PRIOR PRINTER'S NO. 920 PRINTER'S NO. 2543
No. 43 Session of 1989
INTRODUCED BY STUBAN, KUKOVICH, MARKOSEK, FAIRCHILD, McCALL,
TIGUE, COWELL, MELIO, BOYES, FOX, ROBINSON, BLAUM, BATTISTO,
BELARDI, TRELLO, RUDY, BELFANTI, HALUSKA, ANGSTADT, STABACK,
GEIST, GIGLIOTTI, ARGALL, MORRIS, WESTON, FREEMAN, DALEY,
HASAY, DIETTERICK, JOHNSON, PETRARCA, HERMAN, RITTER, BUNT,
KOSINSKI, ITKIN, BILLOW, HUGHES, RICHARDSON, RYBAK, LAUGHLIN,
HESS, MAINE, KASUNIC, PISTELLA, EVANS, VEON, LINTON,
KONDRICH, BURD, BISHOP, MARSICO, E. Z. TAYLOR AND COLAIZZO,
MARCH 14, 1989
AS AMENDED ON THIRD CONSIDERATION, HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES,
OCTOBER 10, 1989
A RESOLUTION
1 Memorializing Congress to take action on the issue of child care
2 in the United States and to enact legislation to provide
3 funding and guidelines to help ensure that all parents who <--
4 are working or in job-training programs have access to high
5 quality and affordable child care.
6 WHEREAS, Fifty percent of all mothers with preschool-age
7 children, 9.5 million women, and 71% of employed mothers with
8 children under 18 years of age are in the work force; and
9 WHEREAS, Nearly three-fourths of the parents of school-age
10 children work outside the home and often cannot find safe,
11 supportive and affordable child care for their school-age
12 children before and after school hours; and
13 WHEREAS, The number of mothers working for economic reasons
14 to help support their families continues to rise; and
15 WHEREAS, By 1995, more than three-fourths of all school-age
1 children, or 35 million children, and two-thirds of all
2 preschool-age children, or 15 million children, will have
3 mothers in the work force; and
4 WHEREAS, Numerous studies have shown that problems or
5 concerns with child-care arrangements adversely affect the
6 productivity of working parents, increase absenteeism and cause
7 employees to give up promotions and advancements; and
8 WHEREAS, There is a well-documented link between the
9 availability of affordable child care and the ability of low-
10 income parents to work; and
11 WHEREAS, Studies and pilot projects have shown that child-
12 care programs provided during job training, job search and
13 employment periods have been successful initiatives helping to
14 end dependence on welfare; and
15 WHEREAS, Early childhood development experts have identified
16 the years from birth to age six as critical in a child's
17 development and have emphasized that child care for this age
18 group must be consistent and of high quality for the child to
19 benefit from it; and
20 WHEREAS, Child development experts believe that child care
21 for all children, REGARDLESS OF THEIR ECONOMIC STATUS, should be <--
22 considered an early investment in the economic future of our
23 Nation; and
24 WHEREAS, Comprehensive early childhood development programs
25 for low-income children, such as Head Start, have had a positive
26 impact on the lives of young children and their families; and
27 WHEREAS, Head Start now reaches only 16% of the more than 2.5
28 million disadvantaged children who need its services, and
29 hundreds of thousands of youngsters are on waiting lists for the
30 program; and
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1 WHEREAS, In order to achieve high quality programs, funding
2 must be available for child-care programs to address such
3 factors as program curriculum, staff qualifications, training
4 and education, parent involvement, staff-to-child ratios and
5 nutrition and safety; and
6 WHEREAS, Despite their higher levels of education, child-care
7 workers are among the lowest paid professionals and are paid <--
8 less per hour than zookeepers, bartenders, and parking lot and
9 amusement park attendants; and WITH CURRENT SALARIES AVERAGING <--
10 $4 TO $5 PER HOUR AND OFTEN WITHOUT BENEFITS; AND
11 WHEREAS, The low salaries in the child-care field make it
12 difficult to attract and retain staff and have resulted in an
13 annual turnover rate of about 45%, which negatively affects the
14 quality of child care; and
15 WHEREAS, Child day care for vulnerable groups, such as
16 handicapped children, children at risk of abuse or neglect and
17 children of teenage parents must be part of any plan to improve
18 the availability of child-care services; and
19 WHEREAS, All levels of government, community organizations,
20 private employers and parents must share in the responsibility
21 to provide high quality day care; and
22 WHEREAS, Numerous bills have been introduced in the 100th
23 Congress to address both child-care needs and an overall
24 national child-care policy, including the Act for Better Child <--
25 Care; therefore be it
26 RESOLVED, That the House of Representatives of the
27 Commonwealth of Pennsylvania memorialize the Congress of the
28 United States to support and act on Congressional initiatives
29 that address the Nation's child-care needs AND THEREBY ENSURE <--
30 THAT PARENTS HAVE THE FREEDOM TO CHOOSE THE TYPE OF CHILD CARE
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1 MOST APPROPRIATE TO THEIR NEEDS AND THAT STATES ARE PROVIDED THE
2 RESOURCES NECESSARY TO FULFILL THEIR RESPONSIBILITY TO ADOPT
3 STANDARDS WHICH WILL ENSURE SAFETY AND QUALITY OF CARE; and be
4 it further
5 RESOLVED, That copies of this resolution be transmitted to
6 the presiding officers of each house of Congress, to each member
7 of Congress from Pennsylvania and to the President of the United
8 States.
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