The needs on Kaua‘i for affordable child care are significant, particularly for families with children with developmental or intellectual disabilities.
With only one licensed group infant/toddler day care center located on Kaua‘i, many families struggle to find child care.
In fact, according to a 2021 study by Child Care Aware of America, approximately 15,213 child care referrals were requested through the state of Hawai‘i for parents looking for care within the last year alone. Moreover, there are currently only 1,741 total capacity slots for infants and 2,989 slots for toddlers. It is clear that the demand is great for families seeking quality, licensed, child care for these age ranges.
When you have a child with a developmental or intellectual disability, the need is even greater.
Often, with higher medical costs and caregiver burnout, it is important that parents can work or get a break from caregiving. Having highly qualified infant/toddler and preschool-aged care is imperative to create an inclusive environment for children with extraordinary needs. Inclusion not only teaches other children about disabilities, empathy and compassion, but it also provides a great opportunity for children with developmental disabilities to learn from their peers.
An increase in child care centers on Kaua‘i would provide a better start to development. Child care centers can screen for developmental and social-emotional milestones. This helps with early identification of possible disabilities and gives a child already diagnosed with a developmental disability the opportunity to work on social skills.
Child care centers additionally support childhood mental health and provide respite for parents who may be facing barriers, and can be a protective factor in reducing adverse childhood events (ACEs).
A Boullier and Blair (2018) study on ACEs states that “exposure to adversity has been shown to alter the molecular and genetic makeup of a child as well as changing the way the neurological, immune and endocrine systems develop and function.”
For children who may already have compromised immune systems or other internal health issues, it is important to have as many protective factors as possible in place to build resiliency.
Vervoot-Schel, Mercera, Wissink, et al., (2021), found that approximately 20% of children with moderate and mild intellectual disabilities in their study experienced four or more ACEs. This puts them at even higher risk than their peers of having adverse outcomes.
We are a part of Commit to Keiki, a non-partisan, statewide initiative that is focused on engaging with gubernatorial candidates to educate and encourage them to commit to our three priorities, including (1) child care and early learning, (2) family violence prevention, and (3) early childhood mental health.
In a recent voter poll conducted by Commit to Keiki, nearly 9 in 10 voters (87.7%) think it is important for Hawai‘i’s next governor to prioritize programs that promote family economic stability with access to early care and learning programs in the next budget. And nearly three-quarters (74.5%) support creating a system of high-quality, publicly funded, community-based child care, early learning and family support programs.
It is imperative to the health and growth of the Kaua‘i community that Hawai‘i’s next governor prioritizes child care and early learning through policies and investments that provide access to more affordable infant/toddler and early childhood education centers.
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Amelia Kyewich-Kaneholani is with the Hawai‘i State Council on Developmental Disabilities. Phylicia Burris is with of PATCH Kaua‘i (People Attentive to Children).
If you really understood what it means to care for infants/ toddlers you would then understand that it will never be truly affordable. It’s like wanting any professional to work for less than minimum wage would you do that with the price of living the way it is because of who you might have voted for?