Can you tell us what you do at your job?
MS: I’m an in-home childcare provider, taking care of children—mostly pre-k and younger in my home. I’m a Shop Steward with the Local 1037 Child Care Workers Union.
As an in-home family childcare provider, I care for up to five children at a time, teaching them social, emotional, and cognitive skills. I’ve done this work for three and a half years.
What are the differences between in-home childcare and “traditional” daycare centers?
MS: In-home providers like me give the individualized care that many children need and hours that work better for working class parents. I briefly worked at a traditional daycare center, and I can tell you children notice the difference and can tell when they’re in someone’s home.
I’ve had children who have behavioral issues and outbursts, and I work with them and their family to redirect that energy more positively. Because in-home childcare is limited to just five children at a time, it is easier to do that.
What about the misconceptions people have about in-home childcare providers?
MS: A lot of people think in-home childcare is just babysitting – at home watching movies, telling kids to nap. When you’re an in-home provider, you dedicate YOUR LIFE to your kids. We have to have educational programs, appropriate physical space for children to play and learn, and provide individual care. I’m also there for their parents, even “off hours.” It’s not an easy job. You have to love it.
What kind of work goes into becoming an in-home provider and operating your childcare program?
MS: A lot of paperwork for one thing. We have to be our own HR departments, even if we don’t have health benefits. Plus, you need to retrofit your home to make it as safe as possible for the children. That means additional fire extinguishers and fire-resistant blankets, clean areas to wash hands and faces. You’re making upgrades to your space constantly. I just spent $2,000 on a washer-dryer, I always stock up on spare clothes in many sizes.
I keep up with CPR trainings, and have required background checks. I need to keep up with continuing education credits, and frequent inspections. I’ve taken certifications on behavioral awareness to recognize behavioral triggers, especially for kids on the autism spectrum.
What kind of work did you do before?
MS: I was the head Patient Care Associate working in Oncology at Monmouth Medical Center for 18 years. I did almost everything that nurses do, taking blood, washing patients, doing tests, wound care, plus staff trainings and competency assessments. I remember when I was 14, my mother asked me to sit with an older relative with dementia and being with her, caring for her, I felt this was what I was supposed to do.
I left to care for my sister’s child who has auto-immune issues and realize how rewarding this work is.
Tell me a little more about the regulations of operating an in-home childcare program
MS: We can only care for a maximum of five children at any one time. We can stagger hours and work with parents so their child can come as another is leaving, and that works for a lot of parents with non-traditional work shifts. But I’d like to increase the cap from five. And our Union is pushing for that. My grandson lives across the street, but he is not allowed to join at times when five other children are in my home.
When did you join the CWA Child Care Workers Union?
MS: Almost three years ago. I got a knock on the door from a union organizer. I didn’t know what the union was. She explained the importance of being a member of the union, a the importance of working together to fight for the needs of in-home providers
Why do in-home childcare providers need a Union?
MS: We’ve been bargaining with the state for better pay, funding for trainings, and benefits like access to health insurance. We need to have a voice in the state and county programs that dictate how we operate our programs. We’ve met with legislators often to discuss these issues, and the issues affecting the lower-income parents we work with.
How do you build relationships with fellow in-home providers?
MS: I’ve met some great people at membership meetings and rallies. I think of them as fellow mothers, not just coworkers. In-home childcare is a niche service, we’re all small business owners, and the state and federal aid programs to help families with childcare in general are always changing. So we have to help ourselves and the families we work with to understand everything from taxes to school enrollment, and more.
When you’re not working, what do you do for fun?
MS: I like to go to Atlantic City with my husband. We talk to each other in the car. We take walks, shop at the Columbus Market—usually for the kids in my program. We like to listen to music, too. He’s very active in my business. He has to be, because he lives at the place where my business is run, so he had to do CPR and health care trainings and pass required background checks.
I have four girls, ages 26 to 39. My husband and I both take certain lessons from other kids in our care and apply them to our grandkids.
I hope to be doing this for at least 10-15 more years, see most of the kids I’ve worked with graduate.