Congress Passes Resolution Supporting National Child Care Worthy Wage Day

On May 1, the House passed, 345-73, a resolution (H. Con. Res. 112) recognizing May 1 as “National Child Care Worthy Wage Day.” The Senate passed the measure, by unanimous consent, the same day.

Sponsored by Rep. Carolyn McCarthy (D-NY), the resolution contains a number of findings, including:

approximately 63 percent of the nation’s children under age five are in nonparental care during part, or all, of the day while their parents work;
the average salary of early care and education workers is $18,180 per year, and only one-third have health insurance and even fewer have a pension plan;
the quality of early care and education programs is directly linked to the quality of early childhood educators;
the turnover rate of early childhood program staff is roughly 30 percent per year, and low wages and lack of benefits, among other factors, make it difficult to retain high quality educators who have the consistent, caring relationships with young children that are important to children’s development;
the compensation of early childhood program staff should be commensurate with the importance of the job of helping the young children of the nation develop their social, emotional, physical, and cognitive skills, and to help them be ready for school; and
child care workers should receive compensation commensurate with such training and experience.

The resolution “urges public officials and the general public to honor early childhood care and education staff and programs in their communities and to work together to resolve the early childhood care and education staff compensation crisis.”