Permission to duplicate is granted so long as Kentucky KIDS COUNT is credited.

Additional copies are available for $20 from

Kentucky Youth Advocates, Inc. 2034 Frankfort Avenue Louisville, Kentucky 40206 Telephone: 502-895-8167 Fax: 502-895-8225 E-Mail: vsalley@kyyouth.org

This book is dedicated to those who have suffered in childhood and overcome great obstacles, and to those who believe that no child should be required to do so.

The 1998 Kentucky KIDS COUNT Data Book is the eighth annual profile of the well-being of Kentucky’s children. This report is the result of the combined efforts of the Kentucky KIDS COUNT Consortium, whose members are Ronald Crouch, Dr. Lorraine Garkovich, Dr. Gary Hansen, Debra Miller, Dr. Betty Olinger, Dr. Michael Price, Valerie J. Salley, Dr. Stephen Wilson, and Dr. Julie Zimmerman. Special thanks go to Michael Price and Martye Scobbe, from the University of Louisville’s Urban Studies Institute, for final selection of data elements and the design of the data page layout. Linda Locke, from Community Coordinated Child Care in Louisville, and Dr. Kim Townley, formerly at the University of Kentucky, and now director of the Governor’s Office on Early Childhood Development, were especially generous with their time, insight, and experience as we shaped this report.

Funding for this data book and other activities of the Kentucky KIDS COUNT Consortium is provided through a grant from the Annie E. Casey Foundation in Baltimore, Maryland. Since 1989, the Casey Foundation has supported a nationwide effort to publicize the needs of children, influence budget and program decisions at all levels of public funding, and track trends in child well-being. The Kentucky KIDS COUNT Consortium owes a special thanks to national KIDS COUNT project staff, Bill O’Hare and Jennifer Baratz, for their continued support and technical assistance.

We are also deeply grateful to the following individuals and agencies that provided information for this report:

• Directors of each of the regional child care resource and referral agencies

• Cabinet for Families and Children, Cabinet for Health Services, and Labor Cabinet

• Department of Education, Division of Extended Learning

• Department of Education, Office of Learning Support

And finally, the staff and children at the following programs made us feel welcome when we visited: Housing Authority of Owensboro Child Care Center, Berea Head Start, and California Area Family Development Center in Louisville.

1998 KIDS COUNT Child Well-Being Indicators 2

Early Years Count 3

Making the Connection:

Brain Development, Early Learning and Life Success 4

Risk Factors and Kentucky Trends 6

Quality Early Care and Education: Options and Barriers 11

Quality 11

Affordability 17

Compensation 22

Recommendations 22

Kentucky KIDS COUNT Profiles

Kentucky

Counties: Adair to Woodford

Definitions, Methodology, and Data Sources

Demographics

Number of children, age 0–1

Number of children, age 1–2

Number of children, age 3–4

Number of children, age 5–17

Total number of children, by race

Total county population

Physical and Social Well-Being

Percent of mothers who receive early prenatal care

Percent of low birthweight babies

Teen birth rate

Number of annual live births, by age of mother

Number of annual live births, by education of mother

Child abuse and neglect rates

Infant mortality rate

Early childhood death rate

Intellectual Well-Being

Child care options

Average child care rates

Public preschool enrollment

Head Start enrollment

Per pupil expenditure in public school

Public school drop-out rate

Public school retention rate

Public school attendance rate

Public school transition rate

Economic Well-Being

Poverty estimates, infants–preschool

Poverty estimates, school-age

Number of K-TAP recipients, 0–17

Number of Food Stamp recipients, 0–17

Number of Medicaid recipients, 0–17

Number of SSI recipients, 0–17

Median family income

Employment and earnings averages

Percent of children receiving free or reduced school lunches

It is precisely because of the issues that face our school-age children and teens that we must turn our attention to early childhood development. For policy makers, community leaders, parents, and child advocates, recognizing that “early years count” does not detract from the work that we do on behalf of children of all ages. In fact, it is by focusing on early investments in our children’s capacity to learn that we ensure that they will be successful in their school years and beyond.

Providing opportunities later in life, such as higher education or employment, is not enough. If we truly believe that KIDS COUNT, then we owe a duty to them to prepare them, from day one, to embrace those opportunities.

Because we know that the early years are a crucial time in a child’s development, this year’s county-by-county data indicators include trends for early prenatal care and low birthweight babies. This report also includes a county-by-county profile of child care options and rates that parents face as they work to provide economic stability and early care and education for their children. Finally, the data book provides data for both Head Start and KERA preschool enrollment in order to reflect the early education opportunities that eligible three and four year olds receive.

Recent brain research indicates that by failing to introduce children to basic language recognition and decision making skills before age three, we are missing an optimal time when much of the “hard-wiring” in the brain occurs.¹ With the advent of neuro-technology such as Magnetic Resonance Imaging (MRI), which measures the size and growth of the brain and the P.E.T. scan, which measures brain activity, scientists now possess nonintrusive ways to assess brain development. A significant finding gleaned from this neuroresearch is that while our brains continue to develop throughout our lives, approximately ninety percent of brain growth occurs within the first three years of life.

During a child’s first three years of life, the connections that are made within the brain, called synapses, occur at a higher rate than at any other time in his or her life. This means that a child’s ability to learn, to discover the world, with its colors, its languages, and sensations, is at its peak before the third birthday.

If children enter school ready to learn, potential behavioral problems as well as the possibility of academic failure can be minimized. Not only is early investment in our children a duty that we owe them to best prepare them for school and life, but it is the most efficient use of public dollars. The chart on page 5 illustrates how public spending on children in Kentucky is allotted during the school years (ages 5–17) as compared with expenditures in the early years (birth to four years). Such a comparison clearly indicates an early childhood investment deficit.

The relationship between the two curves in the chart poses a challenge for policy makers. What is the optimal time-profile of public spending on children in Kentucky? At what age and in what form would public expenditures on children have the greatest return for the investment? If we prepare our children early to learn, there is a much higher probability that they will need fewer special services throughout school. We know that succeeding in school is a primary contributor to the prevention of teen pregnancy, behavioral problems, and juvenile crime. Waiting until the school years to invest simply translates into paying more later for remedial services than earlier for prevention measures, which is a poor investment choice for our children.

What results can we measure from early investment in our children’s learning? A recent University of Kentucky study followed children to the fourth grade who were eligible for and had received preschool instruction. Then this group of students was compared with two other groups of fourth graders, those who were not eligible for preschool, and those who were eligible but who did not attend preschool. There are two eligibility standards for KERA preschool: a child’s family income cannot exceed 130 percent of poverty or a child has a diagnosed disability. The study found that those who attended preschool were at the same level, academically and socially, as those children who were not eligible for the KERA preschool program. When the preschoolers were compared to those who were eligible, but did not attend preschool, the study found that those who did not have the benefit of preschool lagged behind those children who did.

In other words, preschool attendance had two positive effects for at-risk children: attendance pushed their achievement ahead of at-risk children who did not have preschool experiences and equalized their achievement with more fortunate children from higher income families. The children who are eligible for services but who do not receive them are those more likely to require special services throughout their school years in order to thrive.² Lack of early investment will require later, more costly expenditures.

In addition to school readiness and a healthier start in life, early investments in our children also yield other long-term positive results. With a nurturing environment early in life, children

• have higher IQ’s,

• adjust more easily to school,

• have better cognitive and language development,

• are less likely to repeat a grade,

• are assigned to special education programs less frequently, and

• are more likely to be emotionally competent, well-adjusted, responsible, and able to control violent impulses.³

According to the National Center for Children in Poverty,⁴ the following risk factors can negatively impact brain development in early childhood:

• inadequate nutrition

• environmental toxins

• diminished interaction due to maternal depression

• parents with substance abuse problems

• trauma and abuse

• lower quality child care

Family income often dictates the neighborhoods in which children live, their exposure to unhealthy environments, the amount of stress placed on their parents, and the quality of nutrition and child care their families can afford. The following trend data indicate that we, as child advocates and community leaders, have made strides in our attempt to eliminate these risk factors, but we have far to go to ensure quality early childhood experiences for each of our children.

Many experts believe the official federal poverty guidelines are a underestimation of the income necessary to meet basic needs. For that reason, it is also important to examine data about the number of young children who live in families from 100 to 185 percent of the federal poverty guidelines. These families are deemed “near poor,” as they qualify for several federal assistance programs including the school lunch program and WIC (Special Supplemental Nutrition Program for Women, Infants, and Children). Nationally, 43 percent of all children under age six were living in poverty or near poverty in 1996.⁵

Research shows that when a child lives in poverty or near poverty, he or she is less likely to receive proper prenatal care, to have adequate nutrition, or to be prepared to start school ready to learn. Off to a rocky start, education, for many poor children becomes an obstacle to overcome rather than a path to personal achievement and a promising future. Quite simply, because of inadequate family resources, poor children continue to do without.

On this indicator, Kentucky is consistent with the national trend of falling teen birth rates. Statewide, there has been a steady, gradual improvement in this area. Comparing the 1989–91 data with the 1995–97 data shows a decrease in teen births by 3 percent. For every 1000 girls, aged 12–17, approximately 22 births are recorded. County data range from six births per 1000 girls in Trimble County to 36 births per 1000 girls in Knox County.

For girls who do well in school, have aspirations beyond high school, and participate in sports or recreational after-school activities, the teen birth rate is reduced significantly. All girls and boys should be taught that becoming a parent is not a part of normal adolescent behavior. While we have seen improvement in this area, there is still much to be done to ensure that teens can take care of themselves before they become responsible for taking care of a child. We should continue to support:

• early intervention programs that stress academic success,

• mentoring programs,

• education that stresses abstinence,

• education and programs that assure access to family planning services,

• extensive parent education for teen parents,

• programs that enable teen parents to complete school.⁸

Because children born to mothers without a high school education are less likely than others to succeed academically, this is a measure that calls for early intervention and initiatives that encourage and ensure that our high school drop-out rate is reduced. Children are also disadvantaged by having fathers who do not complete high school, as they are less likely to financially support their children or to encourage their children to succeed in school. By failing to make every effort to ensure our teens’ academic success, we risk repeating the cycle of parents without high school educations raising children who do not thrive in school.

For the 1995–97 period, 10.5 percent of women in Kentucky giving birth had less than a high school education. But, in many counties the rates are drastically higher. Counties in which rates are higher than 35 percent of births are Casey, Hart, Owsley, Morgan, and Clay. Clay County represents the highest rate of births to mothers with less than a high school education at 44 percent. For these counties to reduce their rates, efforts should be supported to stress the importance of obtaining an education before becoming a parent. Positive after-school programs both ensure the supervision of young people and provide them with enriching experiences that build confidence and self-esteem. For those who are already parents without a high school education, both parent education and adult education should be made available.

Counties with rates of less than 12 percent are Anderson, Hardin, Calloway, Boone, and Oldham, with Oldham County’s rate being the lowest at 7 percent. Not surprisingly, these counties are among those with the lowest child poverty rates in the state. As family and community economic stability increase, so too do opportunities to encourage young people to finish school and delay parenthood.

Babies who weigh less than 2500 grams (5 pounds, 8 ounces) at birth are more likely to develop medical complications than babies of normal weight. Often these low birthweight babies are born prematurely, and are catching up developmentally for the first months or even years of their lives. Kentucky’s rate of low birthweight babies is slightly higher than the national average, and has shown a gradual increase in recent years.

Interestingly, in 1995, the rate of low birthweight babies for teen mothers was almost 2 percent higher than the rate among all mothers (9.2 percent for teens versus 7.6 percent for all mothers).⁹ Also, mothers with less than a high school education are more likely to have low birthweight babies. Lacking adequate prenatal care or participating in risk behaviors, such as poor nutrition, smoking, drinking alcohol, or drug use, contribute to low birthweights.

In a three year study entitled Quality 2000, researchers found that the United States is facing a “quality crisis.” Additional studies indicate that only about 12 to 14 percent of children are being cared for in environments that promote children’s optimal growth and learning.¹⁰ For quality care to exist, the minimum requirements are a small staff to child ratio, significant training for providers, and a low staff turnover rate. Quality care cannot be obtained without additional collaborations and funding on both the state and local levels.

Because quality care is linked to healthy child development and brain development, children in higher-quality settings have more advanced language and pre-math skills, more positive attitudes toward learning and closer relationships with their caregivers. Positive stimulation during the first years of life has a long-term positive impact in a child’s life. It only makes sense that the environment in which a young child spends most of his or her day should provide the best combination of nurturing care and early learning.

While the current demand for quality child care is great, the need will continue to rise as more parents who now receive welfare benefits enter the workforce. As parents receiving welfare move into jobs, the state estimates 17,500 additional children will need care. By the year 2002, federal welfare reform law requires that fifty percent of parents who receive cash assistance must be working at least 30 hours per week.

Though it is vital for families’ economic well-being that parents be employed, the influx of more parents into the workforce creates a “child care deficit” that must be addressed.¹³ To be sure, when one or both parents work, the benefits to their children are immeasurable. Living in a home with working parents provides an example for children to become productive adults and increases the possibility that the family will not live at or near poverty. But if children are spending their days in substandard care or at home alone after school, the benefits of having working parents are compromised. Children need both economic stability and to be in safe places with nurturing adults. Policies that do not support both do not support our children’s well-being.

Parents also need care for their school-age children. The gap between parents’ work schedules and their children’s school schedules can amount to 20 to 25 hours per week. How children spend their time after school can enhance their school experience and actually contribute to academic success and a better attitude toward school. However, left alone, many children may participate in harmful activities such as substance abuse, smoking, and teen sex. Parents also fear that leaving their children alone increases the possibility that they may become involved in delinquent behavior.¹⁴ It is the hours between 3:00 p.m. and 6:00 p.m., after school and before parents return home from work, that the highest rates of both teen sex and juvenile crime occur.¹⁵

Although the statewide data for availability appear to meet a significant need for child care, these data vary widely from county to county. It makes sense that not every child from birth to five is in need of out-of-home care. Many parents can stay at home with their children or have access to family or friends who provide child care. However, community leaders in counties that have significantly fewer spaces than the state average should determine if more child care spaces are needed for their working parents.

For parents in Livingston, Carlisle, Metcalfe, Rockcastle, Lawrence, Martin, McClean, and Lincoln counties, there are fewer than eight regulated child care spaces available per 100 preschoolers. For parents in Oldham, Nicholas, Woodford, Fayette, Franklin, Jefferson, and Clark counties, there are at least seventy-eight spaces available per 100 children under five years of age.

Parents Working but Poor

This year’s data show average costs of child care for each type of regulated care in each of Kentucky’s 120 counties. These data are also broken down to reflect different rates for each age group (infant, toddler, preschool, and school-age). The actual cost of providing child care is often considerably higher than the price that providers charge families. Some providers receive in-kind donations or contributions to supplement parents’ fees. Often providers must sacrifice employee benefits and wages in order to keep their doors open to families.

Data for this report on cost of care were provided by each of the fourteen child care resource and referral agencies in Kentucky based on the most recent data available. While some resource and referral agencies have systems in place to maintain updated rates, others do not. Therefore, the child care rates listed in the data book may reflect much lower rates than parents are currently charged. Every two years, the Cabinet for Families and Children requires a new market survey of child care providers in order to set maximum rates for the child care subsidy program. The next market survey results are to be collected in December, 1998.

Annual child care for one child easily costs more than one year of college tuition at any Kentucky public university. Yet, parents are not expected to bear the entire burden of the costs of higher education. In fact, even this comparison does not take into account that student fees cover only approximately 23 percent of the real cost of public higher education. Financial aid in the form of state and federal grants and private sector contributions to universities pays for the majority of public university costs for students’ educations. In contrast, families pay roughly 60 percent of total expenditures for child care.

For parents who are already in the workforce, their children can qualify for child care subsidy assistance as long as their family income does not exceed 150 percent of the federal poverty guidelines, which is $16,275 for a family of two. Families who qualify for child care assistance pay a co-payment based on their family income and the number of children they have in care. Families who earn less than $700 per month are not required to pay a co-payment in order to receive child care subsidy assistance. The state then pays the provider a set rate based on the age of the child, geographic region of the state in which the provider is located, and type of provider.

To provide parents with choices, the state is to set the reimbursement rates at a level that ensures that parents access 75 percent of providers in their area. If the parent’s co-payment and the state’s maximum rate together do not pay for the full cost of child care, the parent must pay the provider for the difference. For example, if a Louisville program charges $90 per week and the state maximum rate is $80, and the family’s co-payment is $15 per week, then the family must pay both their co-payment and the $10 per week difference in fees. The center receives the state subsidy minus the parental co-payment or $65 in this example.

Statewide, as of December, 1998, there were 37,920 children in the child care subsidy program. It is estimated that approximately 146,350 children in Kentucky, ages birth to four years, live in families with working mothers with family incomes under 150 percent of poverty.¹⁸ This number represents 57 percent of Kentucky children from birth to four years.

In an April, 1998 Jefferson County wage survey, 71.8 percent of child care staff earned $7 per hour or less. Only 2.4% earned more than $10 per hour. Low wages are directly linked to the rapid turnover rates among child care providers. The Jefferson County survey also found a 31 percent per year turnover rate for child care workers.¹⁹ Because children need consistent primary caregivers to feel safe and secure, high turnover rates can have long-term effects on children’s well-being.

National accreditation is another quality indicator. Accreditation indicates that a child care program is striving for a higher standard of care than the minimum state standards. Yet, only six percent of Kentucky centers are accredited. The majority of child care programs cannot afford to meet higher standards on the rates that they charge, and they cannot charge higher rates because most young families earn too little to afford quality care.

• improve the quality of care available to children, birth to four years old,

• help families to afford early care and education,

• create partnerships within our communities to expand the provision of early care and education,

• and support safe, constructive after-school activities.

• choose quality early care and education or after-school programs,

• ask your child’s caregiver questions about your child’s health and safety, intellectual development, social interaction, and emotional well-being,

• negotiate with your employer to make the workplace more “family friendly,”

• take advantage of opportunities to learn with your children,

• listen to and talk with your children, regardless of their ages.

If you are a community leader,

• form creative alliances among diverse groups (colleges, businesses, factories, social service agencies, child care providers) to help meet parents’ child care needs,

• recruit others to help you create a new program to help children have quality early care and education,

• work to support living wage jobs for working families,

• encourage businesses to adopt “family friendly” workplace policies that allow parents to work more productively and to spend more time with their children.

If you are an elected official,

• make investment in quality early care and education a priority.

• support measures to ease the financial burden on low-income, working families.

• create incentives for businesses to recognize parents’ dual obligations of work and parenting.

If you are business person,

• choose to be a model employer by creating “family-friendly” working conditions such as flexible schedules, on-site child care, or cafeteria benefit programs,

• as part of your philanthropic endeavors, assess how families in your workplace are faring and invest in their children through after-school initiatives, educational opportunities, or summer work opportunities,

• for low-income employees who do not qualify for state child care subsidies (incomes above 150 percent of the federal poverty guidelines), institute a child care subsidy plan as a part of their benefits package.

¹ Shore, Rima, 1997. Rethinking the Brain: New Insights into Early Development, Families and Work Institute. New York, NY. pp. 22-23.

² Epstein, Ann , Lori Gonzalez, Mary Louise Hemmeter, Huyi Hines, Kim Townley, and Stephen Wilson, 1997, Third Party Evaluation of the Kentucky Education Reform Act Preschool Programs, University of Kentucky, College of Education and College of Human Environmental Sciences.

³ West Virginia KIDS COUNT 1997.

⁴ National Center for Children In Poverty, Columbia School of Public Health, 1998. Poverty and Brain Development in Early Childhood, New York, N.Y.

⁵ National Center for Children in Poverty, Columbia School of Public Health, 1998. Young Children in Poverty: A Statistical Update, New York, N.Y.

⁶ Commonwealth of Kentucky, Cabinet for Families and Children, Division for Community Based Services, 1994. Profile on Child Abuse and Neglect for Fiscal Year 1994.

⁷ Nash, M. (February 3, 1997). “How a Child’s Brain Develops and What It Means for Child Care and Welfare Reform”. Newsweek, p. 49-63.

⁸ Center on Budget and Policy Priorities, 1995. Welfare, Out-of -Wedlock Childbearing, and Poverty: What is the Connection? Washington, D.C.

⁹ March of Dimes Birth Defects Foundation, 1998. 1997 Perinatal Needs Assessment of Commonwealth of Kentucky. Louisville, KY.

¹⁰ Shore, Rima, 1997. Rethinking the Brain: New Insights into Early Development, Families and Work Institute. New York, NY. p. 59.

¹¹ National Center for Children in Poverty, Columbia School of Public Health, 1998. Map and Track: 1998 Edition, New York, N.Y.

¹² Children’s Defense Fund, Kentucky: Child Care Challenges, May, 1998. Washington, D.C.

¹³ Annie E. Casey Foundation, 1998. KIDS COUNT Data Book: 1998. Baltimore, MD.

¹⁴ Annie E. Casey Foundation. Child Care You Can Count On, Model Programs and Policies. Http://www.aecf.org/aecpub/child/care.htm.

¹⁵ Fight Crime: Invest in Kids, 1998. Quality Child Care and After-School Programs: Key Weapons Against Crime, Fight Crime: Invest in Kids, Washington, D.C.

¹⁶ Childcare@web.lifetimetv.com

¹⁷ Cummings, Scott and John P. Nelson, 1998. From Welfare to Work: Welfare Reform in Kentucky. Welfare Reform Series, No. 1, University of Louisville, Center for Policy Research and Evaluation, Urban Studies Institute. Louisville, KY.

¹⁸ National Center for Children in Poverty, Columbia School of Public Health, 1998. Young Children in Poverty: A Statistical Update, New York, N.Y. Data based on three year averages, 1993-95.

¹⁹ Community Coordinated Child Care, Inc., 1998. Survey of Wages, Benefits, and Professional Development of Early Childhood Professionals in Jefferson County, Kentucky. Louisville, KY.

The Carnegie Corporation’s Starting Points: Meeting the Needs of Our Youngest Children reports the following findings that ensure quality child care:

Staff to Child Ratios

As with parenting, the most important element in quality child care is a nurturing relationship between the child and the caregiver. Studies on child to staff ratio show that when adults have fewer children to care for, the children’s verbal proficiency improves. When caregivers have time to focus on an individual child’s language development, can listen to the child, and correct misspoken words, the child benefits by learning more quickly and at a higher level. A 1995 study concluded that states with less stringent standards had a greater number of low-quality centers and that quality is directly related to staff to child ratios.

Group Size

A lower total number of children in one group or classroom has positive effects on child development, especially for very young children. Studies have shown that when too many children are in one group, caregivers or teachers spend much more time dealing with behavioral problems than with children’s individual intellectual and social needs.

Preparations and Qualifications of Staff

Children whose caregivers have higher formal education and more specialized training perform better on tests of cognitive and language development than do children who are cared for by under-trained individuals.

Caregiver Stability

Children who receive care from a small number of consistent caregivers are better adjusted in the first grade and over the long term. A 1990 study found that staff wages were the most important predictor of overall quality of care and staff turnover. When staff turnover is high, bonding of children to caregivers is interrupted. For optimal emotional and cognitive development, a child must develop a sense of trust in the adults in his or her life.

Promising Practices

Community Group Helps Parents and Child Care Providers

The Madison County Children’s Action Network (CAN) in Berea is a nonprofit organization dedicated to ensuring that each child in that community has access to a healthy start, a safe place to learn and grow, a caring relationship with an adult, education, and opportunities for community service. The project grew out of the President’s Summit for America’s Future held in 1997. After seven Madison County citizens attended the summit, they returned home with the goal of improving families’ access to affordable, quality child care in Madison County.

Recognizing that child care is expensive, the group has created a scholarship fund to help those families who do not qualify for state child care subsidies, but who still find it difficult to afford child care. The scholarships are available to families whose incomes fall between 150% and 165% of federal poverty guidelines, and provide $25 per week per child to eligible families.

Recognizing also that child care providers work for little compensation and that it is imperative that they receive high quality training in order to offer high quality care, the Madison County CAN provides training, free resources, such as books and toys, and assessment tools for providers to measure the quality of their programs. The group also acts as a networking center for providers to share information and concerns with one another.

Early Care and Education Options

Licensed Child Care Centers

The child is cared for in a group setting. Centers can be in specially built facilities, offices, or churches. Child care centers are licensed by the Licensing and Regulation Division of the Cabinet for Health Services. To be licensed annually, a center is required to abide by a full array of standards regarding health and safety, staff to child ratio, and training. All staff must have criminal records checks and child abuse and neglect checks.

Licensed Child Care Home

The child is cared for by a provider in the provider’s home with children of varying ages. Family child care homes are licensed annually by the Licensing and Regulation Division of the Cabinet for Health Services under regulations similar to those governing licensed centers. However, licensed homes are limited to providing care for up to 12 children.

Certified Family Child Care Home

The child is cared for by a provider in the provider’s home. These homes are certified by the Division for Family Based Services (DCBS) of the Cabinet for Families and Children every two years. Instead of meeting a full array of requirements like licensed centers and licensed homes, certified homes must only meet criminal records and child abuse registry checks, meet minimal health and safety standards, and providers must only receive 6 hours of training per year.

In Home Care

The child is cared by a parent or by someone who comes into the parent’s or caretaker’s home on a regular basis. This could be a nanny, a baby-sitter, or a relative.

Enrolled Provider

An enrolled provider, approved through an application with the Cabinet for Families and Children, is unregulated but is eligible to receive child care subsidies. To qualify, a provider must pass a criminal records check, child abuse and neglect check, and must have a telephone in the home.

Relative Provider

A relative can provide care in his or her home and be eligible to receive subsidies without applying to be an enrolled provider. These providers may provide services only for a grandchild, great grandchild, niece or nephew, or sibling who resides in a separate residence.

Early Head Start

Available in 15 counties, Early Head Start is a family-focused program for low-income children ages birth to three and pregnant women. As of October 1, 1998, various community agencies have received funds to serve approximately 650 Kentucky infants, toddlers and their families.

Head Start

Federally funded, Head Start is a comprehensive early childhood development program for low-income preschool children, ages three and four, and their families. In 1997, there were 12,973 Kentucky children enrolled in Head Start. There is no state data on the precise number of Head Start programs that are operating full-day (6 hours) and full year. However, of the thirty-three grantees that serve all Kentucky counties, the majority are either operating full-day and full-year or are pursuing such an expansion of available hours. Ten counties are pursuing collaboration with child care providers to extend services to fill the child care gap (those hours before and after the Head Start day in which parents still need out-of-home care for their children). In 1996, sixty-two percent of Head Start families had incomes of less than $9,000 per year and seventy-eight percent had annual incomes of less than $12,000.

KERA Preschool

State funded and authorized by the Kentucky Education Reform Act of 1990, KERA preschool is available for four-year-old children who are at risk of academic failure and three and four year old children with disabilities. “At risk” is defined as children eligible for the federal free lunch program (for family incomes of up to 130% of the federal poverty level). In 1998, KERA preschool served 7,674 at risk children and 7,843 disabled children.

Promising Practices

More Than Just Housing

To help its residents work toward supporting their families, the Housing Authority of Owensboro (HAO) has adopted a multi-level strategy to meet parents’ needs for child care. By creating the Audubon Area Community Services Child Care Centers on-site, many parents are provided child care on weekdays from 7:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. While these centers meet a great need, they each have approximately forty spaces for children, and every space is filled.

There is also an unmet need for reliable, affordable child care on evenings and weekends. The HAO is working to encourage provision of care during non-standard work hours within the housing community. To that end, the HAO offers to train interested persons to operate certified family child care homes.

To meet the needs of parents with older children, the HAO works with the Boys and Girls Clubs, Inc., which has an on-site club to provide activities for children 6–18 years of age, and with Girls Incorporated of Owensboro-Davies County, a private, non-profit organization which helps girls become confident, responsible, and economically independent adults, which is also on-site. The HAO also has a “latch-key” educational program, where children can go after school for enrichment activities rather than staying at home alone until their parents come home from work.

Promising Practices

Businesses Support Employees as Parents

The Business/Family Partnership is a Jefferson County effort to encourage family friendly workplace policies. This program, coordinated by Greater Louisville, Inc., the Metro Chamber of Commerce, was created to support and recognize organizations that strive to help their employees balance work and family responsibilities.

In today’s competitive business environment, employers are increasingly aware that they must offer a full range of benefits to attract and retain qualified employees. In order to be designated a family friendly workplace, each company voluntarily completes an application and is ranked on its responses. Some of the questions asked are: 1) Do you provide access to information regarding child care services? 2) Do you help employees pay for child care through pre-tax transfers to a dependent care flexible spending account? 3) Do you help employees pay for child care with vouchers or other subsidies? and 4) Do you provide child care at or near the work site independently or in a consortium with other employers? In 1998, the top one hundred local employers were ranked in the business newspaper, Business First.

The application also assesses flexible work arrangements, flexible benefits, health and wellness, and innovative practices such as educational assistance, rainy day loans, summer student programs and scholarships for employees’ children, subsidies for home computers, compressed work weeks, employee mortgage programs, and payment of full cost of public transportation to and from work.

Quotes

“I thought the challenge of the first two or three years was to keep a child safe and make sure they had a good nutrition so everything could grow, but the new research shows that the real challenge is to build the brain with life experiences.”

Gov. Paul Patton

“One parent’s full-time employment is no guarantee against poverty.”

National Center for Children in Poverty

“I would love to see day care facilities extend their hours to provide a service for those of us who don’t work Monday through Friday, 9–5 type jobs. There are a lot of us out there...”

Brenda, Lexington mom¹⁶

“How can we expect working parents to hold jobs and be productive if they don’t have reliable, safe, affordable child care?”

Eleanor Jordan State Representative