Dr. Arnie Lapp Payne

Program Developer Supervisor

Virginia Department of Social Services

730 East Broad Street

Richmond, Virginia 23219-1849

Comments on Child Care Regulations:

Thank you for the opportunity to provide my comments to the council.  My name is Mary Margaret Gardiner.  I have worked in the early care and education field since 1976, for private for profit, non profit and church related child care.  I have worked as a parent educator , home visitor and provide training for child care workers through the HANDS program (Helping and Nurturing Developmental Stages).  I am also the president for the Virginia Association for Early Childhood Education.

I am very encouraged by the proposed changes to child day care regulations.  They have the potential to strengthen and improve the quality of care for the over 300,000 children with working parents in the Commonwealth of Virginia. 

The proposed changes in ratio, teacher training and group size among others are proven by research to be critical factors in providing quality care.  High quality care leads to the development of more advanced learning skills, such as language and math abilities and social skills.  By providing children with

Teachers who understand child development and have more opportunity to interact with the children because of smaller numbers of children and group size, we can positively effect the experience of the children we care for.

A second benefit of these proposed changes is likely to be reduced staff turnover.  The emotional cost of high turnover to children and families is high.  Children need consistency in caregivers who are warm responsive, and offer classroom environments and activities that take into account each child’s needs.

Reducing class size and increasing training cost money.  You are likely to hear strong opposition to these changes based on cost.  I ask you to consider the benefits to the children and working families.  Clearly, these benefits outweigh the costs, which if you really look at them may not be a burden.

Cost of hiring, training and finding caregivers to replace those who leave the field can be very expensive.  A 1998 study found the cost to be around $1500 dollars per employee.  $1500 can go a long way in training opportunities or making up for smaller group size.  Consider saving $1500 per employee times the number of staff that need to be replaced due to turnover.  People leave the field because of the stress of working with large groups of children, low pay, and lack of support through training and professional development.  I know from my own experience as a parent, my 2 year old child had 6 teachers in 8 months of child care.   How can a child ever feel safe and attached in an environment that has this level of turnover? 

We need to invest more in the lives of children, our youngest citizens.  It will pay off in the future with less money spent on special education, less grade retention,  improved scores on standardized tests, reduced crime and welfare rates and a more productive labor force.  Our state was once a leader in the level of care we provided for our children. These proposed changes are positive steps towards returning to that level.  We owe it to our children, our fellow citizens and the country to make these changes.

Thank you, for your time.

Mary Margaret Gardiner

VAECE President