By Gregory Martin | SOURCE: THE GAZETTE
As we start this new year, I am taking the time to reflect on the selfless and dedicated people I have had the privilege of working alongside as a United States Air Force General. From the front lines to the halls of the Pentagon, I have witnessed the impact of thousands of individuals who serve with unwavering commitment. This group of individuals includes the service members who have volunteered to serve our nation, but it also includes the people who work tirelessly to ensure that the parents in the service are able to accomplish their missions with the knowledge that their children are in the best of hands — child care providers and early educators.
In the military, we understand the importance of having a quality, qualified child care workforce. The Military Child Care System, or MCCS, is the country’s largest employer-sponsored early childhood education program, employing about 20,000 child care workers and serving more than 200,000 children of uniformed service members and civilian Department of Defense employees. The MCCS has been hailed as a success story in quality care.
Unfortunately, for parents in the workforce who don’t have access to the MCCS, the civilian sector is lagging behind.
For many Americans, finding child care can be a challenge, especially for parents of infants and toddlers. For those who are able to find open child care slots for their children, a struggle in itself, the options available are often unaffordable or lacking in quality. Many child care providers have struggled since the pandemic to keep their doors open, trying to find the correct balance between being affordable for parents in their community while at the same time investing enough in the quality of the care they can provide. One group often gets left behind in that balancing act; the child care workforce.