Blog 11

A recent story ran by azfamily.com discussed proposed dramatic increase in what childcare facilities pay for their licensing fee. A normal annual three year licensing fee has been a flat rate of $150 put the proposed fee increase could sky rocket some facilities fee’s as high as $13,442 depending on the number of children enrolled in that facility. The announcement of this proposal has childcare facilities struggling to find ways to deal with the proposed hike and many say that passing the cost hike onto the parents may be on the only way they may be able to stay in business. Talk about pouring salt in an already deep wound. Recently two friends of mine were told that all employees would take a 20% pay cut deduction effective immediately in hopes of saving jobs and avoiding more lay-offs and now State health care regulators want to increase the cost of childcare license fees to make up for state funding cuts. This all comes at a time when companies and business are struggling to stay afloat. Wages are being cut and benefits are being pulled which is increasing the out of pocket costs for most people. And now there is a black cloud looming over their heads that come Jan 1st 2010 they may see a significant rise in their childcare costs. With some parents who live pay check to pay check this increase could mean that something else it going to have to give in order to compensate for the rate increase. So what does this mean for single poor mothers who are already struggling to get by? Will it be food, clothing or healthcare that will have to suffer?

Blog 10

I didn’t know Motherhood would be this hard.


The birth of a child should be a wonderful experience for Mothers and yet so many are faced hardships they did not foresee. We learn through the women in Chaudry’s book the challenges that women facing when trying to better themselves for the benefit of their families while also looking out for the best interest of their children. Sara for example was a mother a mother who took drastic steps to ensure to ensure safe and adequate childcare for her daughter. With limited resources available to Sara she turned to the first at only option available to her at the time which was family. Family can be a strong helping hand to a mother trying to work and raise her children but there are also times like Sara’s for example where family is not always the best option. The help that Sara’s mother provided was a roof over their head and a safe place to sleep at night, but along with this came the constant arguments and reminder that Sara and her daughter were making things harder and really not that welcome. Sara was able to see that this situation was not good for her or her daughter and left. The next kin support that Sara sought out was Cristina’s father and his family back in Ecuador. Living conditions there were also crowded and with women being expected to stay home with their children and jobs and income scarce for Cristina’s father Sara new that returning to the States would still offer the most benefits to her and her child. Sara experienced a fear that no mother should feel when her wonderful daycare provider asked Sara to give her Cristina because she loved the baby and could provide more for her than Sara could. Due to this experience Sara became even more determined to find childcare for Cristina in an environment that Sara felt safe leaving her there and to know that her child would be loved and cared for. It’s a sad time when a mother such as Sara turns to a shelter as her only hope of getting adequate help for her and her child. Lying in a room in a shelter with a table against a door as your only protection fearing that if you close your eyes someone may enter and hurt you or your child, this is a situation you would expect to see play out in a movie and yet this is really happening to real people. That fear of constantly wondering if your child was safe is a fear so close to my own heart. I was 22 years old when my son was born and his father and I had to hold down full-time low paying jobs to make ends meet which limited our daycare options. I opted to place my son with an in home childcare provider because of costs and the benefits I felt he would receive with a more one on one atmosphere. The first provider was recommended by a family member and was within our budget. She was great and I felt safe leaving my son in her care. Unfortunately the sitter’s financial situation changed which forced her to seek employment outside of the home. The next childcare provider we found off of a list of highly recommended providers and she too did childcare out of her home. She was great and once again I felt safe and comfortable leaving my son in her care but do to changes in my childcare providers circumstances I was once again forced to look again for childcare. This time I turned to the previous sitter’s back up sitter who had watched my son while his regular sitter was out of town. She came highly recommended and she had an opening, my son started bright and early Monday morning and my son was killed Thursday morning the day before he turned 2. My son was beaten and suffocated by the babysitter I hired to take care of him. The following year I had a daughter and I could not face the thought of leaving her in the care of anyone so I quit work and started watching children out of my home as a form of income. My marriage did not survive the death of our son so not I was single, raising a child on my own and unable to leave her in anyone else’s care. I had to sacrifice many things in my life to be able to stay home with my daughter and its amazing how the government decides how much money is too much money for a mom to make to receive benefits. Sara saw that the only way to make a better life for her and her daughter and get assistance in doing so was to enter the shelters and follow the sometimes ridiculous steps on the system to get housing for her and her daughter. Sara states in her interview that although things got really rough at times her daughters life was less interrupted due to the quality of childcare Sara sought out and arranged for her through her determination and never giving up.

Blog 9

Blog 9

An income of $20,000 a year for a family of four is below the federal poverty level and that is exactly where nearly 13 Million children land. From 2000 to 2005 this number increased by 11% that’s adding another 1.3 million children who are living in poverty. The accuracy of these numbers has been greatly questioned and is being acknowledged as inadequate. In the 1950’s data collected showed that families spent one-third of their income on food. Now a days families spend far less than one-third of their income on food due to the disproportionately growth costs of housing, transportation and childcare. The system is being stamped as flaw to do the fact that there are things that should be looked at and considered when determining ones poverty level such as: child-care, transportation and work related expense. The systems also take individuals and lumps them into groups under standard categories rather than considering the varying needs of individual families. Who are these nearly 13 million children living in poverty? A graph breaks down the children living in poverty by race which shows us that 10% are white children, 11% are Asian children, 28% are Latino children, 29% are American Indian children and 35% are black children. If we take into account the States of California, Florida, Illinois, New Jersey, New York and Texas which hold the highest number of immigrants we learn that children with immigrant parents have higher chance of being poor than that children born to native parents. Poverty is not something that will ever go away, yet changes need to be made to stop the rise in numbers of children living below the poverty level. One of the greatest challenges parents face to day is making work pay. Without regular increases in minimum wage to combat the rising costs of food, housing and transportation families have to go without choosing to forgo adequate childcare and healthy meals to compensate. The scales have gotten to balance out more equally in order to change the number of children living below the federal poverty level

blog 8

Problems that Urban poverty create for poor working mothers ranges from childcare, adequate safe housing, resources available to students in public schools along with the conditions of the schools that these children attend. Jessica raises her three boys in a neighborhood that she refers to as bad. She does not allow her children to play outside for fear of them being shot or killed. The neighbors next door could be selling drugs within a 100 ft of her children yet this is all Jessica can afford on minimum wage. Jessica takes her children to the park to play in a safe environment away from their neighborhood. How is that right, a home should be a place that one can go to, too feel loved and protected from the outside world and yet Jessica takes her children away from their home so they can play safely outdoors. No mother should have to live under those conditions and no children should fear what is right outside their front door. Schools in areas like Jessica also have to deal with used and out dated school books, run down buildings and inadequate resources. Jessica and her children are victims of a society that believes that a single mother of three children can live adequately on minimum wage. So how do these problems differ from those of poor women living in mixed income neighborhoods? Looks can be deceiving of poor women living in mixed income neighborhoods. From the outside yes there neighborhood may be more inviting say that of Jessica’s and there may be more opportunities and resources available at the schools in the mixed income neighborhoods yet these are still single mothers who are working hard to raise their children and balance work and home with no time for themselves and little time left over for their children after work.

Blog 7

How does a minimum wage job add to the poor working women’s ability to find and maintain stable and safe childcare and make a better living? In regards to the story of Julia a young mother who turned to the system for help while she tried to better herself for a career that would allow her to provide for her children and yet around each corner there seemed to be another road block in Julia’s way. One of the biggest challenges Julia faced was providing quality childcare for her children when she has to rely on the government checks to pay the childcare provider. Julia’s troubles with the checks included checks not arriving on time, checks showing up short of what they were originally suppose to be or just not showing up at all due to paperwork being misplaced or lost. Julia stated the respect that she had for Sonia (her babysitter) and that Sonia herself was just trying to work and provide for her family also. Sonia did her best to work with Julia in regards to shit changes and mistakes with the checks but it all comes down being able to provide for your family and Sonia’s finances were being affected due to the mix up with Julia’s checks. It’s a shame that Julia was approved for a certain amount of money and yet due to clerical error she was forced at times to use family members like her cousin who seemed more bothered than anything at having to watch Julia’s children. She watched as her children were removed from an atmosphere that they enjoyed, felt comfortable and safe to an environment were they were bored with nothing to do and no one to play with except for Julia’s mother who was ill most of the time and really not a suitable caregiver for the children at her age. Julia was a woman who sought out an education a way to better self and received PA to help assist in her schooling cost, yet Julia had to choose between a part-time job to help make ends meet and school because if she tried to do both the would stop her PA. Julia was out there taking low paying or no paying internships to try and get her foot in the door she wanted a job and she wanted to provide a good life for her children. Julia’s problem like most was that she needed some assistance while she was working and going to school and yet according to the state the little amount of money she did make was going to be too much and would cause her to loose her benefits. It seems like the assistance and help that one receives from the state can at sometimes act as an anchor tied to their feet. No matter how hard they try to get out and better themselves something is always pulling them back. After watching the videos hosted by Roseanne Barr it is true no individual can live off of minimum wage. Jessica the mother raising her three boys, in a horrible neighborhood because that is all she can afford. Jessica gave the greatest example of how society holds individuals back. Jessica goes in early and often times stays late, she is an ideal employee yet she gets paid minimum wage with no chance of a raise and yet when she sets out to seek employment elsewhere they offer to pay her what she was making at her last job. How is she to get ahead when society has decided she is a minimum wage employee and no human being should have to raise a family on that.

Blog 6

Low-income Mothers especially low-income single Mothers struggle to find quality day-care within their budget. A childcare provider is someone who spends a great deal of time with your children each work day. This childcare provider is someone who is going to assist you in caring for, teaching, comforting and disciplining your child. Often times Mothers have an idea in mind of the perfect person to care for their child, yet unfortunately finances force them to look elsewhere. In chapter two of Chaudry’s book he discusses some of the different childcare options available to single low-income Mothers. Out of the 42 children involved in this study 39.5 % used Kin care and informal care which includes relatives, non family but acquaintances of the family and due to the closeness and relationship with the provider often times fee’s were negotiable and more flexible. Kin care however is not always available or the best option so the Mother must look to over crowded daycare centers, or licensed or non-licensed in home childcare providers. With a license daycare facility there are often times set fee’s and rules that must be followed and there is very little room for compromise. A licensed daycare also takes in a certain amount of children per adult so the chance of your child receiving one on one contact and a chance to bond with a certain provider can be limited. If you are a Mother receiving financial assistance with your childcare then you face another challenge of finding a provider that has an opening and is willing to work with your financial assistance. When seeking an in home childcare provider there are still many obstacles a mother faces. First and for most is once again finding a licensed in-home provider that the state will accept and accepting that there is usually no other adult there so you have to trust the judgments of your provider when it comes to outside activities, meals, safety precautions in their home and others who are allowed to visit the home. All of these issues weigh heavy on a mothers mind when all she is seeking to do is to work and provide for her children and while she is doing that she wants a provider that will love and care for her children the way she would. It’s a sad thing that finances dictate the quality of care that children receive and to some there is no other choice.

Blog 5

Working poor, it is amazing exactly how many individuals actually fit into this category. To me working poor are individuals who work and are still unable to make ends meet or are barely able to scrap by. Some individuals are working multiple jobs just to survive and yet often times their basic needs as human beings are not being met. Adding to their troubles is a government that says you are providing an income for your family there for any government assistance will be limited or denied. What a choice to make, work hard and still not be able to make ends meet because according to state agencies you make to much or quit working so that you do qualify for medical coverage for your kids and assistance with food. To often children born into poor families and disadvantaged communities are being denied health care, well balanced meals and proper childcare. A single mother working to raise her children may hold down two or three part time jobs because it is cheaper for her employer to hire part-time employees and there forgo the expense of having to pay that full-time employee benefits. If individuals continue to disregard the public responsibility for children born into poor families and disadvantages communities how are to change this viscous of the working poor. Children born to parents who are considered working poor are at a disadvantage right from the start, quality childcare and education are not always available in their communities which means these vital tools that are needed to help children later excel in college, or any kind of continuing education are missing. If we were to take a look and exam a school from a disadvantaged community along with a school from a non-disadvantaged community would the quality of education be the same? Would the quality of resources available to both schools be the same? Shouldn't’t they be? Should a child be denied the rights of other children because of the neighborhood he lives in and the amount of money his parents make?