeam Early Learning Center in Fairmont.

 

Recently, the Department of Health and Human Resources extended enrollment-based payments through 2024, which is temporarily good news.

 

But much more needs to be done.

 

“We can’t keep doing this and expect different results. Parents are being forced out of the workforce because of a system that could be repaired,” Hutchinson said. “We want a permanent solution. Start sending messages to decision makers to make children and families priority.”

 

To get involved, visit http://www.wvayc.net and/or rattlethewindows.com. You can also reach out via email to wvayc1@gmail.com. 

 

May 8 is A Day without Childcare, a national awareness effort which many child care centers are observing by closing their doors. Some local centers, including Cubby’s and Miss Lucy’s, will remain open that day.