Butler County childcare providers: The overlooked educators
By Eavan Carney
Miami University journalism student
Last September, COVID-19 federal funding for childcare ended. The funding brought in $52 billion for states like Ohio to maintain the childcare industry during the pandemic.
The money was provided to states through Child Care and Development Block, Child Care Stabilization grants, and three relief packages.
With the end of the funding, it is leaving those in the industry worried about the future.
Tracey Hoffman, a professor at Miami University Regionals in Family Studies, says the pandemic served as a wake-up call on the importance of childcare.
“It’s like we saw during COVID, how much we need it,” Hoffman says, “and how important it is because nobody can do anything without childcare, I mean, workwise and they aren’t appreciated, they are unpaid anything, they don’t have the same rights.”
Hoffman says the pandemic has only worsened the already existing problems within the childcare industry. In a report released in 2022, the average cost for center-based care for a toddler was almost $1,000 a month in Ohio.
Wages for workers are also an issue. Most childcare workers are women and they make less than 98% of other professions, which leads to high turnover rates.
“Most teachers I work with, are, I’d say $15 an hour is, is a high salary,” Hoffman says. “And it’s just a, it’s kind of viewed almost as babysitting, kind of a negative connotation. Anybody can do this, which, you know, we know is not true.”
Morgan Stansberry, the assistant director of Mini University in Oxford, Ohio, says the expiration of the COVID funds has produced some struggles.
“The funding has been a challenge. A lot of our parents relied on that extra money, because daycare is expensive, no matter where you go. And so that money I mean, the parents need it. And we’ve also seen an effect of just the developmental needs through all the children,” Stansberry says.
When COVID first hit, Mini University was among the childcare centers shut down for months.
“Everyone was going on unemployment,” Stansberry says.
Mental health and behavioral issues in childcare
In November 2022 Tracey Hoffman published research about the effect COVID-19 has had on childcare facilities.
Children in childcare settings had a higher incidence of depression, social problems and anxiety. Hoffman’s research suggests that children were more likely to experience mental health issues during the pandemic.
According to Policy Matters Ohio, 35% of children were ready to start Kindergarten at the end of the 2022–2023 school year. Stansberry says that all of the mental health issues she has seen are in the preschool classrooms.
“Whether it’s like a behavioral problem, whether it’s like a defiance disorder, or seeing a lot of like the ADHD, but they can’t get diagnosed with ADHD that young, right, although you see all the signs because it’s like a pinball machine in their head,” Stansberry says.
The pandemic, low wages and the competitive job market have left the Ohio childcare industry with more than 5,000 fewer employees since 2022. According to Hoffman, not having a consistent caregiver for those children ruins the attachment process needed to help children as they grow.
“The attachment theory basically is founded on the idea that there is a consistent caregiver for children, that sets the foundation for all of their relationships, all of their bonding, all of their ability to socialize. I mean, it’s huge,” Hoffman says. “Attachment is huge. And if we look at birth to three, these children are having a huge turnover in staff. And they’re there 10 hours a day, and maybe even more. I mean, that destroys their attachment process.”
The attachment theory was first introduced by psychologist John Bowlby. He argues that children form an attachment to one individual. If they are separated, children feel stress and anxiety.
“We see a lot of the, you know, you see all these new diagnoses for oppositional defiant disorder, and aggression and kids,” Hoffman says. “And part of that, I think, is the attachment process is never taking place during these first three years that it has to take place, and it has to be as secure versus an insecure attachment.”
In the years leading up to the pandemic, mental health concerns were rising among young children. The American Psychological Association reported that 40% of young people have feelings of sadness and hopelessness.
“It’s just frankly, alarming, I think the amount of children that are, are having some degree of mental health issues,” Hoffman says.
Hoffman suggests that the pandemic was just the tipping point for all of these behavioral problems coming to light.
Birth to 5 vs K-12
Research in childcare has shown that birth to five is a crucial time for young children. Early childhood education develops children’s comprehensive knowledge, social-emotional learning and motor skills.
According to the CDC, the early years of a child’s life are vital for later health and development. During this period, children will develop into their selves and begin to understand the world around them.
“Watching a two-year-old learn cause-effect or object permanence or concepts like that. You know, when you see their little light bulbs come on, and then you see them understanding and then you compare that to, you know, handing a child a worksheet and kindergarten, well, it’s just such a different way to learn,” Hoffman says.
K-12 curriculum builds off of the foundations learned in early childhood education. According to the National University, children learn vital social and emotional skills from peers, parents, and their teachers. Learning that early in life will continue throughout their education.
The university also explains that elementary education for example primarily focuses on “academic achievement” through subjects such as reading, writing and math.
“Children, birth to five or even birth to three are learning by interacting with their environment, rather than sitting at a desk in a classroom being told, information doesn’t make sense there,” Hoffman says. “So they’re not even. As we know, some kids do not learn in a traditional format. And I don’t remember sitting at a desk, feeling like I would get more out of it by having more worksheets or more drills or memorization.”
Childcare teaching strategies
Childcare in Ohio falls under the Department of Job and Family Services, not the Ohio Department of Education.
According to the Ohio Department of Education and Workforce, Ohio spent more on primary and secondary education in 2023 than any other year in history.
Because of this, educational advances and strategies taught in childcare facilities are overlooked, says Hoffman.
Mini University in Oxford, Ohio, has been implementing new teaching strategies to combat this. As assistant director, Morgan Stansberry has been helping teachers on how to effectively teach their classrooms.
“So, currently, I’m working with our purple room. Cleanup is a disaster for us. And so a strategy that we’re going to use is called a social story. A social story goes through step by step of what the child is supposed to do,” Stansberry says.
Stansberry and her staff teach their children through pictures. They take pictures of the kids during cleanup to show the child what it means to clean up and how it is supposed to look.
Mini University has two observational rooms for the Pre-K classrooms. According to Stansberry, this is a resource for observing how teachers handle their classrooms and what they can do to improve.
The Pre-K classrooms range from three to five. So, different strategies have to be used for different ages, says Stansberry.
“How can I teach this child that’s three, but I also need to teach the child that is five going to kindergarten? It’s really following those lesson plans and being able to bounce around when you need to be able to put those groups together and be like, ‘Alright, I have all my three-year-olds, let’s go do this group,’” Stansberry says.
“Or we have my four-year-olds plus one that might be five and struggling, like come over to my group. It’s being able to learn how to teach and know how to teach. And honestly just experimenting, and being like, Oh, this three-year-old is like at least four and a half, knowledge-wise, let’s move her up one.”
The National Association for Education of Young Children suggests the core of early childhood learning is play-based learning where children get to direct their learning.
However, Hoffman thinks that there needs to be improvement in this strategy.
“We’re following the child’s lead, we’re letting the child dictate the behaviors, and we’re letting the child get away with things…from a developmental standpoint shouldn’t. If we give kids too many choices, they become overwhelmed.”
Hoffman uses the example of choice-making for lunch. She says if we give them two options for food, children still have that control that is needed to build their independence.
Moving forward
On April 10, Governor Mike Dewine announced the effort to increase access to child care and Ohio’s public preschool programs. More than 16,000 children will have access to care.
A new Child Care Choice Voucher program was also announced. There will be increased financial support for over 8,000 children.
Although these new measures help, it is only scratching the surface according to Hoffman.
“You’ve got a system that’s inconsistent to start with. So I mean, even if, you know funding did increase, I’m not sure how that would look,” she says.
And Ohio is not the only state struggling to ensure the need for childcare is met. According to the United States Census, 61% of American parents do not have access to formal childcare services.
