DAY CARE COMMENTARY

August 23, 1997

Chicago Tribune

COMMENTARY

NIGHT MOVES

Karen Culberg, Program director, Illinois Caucus for Adolescent Health.

The Aug. 8 editorial "Time to stop calling it day care" encouraged the City Council to change the ordinance forbidding day-care centers to stay open after 9 p.m., and it was an excellent public education piece.

Just two examples of the need: Fewer than a third of Americans work traditional 9-to-5 jobs. And the welfare requirement that women must work will by definition lead to unskilled and bottom-of-the-heap jobs. Also, many teen parents who have dropped out of school have their best shot at completing their educations in night school, when the only source of available child care is that provided by family members or friends.

For young people who do not have supportive families, attending night school or accepting employment during non-traditional hours is often ruled out because of lack of child care, either in centers or with home day-care providers who benefit from being organized in networks.

Further, when parents, out of desperation, try to patch together child-care arrangements that are unsafe and occasionally have tragic consequences, the parent, not the system, is found at fault and publicly castigated. Ald. Helen Shiller's (46th) ordinance is a first step to rectifying an antiquated system.

The next steps are to raise rates offered to providers who accept subsidized clients, to align those rates with market rates; to authorize additional funds for home day-care networks and to offer incentives to those providers who care for special populations. Illinois has made strides that are recognized nationally in the effort to provide child care to all residents who are income eligible.

Now the hard work begins of monitoring the new system to ensure it truly serves the needs of families. It is heartening that Ald. Shiller's ordinance is expected to pass the City Council. The public needs to know the complexities of the child-care system.

Copyright © 1997 Chicago Tribune Company