According to our analysis of 2011-13 Child Care and Development Block Grant (CCDBG) data, fewer eligible Hispanic, American Indian, Native Alaskan, and Asian children received CCDBG subsidies than the national average.
Race also factors significantly in child care and early education suspensions; fewer than 20 percent of public preschoolers are Black but these children receive 42 percent of all first-time suspensions from those programs.
Moreover, race affects compensation, as well. Early educators of color are often relegated to the lowest-paying positions in child care centers and are paid, on average, 84 cents for every dollar their white colleagues make.
States and advocates are using many approaches to make their child care systems more equitable. In Oregon, the new CCDBG funds prompted the state to launch an initiative called Baby Promise. This initiative uses contracting, professional development, and pilot programs to sustainably expand access to high-quality infant and toddler care for low-income populations, including African American, Latinx, and homeless families, and other groups.
[ > Center for Law and Social Policy – September 6, 2018 ]
