Letter: The broken child care industry needs fixing – InForum

Early childhood is a time of great growth and development that sets the stage for future success in school and life. Recent letters from

Nicole Flick

and

Jill Magnell

made it clear how crucial the first five years of life is to brain development and growth. I am adding my voice to theirs and many others to say that we must invest in child care and we must do it soon!

The child care industry has been subsidizing early care and education on the backs of teachers through low wages and by burdening parents with tuition rates that just keep climbing. This needs to stop. Our system is broken and needs to be fixed. We are losing staff and programs at an alarming rate. We want to be open with full classrooms, but without staff we cannot open our rooms and are struggling to provide the services that families so desperately need.

We need to fully fund child care. Our newly-elected officials need to hear how much you care about child care. We are asking for support to increase child care assistance to include more families at low- to moderate-income levels. We are asking for universal child care. We are asking that staff be paid on par with K-12 teachers. We are underpaid and deserve a living wage. Our government and businesses must do more to keep early care and education alive and available. Stand up for children. We are counting on you and taking note of our champions in the legislature. Be a light!

Kay Heidrich is the director of Trinity Lutheran Church Preschool in Moorhead.

This letter does not necessarily reflect the opinion of The Forum’s editorial board nor Forum ownership.