Director's Report

January 22, 2007

Advocates back Quality Child Care
House Labor Committee takes testimony Monday

A parade of witnesses Monday asked the House Labor, Health and Social Services Committee to support legislation aimed at addressing the availability and the quality of child care available to Wyoming parents.

The Legislature is considering two bills this session, House Bill 95 and HB 96, which detail the program and provide funds for it. The House Labor and Appropriation committees held a joint hearing on the bill Monday afternoon and evening.

Rep. Elaine Harvey, R-Lovell, HD 26, explained the bill, outlining first the clear need for the program. She noted that 66% of Wyoming children between birth and 8 years of age are in child care. Not all of them are in licensed facilities, not all of them are in quality child care facilities, “but they’re all there,” she said. And every child care facility surveyed by the state reported that it has a waiting list of people seeking space to place their children, she added.

The legislation under consideration this session addresses Wyoming’s need for more day care and its need for quality child care, she noted.

Wyoming First Lady Nancy Freudenthal said the bill addresses her concerns that people of lesser means may not be able to obtain the professional care their children deserve. “It’s not enough to have a loving environment,” she said. In the modern world, children “need a learning environment” to succeed, she said.

Some child care providers from Cheyenne voiced concern about the rating system and the expectations of supporters of the bill. Others said the bill challenges child care professionals to provide better care and learning opportunities. The committee members were asked to take into consideration concerns about the education requirements in the bill providers must meet to achieve higher ratings.

Few other opponents testified. The committee continues its hearing Tuesday morning. Some observers expect the main opposition to the measures to surface in an email campaign similar to that of last year, when the plan was excoriated as a socialistic program.

Proponents, of course, counter with the argument that the world has changed since the days when a father worked and a mother stayed home with the family’s children. These days, people simply need good quality day care. It’s an investment as basic as investing in streets or clean water or in libraries. For single mothers or single fathers, particularly, welfare reform has made clear society’s demand that they work to support themselves. If we expect people attempting to lift themselves out of the need for public support, they must have places to leave their children for a work shift where they will not only be safe, but be in an environment that supports and encourages learning.

And Wyoming’s businesses and industries know that their employees need quality day care or they will not remain at work or perform reliably.

The bills give the state to do not only what is good for its children but provide the human infrastructure needed to support the economy.

Please contact both your local legislators and the members of the House Labor and Appropriations Committees. If a member of either committee is your representative, please be sure to note in your message to that legislator that you live in his or her district. Quality Child Care is House Bill 95 and the bill containing the appropriation Quality Child Care is House Bill 96. Both can be read on the Legislature’s Web site.

The House Labor, Health and Social Services Committee includes: Jack Landon, chair; Ken Esquibel, Liz Gentile, Timothy Hallinan, Elaine Harvey, Jerry Iekel, Tom Lubnau, Lori Millin, and Jeb Steward.

The House Appropriations Committee includes: Frank Philp, chair; Rosie Berger, Steve Harshman, Alan Jones, Pete Jorgensen, Owen Petersen and Jane Warren.

Dan Neal

Executive director

Read the ESPC’s testimony on the quality child care bills.