According to the National Institute of Early Education
research- The state of Preschool 2013, there have been a decrease in funding
since 2002. NC-Pre K classrooms statewide that are private like the facility
that I work in, are required to have high quality ratings under the state child
care star-rated licensing system to qualify for state subsidy. Lead teachers
are mandated to have bachelor’s degree and an NC Birth-Kindergarten license. In
the 2013/2014 year, all teachers must meet the minimum BA/BS degree as well as
hold, or be working toward the BK licensure requirement. Most of the staff at
our facility have degrees, there are only a few with no degrees. We are a
private 5 star rated development center as well but we still have some issues
with getting more funding. I hope that this situation can be resolved in the
future for more private child care facilities.
I
looked into the child welfare tab and have noticed that there are more than 6
million children living in kinship families in which grandparents or other
relatives are raising the child when the parents are unable to do so. Children
live with relatives without the involvement of child welfare agencies, or
children may be “diverted” to relatives by the courts. The caregivers may need financial or other
help to appropriately meet the children’s needs. The organization is working to
ensure the needs of these kinship families are met to ensure children are kept
safe, healthy, in loving families, and reaching their full potential. Kinship
care has been found to help children maintain family, and oftentimes community,
connections. There is also strong evidence that children placed in kinship care
experience greater stability, have fewer behavioral problems, and are just as
safe-if not safer-than children in non-relative care. I personally did not know
that there were that many children in the US living in kinship families. A lot
of grandparents can only do but so much but yes I do believe that they need
more help in terms of finances. I hope that CDF do as much as they can for
these families.
On the
Children’s Defense Fund website, I found under the Early Childhood Development
& Learning tab another website called growamericastronger.org. The website
showed national polls that show overwhelming support for early childhood
education in pushing Congress within 2 years to ensure that America’s children
get a strong start in life. 83% of North Carolina voters say that investments
in early childhood education would help NC’s economy. Investing in early
childhood not only helps the children and the state’s economy but it can help
us as professionals to get better training to help be highly qualified as
professionals.
References
Demand, V. (n.d.). 83% of North Carolina Voters.
Retrieved from Voter Demand: http://growamericastronger.org/poll/
Education, R. S. (2013). The
State of Preschool 2013. In R. S. Education, North Carolina School Profile
(p. 104). National Instutute for Early Education Research.
Fund, C. D. (n.d.). Kinship
Families. Retrieved from Children's Defense Fund:
http://www.childrensdefense.org/policy/welfare/
Angel, I am glad that you pointed out the value of kinship in looking after the young children. Although this was more prevalent in the past, people's mobility has affected this practice as well. It is good to note as well how support is deemed necessary for the families who are involved in this type of care. Hopefully, it will flourish once again.
ReplyDeleteAngel
ReplyDeleteIt seem to be more of the norm that programs are requiring staff to have a certain level of education to work with young children. I think that's great . Is your program providing funding for them to pursue their education
Angel, it seems you have really studied the website you chose very carefully! I find it really enjoyable to explore my website, each time I look around I discover something new.
ReplyDeleteI also feel inspiried that such a large percentage of NC voters feel that early childhood education is important.
Angel,
ReplyDeleteI think that it is important and critical for teachers to have credentials when working with young children. In order to properly meet the needs of children, teachers at least need to understand basic child development. I took my CDA many years ago, and that level of knowledge just doesn't compare to the knowledge of a degree.