When is the "big business" of child care too big for our little kids?
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GoogleAs a family child care provider and entrepreneur of sorts, I know that parents depend on me to support their families and to make sure their young children begin school ready to learn.
On a typical day, I take care of eight kids, who range in age from an infant to an 11-year-old. Holidays, Saturdays, every day of the week―I am there for these families. My work week goes far beyond 40 hours. I don't mind this because I enjoy working with children, and it's so rewarding to watch them grow up.
But as much as I love my work I can see that the child care system in this country is in crisis. A lot of families are having a hard time finding child care they can afford. Providers like me are being driven out of the business because so many of us have no health insurance and no sick days and have to work two jobs to make ends meet.
Now Bain Capital, a giant corporate buyout firm that buys and sells companies to make a profit, is getting into the business! Bain Capital just bought the third largest for-profit child care chain in the country, Bright Horizons, for $1.3 billion. This friendly takeover is costing Bright Horizons tens of millions in up-front fees and annual "management" fees. More important, it is saddling the company with what even its executives admit is a "substantial" new debt of $850 million.
What does this have to do with the quality of child care at Bright Horizons centers?
Residents at nursing homes bought by private investment firms were worse off on almost all benchmarks of their health and well-being, on average, than under previous owners, according to a September investigative report in The New York Times.
When buyout firm KKR took over Bright Horizons rival Kinder Care chain, they replaced its CEO, a leading child care expert, with someone whose main qualification was a prior stint managing a hotel chain. And during KKR's years in control of Kinder Care, one St. Paul center tallied 73 license violations over several years, including one confirmed case each of child abuse and child neglect.
Just like any other company, Bain has a right to make a profit―but not at the expense of young children! Bain Capital's dealmakers now have the power to make decisions that affect 16,000 teachers nationwide and tens of thousands of young children and their families. The question is, will Bain Capital's improve access, quality, and compensation, or will they enact cost cutting measures that harm the quality of child care services?
Child care providers like me are joining together with parents, teachers, community advocates, and others who have been working to improve the quality of child care, and we are calling on Bain Capital to commit to providing quality child care at Bright Horizons Centers. We are going to make sure Bain Capital moves Bright Horizons forward, not backward. Among other elements of quality child care, Bain Capital's management should ensure that Bright Horizons centers:
*do not shut down
*expand or maintain their capacity
*employ skilled, well-compensated teachers
*maintain a stable workforce
*maintain safe staffing ratios
*support and reward education and training for teachers
*provide a safe and stimulating physical environment
*establish reasonable and affordable parent fees.
Join our campaign and help us protect quality child care! Go to TellBainToPutKidsFirst, where you can send a message to Bain Capital, share your questions and concerns, sign up to stay informed, and get involved in holding Bain Capital accountable for quality child care.
This blog was originally published in the Huffington Post as a Peaceful Revolution blog of MomsRising.org. A Peaceful Revolution is a blog about innovative ideas to strengthen America's families through public policies, business practices, and cultural change. Done in collaboration with MomsRising.org, read a new post there each week.
Kathy Williams is a full-time, licensed family child care provider in the Los Angeles area who also operates a homeless shelter with 18 beds at a separate location.
Child Care
Hello, my name is Karissa and I am a freshman at California State University Chico. I am taking an English class and in it I have been doing some research. Based on that research, our assignment was to choose something you were passionate about and write a research paper on it. I was reading your article and strongly agree. So I decided to add a little bit of information from what I found in my research. It is important to make sure that our children are properly taken care of, and that they develop into competent, morally correct, financially stable citizens. If they are properly taken care of then our country’s future should be in good hands. My research focus was on child care. More and more mothers have to take up jobs to maintain financial stability in the home. According to Edward F. Zigler, “In 1950, only 11.9% of mothers with children under age 6 were working; in 1981, the figure rose to 48.9% and in 1992, it rose to 58%.” With more mothers working, more children have to go into child care. It is important to know that if parents need to place their children in child care, then they need to make sure that it is a good environment or their child may develop bad behaviors or it could even be hazardous. One such case that I read about in “Child Care Options” was, “Three-month-old Jeremy Fiedelholtz died last year…after being put to sleep on his stomach…he had choked in his own vomit.” He was in a care facility that did not keep a close watch on him therefore no one was there to see him choking. I believe that the core argument involves income. I have learned that there are programs out there to help families who are struggling financially but they are in short supply. I believe that the government needs to focus more on the young, to provide the best help for healthy development. I know that it will not be immediate but steps need to be taken to address the issue. I also have learned that many parents do not want to put their child into care but they have to in order to maintain a job to provide for them. With this in mind, I want to know what can be done to create financial stability and safe child care facilities around the country.
Child Care Solutions
Hello Karissa,
I read your comment and I am excited that a person of your age is interested in child care and is getting involved. In response to your question, I know about several solutions to the child care problem. One such solution, is that struggling parents may be able to receive scholarships or grants that will pay for or help with the cost of child care. It varies between states and communities, but there is financial help out there. Also, parents don't necessarily have to send their child to a child care facility, there are great nanny agencies out there. It is troubling to hear of cases like the one you stated about the baby that died, but in most child care facilities before they get established they have to go through a measure of safety checks before they can open. Not only do the places have to pass certain safety standards, but they also have to have a certain adult-child ratio. In the unfortunate case of the three month old, it sounds like he was placed in an unwisely chosen care facility that was not operating to the standards. As long as parents do their research by finding out the standards and making sure the facilities uphold them, then their child should be in good hands. I hope this information has helped you in your research.
Sincerely,
Jone
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