Ensuring a good start
TL;DR: Parent or child stipends and paid family leave appear to be effective ways to ensure infants and toddlers get a good start. 'Fund the child, not the child care center' may be the catchphrase. Possible additional efforts include Grade 13, livable minimum wage, a 4-day workweek, and remote work.
My campaign has been about changing the debate and uncovering underlying patterns that connect the issues. For every crisis, we must ask, "Is the question well-posed? Is it accurate framing? What are the alternative ways of looking at it? Is it a solution posed as a problem? Does it describe the bottom of the problem, or is there something deeper? What links it to other crises?"
A report to the Legislature by Regenstein and Patel recommends creating "a new unit of state government that is focused entirely on early childhood." -- https://legislature.vermont.gov/assets/Legislative-Reports/Vermont-Child-Care-and-Early-Childhood-Education-Systems-Analysis-Final-Report_July-2022.pdf
I would like to know why this is a new and worsening problem.
The word ‘crisis’ indicates a pressing problem and an opportunity. Before accepting the opportunity as presented, I would be very interested to find out if there are related issues. What confounds the crisis? Vermont is not the only wealthy place in the world, and I often hear reports of greener grass on many topics in Europe, Japan, Australia, New Zealand, and Canada. Which jurisdictions are doing a better job? What place would you like Vermont to emulate? What would you do if you had the authority to change the world and how it operates?
The Pregnancy Risk Assessment and Leave report (https://www.healthvermont.gov/sites/default/files/documents/pdf/HS-Stats-PRAMS-Leave-2018.pdf), among others (https://www.healthvermont.gov/health-statistics-vital-records/population-health-surveys-data/pregnancy-risk-assessment-and) provides a concise review of parents’ views and pregnancy outcomes. If you know of a better source, please let me know. It’s apparent that parents with money tend to stay home to take care of their kids, as indicated in this chart:
— https://letsgrowkids.org/client_media/files/FinalSATS2022.pdf
The business of caring for these children is fraught with challenges. The assumption/conclusion is that more workers are needed. It isn’t easy to find workers; it would take time to train and evaluate them. Let’s Grow Kids does not consider demand-side approaches.
What would it take to eliminate the demand for infant and toddler childcare?
Acknowledging that every family is different, it looks like (1) leave from work and (2) income while parenting are universal concerns. During the pandemic, it was demonstrated that steady income reduces poverty, resolving several problems at once (https://www.cbpp.org/research/poverty-and-inequality/robust-covid-relief-achieved-historic-gains-against-poverty-and). I would want to look at a parent stipend and paid family leave, with prenatal and postnatal support (‘birth class’). If there are about 3k first children born in Vermont each year and 6k new parents (just using a two-parent family as a reference point), then for a first child/birth, a parent stipend/leave of $2k/month for 18 months would provide a more comfortable start for the family. If parents stay home sequentially, the first three years of the first child’s life could be funded for around 6kx2kx18k=$216m. Let’s say the birth classes cost about $1k/child, or another $3m, for a total of $219m. (Please check my math and assumptions.) This should reduce childcare demand at an age that would require costly childcare. If childhood is the best investment in a person’s future, it makes sense for the state to budget for this expenditure. I am confident that analysis already exists to assess this approach against other scenarios. It is not clear whether such a stipend should go to a parent, or be associated with the child.
Paid family leave can work in concert with a parent stipend. If New York can figure out how to make it happen, and then expand it, surely Vermont would want to copy New York, just to be an attractive place for young workers in the Northeast.
https://paidfamilyleave.ny.gov/
https://www.jec.senate.gov/public/_cache/files/646d2340-dcd4-4614-ada9-be5b1c3f445c/jec-fact-sheet---economic-benefits-of-paid-leave.pdf
Generally, I am not a fan of means testing, as it is cumbersome, circumstances change constantly, and it can be degrading. Universal services support equity. Adjusting overall tax rates to make them more progressive or discouraging activities/consumption according to the public interest is better than dedicated funding streams. An expenditure should stand on merit. Revenue should also have independent merit and support a general, zero-based budget.
In higher education, Vermont has long had a policy of funding the student, not the institution. Vermont Student Assistance Corporation has been around for many decades. I think this would also be a good approach for infants and toddlers. Just as funding a college student allows them access to out-of-state institutions and non-college opportunities, it may be that the best option for a child is something other than childcare: a playgroup co-op, relatives, a stay-at-home parent, or some other arrangement that can't be predicted by legislation. Needs change quickly, something that a steady income can help accommodate.
Some other policies that I think would indirectly improve childhood in the long term: extending high school and reducing time at work. Grade 13 and associated performance-based graduation requirements (PBGRs) would probably help reduce kids entering adulthood prematurely (https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/full/10.1111/j.1468-0297.2008.02159.x). It would raise minimum academic standards for Vermonters, resolving a long-discussed problem of kids ending their education too early. Combined with increased alternative educational pathways, Grade 13 would ensure that all Vermonters get a little extra school and a better chance for higher income.
Less time at work means more time for rest and other activities, such as taking care of kids. The four-day workweek and remote work are promising ideas. As governor – within the state government – I would at least experiment with these and other alternatives to a five-day workweek. Finally, a livable minimum wage is another universal, simple change that would simultaneously address many issues, including supporting high-quality childcare, setting salaries for childcare workers and ensuring consistently higher income for families.
I look forward to learning more about how kids can get a good start in life and to taking action.
###
My campaign has been about changing the debate and uncovering underlying patterns that connect the issues. For every crisis, we must ask, "Is the question well-posed? Is it accurate framing? What are the alternative ways of looking at it? Is it a solution posed as a problem? Does it describe the bottom of the problem, or is there something deeper? What links it to other crises?"
A report to the Legislature by Regenstein and Patel recommends creating "a new unit of state government that is focused entirely on early childhood." -- https://legislature.vermont.gov/assets/Legislative-Reports/Vermont-Child-Care-and-Early-Childhood-Education-Systems-Analysis-Final-Report_July-2022.pdf
I would like to know why this is a new and worsening problem.
The word ‘crisis’ indicates a pressing problem and an opportunity. Before accepting the opportunity as presented, I would be very interested to find out if there are related issues. What confounds the crisis? Vermont is not the only wealthy place in the world, and I often hear reports of greener grass on many topics in Europe, Japan, Australia, New Zealand, and Canada. Which jurisdictions are doing a better job? What place would you like Vermont to emulate? What would you do if you had the authority to change the world and how it operates?
The Pregnancy Risk Assessment and Leave report (https://www.healthvermont.gov/sites/default/files/documents/pdf/HS-Stats-PRAMS-Leave-2018.pdf), among others (https://www.healthvermont.gov/health-statistics-vital-records/population-health-surveys-data/pregnancy-risk-assessment-and) provides a concise review of parents’ views and pregnancy outcomes. If you know of a better source, please let me know. It’s apparent that parents with money tend to stay home to take care of their kids, as indicated in this chart:
And parents with higher income tend to be paid to take leave.
Parents desire more leave time, even after 12 weeks.
Let’s Grow Kids has sent me several messages about increasing the number of childcare workers and their pay. Their description of toddlers and infants outlines the unique demands of parenting cast as a production problem:
Infants—children between 6 weeks and 23 months—require the most attention, support, and one-on-one care of all three age groups. They are experiencing rapid developmental and emotional growth, making things like one-on-one attention, physical closeness and nurturing, and caregiver continuity important in any program serving this age group. Additionally, infants need significant physical support, such as diapering, feeding, and monitored nap time. To best meet these needs, caring for infants requires a low child-to-staff ratio, making them the most expensive early childhood age group to care for. Given the cost of providing quality infant care, many programs have capacity for only a few infants. Toddlers—children aged 24 through 35 months—like infants, also require a significant amount of physical care and support. During this developmental stage, children are rapidly discovering, learning, and absorbing new knowledge from their environments. For toddlers, being read to, spoken to, and given engaging and safe care and learning environments are necessary features of an early care and education program. Toddlers also require a low staff-to-child ratio to support their developmental and physical needs.— https://letsgrowkids.org/client_media/files/FinalSATS2022.pdf
The business of caring for these children is fraught with challenges. The assumption/conclusion is that more workers are needed. It isn’t easy to find workers; it would take time to train and evaluate them. Let’s Grow Kids does not consider demand-side approaches.
What would it take to eliminate the demand for infant and toddler childcare?
Acknowledging that every family is different, it looks like (1) leave from work and (2) income while parenting are universal concerns. During the pandemic, it was demonstrated that steady income reduces poverty, resolving several problems at once (https://www.cbpp.org/research/poverty-and-inequality/robust-covid-relief-achieved-historic-gains-against-poverty-and). I would want to look at a parent stipend and paid family leave, with prenatal and postnatal support (‘birth class’). If there are about 3k first children born in Vermont each year and 6k new parents (just using a two-parent family as a reference point), then for a first child/birth, a parent stipend/leave of $2k/month for 18 months would provide a more comfortable start for the family. If parents stay home sequentially, the first three years of the first child’s life could be funded for around 6kx2kx18k=$216m. Let’s say the birth classes cost about $1k/child, or another $3m, for a total of $219m. (Please check my math and assumptions.) This should reduce childcare demand at an age that would require costly childcare. If childhood is the best investment in a person’s future, it makes sense for the state to budget for this expenditure. I am confident that analysis already exists to assess this approach against other scenarios. It is not clear whether such a stipend should go to a parent, or be associated with the child.
Paid family leave can work in concert with a parent stipend. If New York can figure out how to make it happen, and then expand it, surely Vermont would want to copy New York, just to be an attractive place for young workers in the Northeast.
https://paidfamilyleave.ny.gov/
https://www.jec.senate.gov/public/_cache/files/646d2340-dcd4-4614-ada9-be5b1c3f445c/jec-fact-sheet---economic-benefits-of-paid-leave.pdf
Generally, I am not a fan of means testing, as it is cumbersome, circumstances change constantly, and it can be degrading. Universal services support equity. Adjusting overall tax rates to make them more progressive or discouraging activities/consumption according to the public interest is better than dedicated funding streams. An expenditure should stand on merit. Revenue should also have independent merit and support a general, zero-based budget.
In higher education, Vermont has long had a policy of funding the student, not the institution. Vermont Student Assistance Corporation has been around for many decades. I think this would also be a good approach for infants and toddlers. Just as funding a college student allows them access to out-of-state institutions and non-college opportunities, it may be that the best option for a child is something other than childcare: a playgroup co-op, relatives, a stay-at-home parent, or some other arrangement that can't be predicted by legislation. Needs change quickly, something that a steady income can help accommodate.
Some other policies that I think would indirectly improve childhood in the long term: extending high school and reducing time at work. Grade 13 and associated performance-based graduation requirements (PBGRs) would probably help reduce kids entering adulthood prematurely (https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/full/10.1111/j.1468-0297.2008.02159.x). It would raise minimum academic standards for Vermonters, resolving a long-discussed problem of kids ending their education too early. Combined with increased alternative educational pathways, Grade 13 would ensure that all Vermonters get a little extra school and a better chance for higher income.
Less time at work means more time for rest and other activities, such as taking care of kids. The four-day workweek and remote work are promising ideas. As governor – within the state government – I would at least experiment with these and other alternatives to a five-day workweek. Finally, a livable minimum wage is another universal, simple change that would simultaneously address many issues, including supporting high-quality childcare, setting salaries for childcare workers and ensuring consistently higher income for families.
I look forward to learning more about how kids can get a good start in life and to taking action.
###