Group celebrating childcare workers seeks federal support

Ashley Pulkinen (left) helps Iklas Hersi (center) and Lydia Dees with a craft project during the national “Day Without Childcare” event Monday at Maine YWCA Central in Lewiston. Pulkinen is an advocate who works with her family. Harshi and Dees are enrolled in a childcare program. Darin Slover/Sun Journal

LEWISTON — The People's Alliance of Maine and YWCA of Maine teamed up on Monday to observe a national day of action: Day Without Child Care.

The goal was to honor child care workers and inspire people to seek more federal support for child care facilities and families in need.

“This is a national day of action to draw real attention to the fact that without child care, there really is no economy,” said Amanda Hatch, director of programs and impact at the YWCA.

Participants called for more funding to make child care systems more equitable for racial and gender justice, increase wages for child care workers, and make child care affordable and accessible to all families. ing.

Some facilities across the country have decided to close for the day to raise awareness of the hardships faced by them and their families. Instead of closing, the YWCA decided to hold a two-and-a-half-hour gathering for families and offered a variety of activities.

Hatch said many families without childcare are having to make difficult decisions.

Cindy Tucci and her 8-year-old son, Sebastian Verilla, make cards during the national Day Without Childcare event Monday at the YWCA in Lewiston. Verilla attends his YWCA child care program before and after school. Tucci said the care allowed her to earn a college degree and work as a special education teacher. Darin Slover/Sun Journal

In some cases, families may need to decide whether a child is old enough to stay home alone after school until the parent returns from work. But some people consider leaving work for one parent to care for their children, which disproportionately affects women, she says.

“It's not wrong for any family to feel so oppressed. It's a flawed system, and we can and should demand better.” said community organizer Carrie Jadu. “We have the power to do better.”

Birdie Gay, deputy director of the YWCA children's home, said she was in the same position several years ago after her second child was born. She stayed at home for several years because her childcare costs were unaffordable.

Her daughter, now 2, is old enough to attend the YWCA's child care program, which is paid almost entirely by gays, she said. She understands that many facilities are supposed to offer free space to the children of their staff, but many have been forced to withdraw that benefit given financial constraints.

Jadud said she wants childcare to be treated as infrastructure because it is fundamental to the workforce. It's as important as the roads and buses that bring people to work.

During World War II, when many men were deployed, the government managed to provide childcare for women who entered the workforce, she said. The federal government needs to provide more funding for child care, she said.

She said she expects Rep. Jared Golden, D-Lewiston, to be a champion for child care.

Ifrah Asowe picks up her 8-year-old son, Abdi Hirsi, from the after-school care program at YWCA Central Main in Lewiston on Monday. Darin Slover/Sun Journal

“So we know that when we decide it needs to happen, it can happen,” Jadud said. “I think we need a lot more investment at the federal level to make this a really sustainable kind of system.”

Despite a number of historic investments in childcare recently approved by the government, Hatch said there was still a long way to go in understanding the importance of childcare workers. She sometimes called it a “thankless” job.

There are many requirements that facilities must meet and the education levels of their employees vary, but in many cases they are only seen as babysitters and are not respected as much as other people who work with children, such as school teachers. said Gay.

The first five years of a child's life are developmentally important, she said, and childcare workers can support families throughout those five years. There are many other benefits to sending your child to foster care, such as helping young children develop language skills and reducing stress for parents.

“I think if people thought of it in the same way as public education, if it was something that all or most children experience, it would get a little more attention and maybe be easier to find.” ,” Gay said. “…from birth to age five, developmentally, if you don’t have anything, you’re not ready. The majority of life is spent in those years, and those involved in raising children are not ready for it. It helps strengthen it within.”

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