A delegation of child care providers today called on the state to do more to help cut the high turnover among the profession. Matt Tapscott is a child care provider from Des Moines who spoke for "Child Care Providers Together."
He says the 6,000 registered child care providers in the state want to be respected for the work they do, and want to be sure the dollars invested in Iowa’s child care and early education system are paying off and getting to the working families that need care and the workers that provide the service.
Tapscott says there’s a 27% turnover rate among child care providers due in part to low pay and benefits. He says 28% of child care providers don’t have health insurance. Tapscott says the average child care income in 2002 was $14,000 and providers had to re-invest nearly $9,000 back into their businesses.
The group joined with union members from AFSCME , Council 61 to call on state officials to make sure the state’s healthcare dollars are going where they’re needed. The group says it represents 55-hundred registered child care providers.