The views expressed in this article, chronicle a speech on Capitol Hill by Ms. Katharine Stevens. Recently, I launched a study about the use of the word, disadvantaged, as it relates to early childhood communities. Disadvantaged can be defined as a group that doesn't have the means to change their circumstances, low income, or being in an environment where high levels of education are lacking. While serving the ECE community, I often wondered if I would feel comfortable telling the families that I was serving that because of the average income in the community, the lack of education, and the lack of resources, their family was considered 'disadvantaged' and 'vulnerable.' I would not feel comfortable with such a statement. I believe that all young children, not offered early childhood education, are vulnerable as compared to children who attended.
Young children are not able to change their parents' situations. When families do not have positive financial gains, they may be prompted to make negative decisions such as choosing unlicensed child care, expecting to escape the expense. In today's time, much of America is considered financially vulnerable, including children with both single and married parents. The middle and lower classes of America have shifted over the years, and since it has, it's important to understand that making good decisions about the care of the youngest is not only a parental issue but a crisis worthy of being assessed and addressed by both local and state agencies that oversee ECE communities. When we consider that all children are disadvantaged or vulnerable, it makes me wonder where are the children that are not vulnerable, and advantaged? Having worked in both higher and the lower socioeconomic backgrounds of families, I have found that families and the issues that they face daily are quite similar. Regardless of a family's ease to pay premium fees for ECE, the expense is one that is rated in comparison with a mortgage payment (average fees $1300 per month), a family's income should no longer be used to determine the vulnerability of children and their families.
ECE programs in our country need an overhaul. The programs that are not able to meet federal requirements, need to be phased out over time. Programs that currently operate under federal standards must also uphold the standards. If we continue to 'drag our feet,' young children will be waiting for years to come.
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