The Antidote to Medical Errors

January 2000 - The Antidote to Medical Errors

by Sam N. Gregorio and Richard H. Middleton, Jr.

In the last three decades we have made remarkable advances in our societal institutions—but child care is not one of them.

The National Council of Jewish Women (NCJW) recently released a report comparing the state of child care in the United States in 1972 to its status in 1999. The report reveals that access, affordability, and quality are major parental concerns, and that child care in this country can best be described as "in crisis."

More than 50 percent of preschool children are in child care arrangements. Yet, children and their families face a continued scarcity of safe, high-quality and affordable child care.

"It is a significant problem for most families, whatever their income levels," according to Jan Schneiderman, NCJW national president, and Nan Rich, immediate past national president, in the 1999 child care report called, "Opening a New Window on Child Care."

The NCJW, a volunteer organization founded more than a century ago, first examined the state of child care in 1972 in its report called, "Windows on Day Care." The report found there was almost no quality care available for infants and toddlers; costs were too high for parents at all income levels; no federal child care standards existed; and low and poverty-level wages were paid to child care staff.

According to the NCJW's 1999 report, those four original findings have not changed.

Schneiderman believes the state of child care can improve if parents, community activists, business leaders and lawmakers dedicate themselves to making positive changes. However, the hurdles blocking the road to change are high, according to the latest NCJW report.

The report finds that regardless of family income, child care for families of 3- to 5-year-old children is the third greatest expense after housing and food. The average cost of child care is $4,000 to $6000 annually. Some families pay $10,000 annually.

Also, 31 percent of all teaching staff at child care centers leave their jobs every year, compared to a 7 percent annual teacher turnover in elementary schools.

Forty percent of pre-school teachers have only a high school diploma, and 41 states do not require day care providers to have any child development training.

The NCJW and other child-advocacy organizations recommend that funding for child care and school-age programs should be increased at local, state and federal levels. In addition, public and private sectors should work to help employers offer affordable parental leave, flexible scheduling and support for on and off-site child care. State and federal standards should be created to ensure quality. Services should be expanded to help parents monitor care providers and make educated decisions about child care.

When the NCJW unveiled its report in February on Capitol Hill, lawmakers Sen. Mary Landrieu (D-La.); Sen. Christopher Dodd (D-Conn.); Rep. Rosa DeLauro (D-Conn.), Rep. Connie Morella (R-Md.), and Rep. Jan Schakowsky (D-Ill.), pledged congressional support for better, more affordable child care.

More than 30 organizations have also pledged support of NCJW's campaign to improve child care, including the Children's Defense Fund, American Academy of Pediatrics, Fannie Mae, Lifetime Television, Association of Trial Lawyers of America, the National Association of Criminal Defense Lawyers, the National Education Association and the YMCA.

For more information on child care, call the NCJW's Action Line at (800) 829-NCJW, or check the Web site of the Children's Defense Fund.

Richard H. Middleton, Jr., president of the Association of Trial Lawyers of America, is a partner in the Savannah, GA, law firm of Middleton, Mixson, Orr & Adams.

Sam N. Gregorio, president of Louisiana Trial Lawyers Association, is a sole practitioner in Shreveport.

Reprinted with permission of Louisiana Trial Lawyers Association, P. O. Box 4289, Baton Rouge; (225) 383-5554 or (800) 354-6267.