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2008 Children's
Agenda
Item 7. EARLY CHILDHOOD
ISSUES
| POLICY RECOMMENDATION:
The 2008 Children's Agenda supports increasing the safety and quality of
child care through lower child/staff ratios, improved teacher qualifications, adequate child care reimbursement rates to improve quality and the increases in market rates and minimum wage. |
Increase Safety and Quality in Child Care
Research consistently demonstrates that the
provision of high-quality care from the beginning of a child's
life makes an enormous difference in a child's cognitive,
emotional and physical development. Oklahoma has built a
nationally recognized quality child care program. Called
Reaching for the Stars, the program allows the Oklahoma
Department of Human Services (OKDHS) to assist low-income
families in paying for child care, when it is needed in order
for a child's caregiver to work or attend school, and to provide
higher reimbursement rates for higher quality care.
According to the Oklahoma Child Care Portfolio, published by the
Oklahoma Child Care Resource and Referral Association, the most
important factor in ensuring high quality care is the teacher. A
trained teacher is essential to helping young children learn,
responding to their emotional needs, identifying potential
health, developmental or behavioral issues and working with
parents to understand the changing needs of their children.
Yet despite the importance of this work, the most common degree
held by most Oklahoma child care providers and facility
directors is a high school diploma. On average, a child care
provider earns just above minimum wage, less than half the
average salary for Oklahoma's elementary school teachers. This
makes it difficult to attract and retain teachers with the
experience and education needed to ensure high quality care. In
fact, Oklahoma's average turn-over rate is almost 60% per year.
In order to increase the wages of teachers, OKDHS is requesting
funds for a subsidy rate increase to come up to market
standards. In addition, funds are being requested to address the
recent increases in the federal minimum wage. The minimum wage
increased from $5.15 per hour in 2006 to $5.85 per hour in July
2007; it will increase to $6.55 per hour in July 2008.
FISCAL NOTE
The Oklahoma Department of Human Services (OKDHS) is requesting
$12,583,000 to increase reimbursement rates to meet market
demands tied to quality child care standards, and $13,445,000 to
address the increases in minimum wage. Total request:
$26,028,000.
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