As a member of the Rotary Club of Wilmington, I believe that making high-quality early care and education accessible for every young child from infancy to age 5 will help all children prosper, ultimately save the community money and make Delaware a better place to do business.
But today, the child care system in Delaware is in crisis. Constant underfunding has resulted in a lack of quality and affordable child care, an increase in child care deserts and children arriving unprepared for kindergarten.
Consistent underinvestment has hit Delaware child care providers hard:
These problems are particularly acute for low-income families. In the view of many, Delaware has underfunded its portion of the purchase-of-care subsidy for children of poorer families, thereby impeding their access to affordable child care. As a result, many providers must turn low-income families away and have difficulty finding adequate staff.
The Rotary Club of Wilmington urges the state to up its investment in high-quality child care. Numerous studies have shown that increased investment in early child care (0-5 years) pays significant dividends for the children, the community and the economy. Quality child care not only supports children’s development but allows families to get back to work and businesses to hire much-needed staff.
Delaware’s leaders should make an important investment in our future by providing for an increase in ongoing, sustainable funding for child care in the fiscal year ’23 budget.
Donald Parsons is a retired vice chancellor for the Delaware Court of Chancery and a member of the Rotary Club of Wilmington.
