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Oct 2, 2008 5:42 pm US/Central
Local Child Care Group Urging Government For Help
DALLAS (CBS 11 / TXA 21) ―
Many of the bailout's critics insist it shouldn't be to help only Wall Street, but Main Street, USA as well.
A group of local child care providers is urging the government for help.
The spike in gasoline and food prices alone are putting the pinch on the Good Street Baptist Church Child Care Center and the parents who depend on it.
Gwendolyn Sneed has run this center since 2001. In that time she says she's not seen a raise for herself or her staff.
"There have been no raises; merit, cost-of-living, the raise we just experienced was due to minimum wage being raised," she said.
Her kids' parents run the gamut economically. Some make as little as $800 a month. Some work for DISD, which is facing layoffs.
"Parents in Corporate America are facing layoffs, restructuring on their jobs, and we have had individual talks about pay arrangements," said Sneed.
"Most child care providers are lucky to break even," said Susan Hoff, the CEO of the Child Care Group. The Dallas non-profit manages child care for more than 14,000 kids daily. She says federal funds to subsidize low-income working families has remained flat for years, and that needs to change.
"One way that we help American families is for the federal government to put more money into supporting child care providers, particularly for those lowest-income working families," she said.
Hoff points to one of her own staffers, who has a 15-month-old child in the program. Sneed shares similar concerns.
"I try not to worry, and my concern is for the staff, basically," said Sneed. "This is their livelihood."
Hoff argues that government assistance will pay for itself, in her words, "investing in our youngest children now we're preserving the work force of the future."
(© MMX, CBS Broadcasting Inc. All Rights Reserved.)
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