Childcare and Its Complexities

By Tabitha Ervin FWIS Editorial Director

As a working mom, I know personally that childcare and after school care is basically a necessity. Over the years I have been able to take advantage of both for my daughter but access to these services is not always easy to navigate or affordable. From cost barriers to availability and everything in between, care for children can be quite complex. Some organizations accept private pay and some accept vouchers while others offer financial assistance. With all of these options, there are still many challenges that parents and providers can face.

For the providers, the challenges include staffing shortages as well as high operational costs, and various levels of certification needs for staff that can be daunting. These are just some of the barriers that the providers face which can sometimes impact who or how they serve families. Within the structure of childcare there are staffing ratios as well that providers have to abide by. For the State of Indiana those ratios can be found online at in.gov. When staffing shortages come into play, an organization cannot serve as many children as they could with the right amount of staff.

Another challenge with childcare and afterschool care is that when a family does not have access or cannot afford childcare, it impacts their ability to work and provide for their family. According to a study from last year led by the Indiana Chamber of Commerce, 57% of young parents have missed work or class due to childcare challenges and up to 40% reported leaving the workforce after facing several disruptions due to childcare challenges.

Of the many studies that have been done on the woes of childcare and afterschool care, most are focused mainly on the impact on the family and not as much on the challenges that providers face.

Despite the barriers, childcare and after school care remains a very important addition to a child’s educational experience as it exposes them to additional positive adults and many activities that supplement what is learned in school. Afterschool care often offers homework help, a snack, a physical component and some offer additional opportunities like games, guest speakers and more. These additional opportunities help support children outside of their parents' care by providing a safe space for children to belong to along with their peers. Childcare can help jump start a child’s educational journey by helping to prepare them for traditional schooling when the time comes in addition to providing caring adults to support children in their beginning stages of learning.

As a community, if we can all understand both parents' challenges and challenges faced by organizations who lead childcare, we can start to better support organizations leading childcare in our communities and families who need childcare. In my experience, the biggest challenge is staffing and having the right amount of staff with the necessary certifications needed to run the childcare or aftercare programs. How can organizations attract the appropriate talent in our communities who can be the positive role models and caregivers our children need? Many times we hear that one positive adult in the life of a child can make a huge difference. Can you be that adult and if not do you know someone who can?

Please connect with our local youth serving organizations to find out how you can be a part of the solution and be that one positive person in a child’s life!