by Carolyn Rutsch, Foundation Relations Manager
National Women's Law Center
Twenty-one years ago this month two Miami children, Maurice and Anthony, 3 and 4 years old, were left unattended at home while their mother worked. They climbed into a clothes dryer, closed the door, and burned to death. Their mother, one of approximately 25,000 on the waiting list for state child care assistance, had left them alone after her child care provider cancelled at the last minute and she could not risk staying home for fear of losing her job. At the time, the story circulated on Capitol Hill as one of the tragic cases dramatizing the lack of affordable child care for millions of families in America.
Little has changed in the intervening decades. In the November 12, 2007 issue of The Nation, reporter Sharon Lerner profiled the child care situation of a 10-month old girl, Alexandria, whose mother works full-time as an assistant care worker for a family service agency in Palm Beach, Florida, earning $19,000 a year. The young girl’s plight is representative of more than 45,000 children in Florida and half a million around the country — despite being eligible for assistance, children linger on long waiting lists to receive the federally subsidized child care they need to be safe and for their parents to be able to work. Federal funding for child care is insufficient to meet the needs of low-income working parents. Since President Bush took office the problem has worsened — at current funding levels, some 450,000 fewer children will receive child care assistance by 2010 compared to 2000.
In the absence of affordable child care, parents turn to informal, often lower-quality options. In the case of the child profiled in The Nation article, the mother turned to an elderly woman who offers sporadic care, charges more than the family can afford, and leaves the television on for most of the day. When this woman is unavailable, the mother is forced to bring her 10-month-old along to work, risking the loss of her job.
These are the facts. Child care is necessary for women to both get and keep jobs. Only 1 in 7 children eligible for federal child care assistance receives help. Good, reliable child care plays an important role in helping mothers stay employed and helping children get the strong start they need to succeed in school and in life. Low-income parents also have less access to paid leave and have less flexibility to schedule their work hours than higher-income parents.
Parents shouldn’t have to make impossible choices between going to work and safe, decent child care for their young children. As a nation, we cannot afford to risk tragedies like the one that befell Maurice and Anthony or the future of young children like Alexandria. Where are the candidates on this issue? It is time for new, bold proposals that address the real-life situations of low-income working women in America.
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