BUFFALO, N.Y. (WKBW) — Childcare providers across Western New York say the industry has been struggling for years.
"We were pushed hard on all sides to follow endless regulations and legal requirements while cutting every possible expense to stay afloat, and be affordable for our clientele," said Beth Starks, Chautauqua Lake Childcare Center founder. "It has resulted in substandard wages for childcare workers without benefits."
Erie County examined the true cost of childcare through a Cornell LED survey of the 499 childcare centers in the area.
"The average full time wage of full time childcare workers is just under $24,000," said Lou Jean Fleron of the Cornell ILR Buffalo Co-Lab.
According to the survey, 80% of childcare workers earn below living wage, compared to 45% of all other workers.
"And who are they? 88% are women. Among them, women of color make up twice the work force in childcare as in the work force as a whole," Fleron added.
Those issues span across Western New York.
"It's the same in Chautauqua County. Childcare is struggling everywhere to try to get staff, to pay for staff, to be able to provide high quality care," said Starks. "At the same time, there is no way we can actually charge parents what it costs to provide that care."
New York State invested $7 billion into childcare, but those in the childcare industry say there is much more to do and are now pushing the federal government to help.
