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Kim Carson often rocks a cranky infant, coaches a toddler to tie his shoe and makes oatmeal, all at the same time. “I'm not out there to be rich. My thing is just providing for the kids, said Carson, owner of Carson's Family Day Care. "There are some whose only nourishing meal of the day is the one they receive here.” The impact Carson has on the development of the children she cares for in her home is her primary motivation and reward. It has to be. Childcare workers have a higher concentration of poverty-level jobs than almost any other occupation in the United States, according to a new report by the American Federation of Teachers Educational Foundation's Center for the Child Care Workforce. “While there is more attention than ever focused on the importance of early childhood education, those who care for and who educate our young children continue to be among the lowest-paid professionals,” said Marci Young, director of CCW/AFTEF. “We are never going to achieve the high-quality early childhood education system that we know all children deserve if we do not invest in the workforce itself.” The AFT reports that only 18 occupations out of 770 surveyed by the Bureau of Labor Statistics reported having lower mean wages than child care workers in 1993. People made more repairing bicycles, attending locker rooms and pumping gas. Preschool teachers don't do much better. Nationally, child care workers' mean hourly wage is $8.32 and preschool teachers' is $10.67, compared to kindergarten teachers, who earn $20.38. Last year, Georgia childcare workers earned a mean hourly wage of $7.33, about $15,240 annually. In 2002, the most recently reported mean wage for preschool teachers in Georgia was $9.46 per hour “It's appalling how little (childcare workers) are paid,” said Terrie Oliver, Early Childhood Care and Education Department Head at Savannah Technical College. Students in the program are not learning about changing diapers and wiping noses, said Oliver. Savannah Tech's courses teach day care workers how to lay the foundation that will determine whether or not a child will do well enough in school to become a doctor, lawyer or teacher. But many people still consider their work babysitting. “We tell students if you're here for the money, you came to the wrong place,” said Oliver. Quality childcare is essential because of the tremendous amount of brain development that occurs between birth and age 3, said Janna Taulbee who teaches child and infant prenatal development at Georgia Southern University. “It's like trying to build a house without a firm foundation,” she said. But there is a common misconception that anyone can raise a child and it has led to low standards and pay for early childhood education workers, Taulbee said. “The low pay and lack of benefits give very little incentive for people to enter the early care and education profession,” said Edward J. McElroy, president of the American Federation of Teachers. AFT reports that, nationally, wages for early care and education teaching staff rose just 0.6 percent in 2003 and wages for early care and education staff have decreased in 12 states and the District of Columbia since 2002. Georgia and South Carolina were among them. “Childcare jobs have 40 to 60 percent turnover primarily because of the pay,” Taulbee said. “Generally they pay minimum wage ($5.15 per hour) and provide no benefits.” If early care and education teachers aren't discouraged by the pay, the government standards usually send them packing. “They push the limits on the number of children per teacher,” said Taulbee. “In Georgia the license permits up to four infants per teacher and five toddlers per teacher.” And, continued Taulbee, the requirements for learning to shoot a gun and drive a car involve more time than the training required to teach a small child. Savannah Tech's early childcare certificate programs require 19-25 credit hours of training. This certificate will enable someone to start a family daycare or work as a daycare assistant. The diploma program requires one year of coursework in basic academic skills, early childhood education curriculum and safety. Graduates qualify to work as daycare and Head Start teachers. The two-year associate degree provides basic early childhood education training and college core curriculum. Graduates can own and operate their own daycare center, work as a school paraprofessional, or transfer to Armstrong Atlantic State University's teacher education program. “If we are to attract and retain well-educated and better-trained early childhood education teachers, said Young, “Our nation must invest adequate resources to support this important workforce.”
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