STAND FOR THOSE WHO CARE FOR YOUR KIDS
Thousands of
in-home family child care providers from across the state have united with SEIU
Kids First Minnesota, to have their voices heard. First on our minds is protecting funding for
child care and early education programs as the Governor and State Legislature
prepare to cut the state budget.
In-home Child
Care Providers offer a vital service to their communities. Providers work long hours for low wages that
include no benefits such as health insurance.
The current Governor’s budget proposal does not include cuts, and we
hope that as the session moves forward you will please support in home family
child care providers so that they are able to keep their doors open, and
continue to offer quality child care in a safe environment for our youngest
citizens of Minnesota.
In addition to
opposing cuts, SEIU-Kids First in home family child care providers along with
the Scott county child care association are working together to continue to
make improvements in the child care industry.
Next year during the 2009 legislative session we will present a bill
that will centralize background checks through the State Department of Human
Services. Currently, providers are
paying as much as $100 a year to have their background checks performed by each
county when it may cost the state as little as $2 per provider to perform the
same checks centrally. Child care center
workers already have their background checks done by the state at no charge to
them, as do in-home foster care providers.
Right now, in-home family child care providers can wait up to 9 months
to receive their background checks back from the county they live in. By centralizing the background checks to the
state, our bill, will create a safer and more efficient way of obtaining
background checks for providers.
Please oppose any cuts to Child Care or
Early Education Programs!
SEIU-Kids First, Minnesota’s Child Care Union
Southview Blvd., South St. Paul MN 55075
651-256-9114 or
507-269-4622