Letter to the Editor, published in the Salinas Californian, on Oct. 3, 2011
By Ruth Erazo
As a child care provider, I wear many hats: I help kids learn. I keep them healthy with nutritious meals and exercise. I encourage creativity through music, arts, crafts, reading and writing. Perhaps most importantly, I help families keep food on the table and a roof over their heads; as I care for the children each day, I also give their moms and dads the peace of mind that their kids are safe and thriving, so they can go to work and not worry.
California child care providers want to keep California families working, and that’s the reason we are asking Gov. Jerry Brown to sign AB 101, a bill on his desk that will give us the tools to fix California’s broken child-care system.
Having child care is essential for families to get off public assistance and get back to work — the last thing an employer wants is a worker without reliable child care. With all the state budget cuts, 200,000 children are on the waiting list for child-care subsidies through California’s welfare-to-work program, but even the families fortunate enough to qualify are having a hard time finding care providers.
That’s because California hasn’t listened to child-care providers who have been trying for years to fix serious problems in the system. 5,700 providers went out of business last year alone. For each of these small businesses whose doors were shut, up to 14 families had to scramble to find scarce child care alternatives or interrupt their jobs.
Without being paid, many more providers like me have had to make the painful decision to stop accepting children because we just can’t make ends meet.
In the broken system, child care providers can’t count on being paid for our work on time, or even being paid at all. Confusing regulations and licensing requirements mean we spend too much time sorting out paperwork rather than doing the work we love.
During the state budget stalemate, I went unpaid for months, and my family, my business, and my health are still recovering from the stress. I had to file for bankruptcy, and I may lose my house. Unable to pay for health insurance, my husband and I are still dealing with uncontrolled stress-related medical conditions, like hypertension.
I’ve always loved working with kids, first as a pastor and now as a licensed child-care provider. Families are counting on me and I know what a difference I can make in young people’s lives because many of the young people I cared for have grown up and become successful.
I hate to turn away kids whose families need the help, but there was just no way to continue operating at a loss. I want to keep doing what I love, and help the families who need me most, so I’m taking an active role in fixing the broken child-care system. I’ve gone to Sacramento to talk about the problems, but like other child-care providers, I feel like my voice has been ignored. We’ve been working together to form a union so we can make our voices heard.
That’s why we’re asking Gov. Jerry Brown to sign AB 101 so we can fix the system we care about and that’s so important to our families, our children, and our economy. We know we can make the changes we need if given the chance.
Ruth Erazo has been a child care provider in Salinas for nine years.