Reimagining the Future of Our Work

02/24/2021

Reimagining the Future of Our Work

The goal of early childhood education should be to activate the child's own natural desire to learn.
Maria Montessori

A sobering but solid analysis from the always reliable and in-depth Hechinger Report:

"Though an exact count of closures is still not possible, 166,800 fewer people were working in child care in December 2020 than had been in those jobs in December 2019, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics. Even before the pandemic, as many as 2.7 million children under age 6 may have needed child care and not had a spot, according to an analysis of 25 states by the Bipartisan Policy Center."

"These effects have been especially stark in communities of color. Child care workers are disproportionately women of color, thousands of whom have continued working with minimal protection while many thousands more lost their jobs. Affordable, quality child care was already scarce in Latinx and Native communities, according to research on child care deserts by the Center for American Progress, a progressive think tank. And while less likely to live in child care deserts, median-income Black families already pay a larger share of their income on child care than other groups, the center found."

One way members of the Exchange community have been working to address these inequities is through “Reimagining Our Work” action groups. Want to join the conversation? We need your voice!

Source: hechingerreport.org/after-mass-closures-too-little-support-post-pandemic-child-care-options-will-be-scarce/

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