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The Hechinger Report
Early Childhood: Where do kids with disabilities go for child care?
By Jackie Mader
After giving birth to premature twins, one of whom had a disability,
Alexis began the search for child care. She called daycare providers
repeatedly to try to get spots for her children. She found it was
nearly impossible to find a center with two spots for infants, let
alone one who had a disability. Her partner, who worked night shifts,
ended up watching the twins during the day for a full year so Alexis
could work. Even as Alexis’ children became toddlers, her options
remained limited: she had to rule out any centers that did not have
elevators or ground floor access due to one twin’s physical disability.
She was nervous and cautious of providers who she feared may not pay
attention to that child, who also had limited speech. At night, she and
her partner would get in bed and “cry because it was just hard.”
Alexis’ experience is all too common for parents of children ages 0 to
5-years-old who have disabilities, a demographic that makes up an
estimated 15 percent of the country’s childhood population. According
to a new report from the Center for American Progress, parents of young
children with disabilities are more likely to experience difficulty
finding child care, are less likely to secure a childcare spot and are
more likely to experience job disruptions because of problems with
child care. Cristina Novoa, the author of the report, interviewed
Alexis and 16 other parents, whose last names were withheld for
privacy, and analyzed two national datasets on disability and child
care. Novoa found that while many parents struggle to find high-quality
childcare, the problem is especially acute for the parents of children
with disabilities. “They’re experiencing additional barriers…and
they’re paying an additional price,” Novoa said. “That means families
of children with disabilities are really, really
struggling.”
The report found that 34 percent of parents of young children with
disabilities had difficulty finding child care in 2016, compared to 25
percent of parents of children without disabilities, based on data from
the National Center for Education Statistics. Often that is due to a
lack of qualified caregivers, insufficient physical accommodations,
and, in some cases, caregiver bias or disinterest in serving children
with more complicated needs. In areas where child care options are
already sparse, this can be crippling for parents. Thirty-four percent
of parents of children with disabilities were unable to find child care
in 2016, compared to 29 percent of parents with nondisabled children.
Parents of children with disabilities are more likely to cobble
together multiple arrangements to find care and are more likely to rely
on relatives.
Several of the interviewed parents reported running out of parental
leave and paid sick days and experiencing exhaustion and stress due to
child care challenges. Nearly 1 in 5 parents of young children with
disabilities reported leaving a job, not taking a job or making
significant changes to their job due to childcare, compared to nearly 1
in 10 parents of young children overall. “These parents are so devoted
and love their children so much and do not see their child as a
burden,” Novoa said. But “they’re not supported. They are fighting so
hard to get their kids included in these programs.”
To improve child care options for parents of all children, and
especially for those who have children with disabilities, Novoa
recommends the following policy changes:
Require states to expand child care that is inclusive, enrolling both
children with and without disabilities, and provide more funding for
those child care settings. Novoa said the federal Child Care for
Working Families Act, a bill introduced by Sen. Patty Murray (D-WA) and
Rep. Bobby Scott (D-VA), addresses these aspects of child care.
Increase pay for the early childcare workforce so centers are able to recruit and retain highly-qualified educators
Increase funding for the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act,
or IDEA, which includes provisions for access to early childhood
programs for children with disabilities.
Create more work-family policies that give parents flexibility and
benefits to take care of children with disabilities or attend to those
children during the day as needed.
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