The Balancing Act of Child Care and Work, With No Options - By Anonymous
My greatest challenge has been FINDING CARE! I recently moved, or am in the process of moving from one barren child care desert to another. In my county, there are only 3 child care centers serving almost thirty-eight THOUSAND people. I am unsure how many of those are children, but what I am sure of is that there are only 384 spots in child care centers for those children. And that number is probably lower because whenever I called, some centers did not have classrooms open at the time because they did not have staff. Also, some centers closed as early as 4:30p.m. So not only could I not find spots, but I also could also not find accommodations for my schedule.
This year, I have a second grader, a kindergartener, a 4-year-old, and a 12-month-old (and that is important, because a 1-year-old is different). I was so excited to get my daughter into kindergarten because I thought it would be a weight lifted off my shoulders. I was wrong.
I had planned for them to get on the bus at our new house, specifically because the year prior I was told the bus came at 7:15 a.m. This way, I could leave them with my boyfriend, and he would still have enough time to drive 30 minutes to his job as a teacher. A few days before the first day of school, they changed the bus route, and the bus now is arriving at 7:45 a.m. Also, the after-school program that they had last year was not continuing this year. This means someone would have to pick them up at school at 3:00 p.m. (most days, unless they have a random early dismissal or day off) or they could ride the bus to our new house and be back at 3:45pm. But no one would be there to get them off the bus or watch them either.
The one child care center in the area does not take school age children nor has any openings there is one home child care that is full. Then there's the 4-year-old, who cannot go to re-K within our school district because our school district doesn't even have a room to put a Pre-K classroom in. She can go to another school, but only for a half day. All the times that she would need to be picked up or dropped off are during our work hours and there is no transportation nor anyone else that can transport her. She also needs speech services, so she must go to a Pre-K program for those. So, then I call the local preschool. We make too much money for a full day, so she can go to a half day there as well. They will provide transportation.
I find a home child care for my 12-month-old and with him and the 4-year-old child care costs $1,920 per month. And that is if there are only 20 days in the month. I also no longer qualify for child care assistance because I am "living" with my boyfriend, but also still have my other house I haven't moved out of yet. We've literally been doing this balancing act of how to survive and care for our kids, while trying to make ends meet. And part of that means not combining our households or getting married because we would lose the social safety nets that we already have lost.
Almost all these issues have only arisen recently because I got a new job. Previously I worked in child care and did not have most of these worries. I knew my children were well taken care of, had quality care, and were getting a great education at their previous child care center. I left that job to further my career and take a job that provided benefits for my family that I have never been able to offer them before. But every day, I worry about who can pick up my kids, what will happen when/if they get sick and need to stay home, and if I can pay for child care.
I need access to child care in our area, quality child care that is open actual working hours and has the ability to take school-age children, even if they have days off from school. I need consistency for my children and myself.