the going market rate. What ABC says is to get funds for this that it will have to be a going market rate, and I think this will only help to elevate the child care providers 'salaries. I want to address the Hatch bill for a minute, because I have reviewed it, and I do think there is a part of it that I would like to have incorporated with ABC, and that is the incentives to business. I think any incentive we can give for business to take action and to do something, the sooner the better, that that will only help the system across-the-board. I go into some companies and corporations that have files this thick; they have studied child care for 2, 3, 4 years. They know it is something they need to get involved with, but getting them to make that decision takes a lot of persuasion. So I think any incentive we could give would help. I do not feel the Hatch legislation goes far enough, and that is why I am supporting ABC. I feel that it is a start, but I think that it has to be a partnership between parents, between private industry, and between the government. I encourage you to support this legislation. Thank you. Senator DODD. Thank you very much. [The prepared statement of Ms. Smith follows:] 3/15/88 Cheryl Smith, Testimony I want to thank Chairman Christopher Dodd and this Committee for allowing me to speak in favor of the Act for Better Child Care Services (S. 1885). I am a member of a number of organizations with an interest in this issue. Today, I am here largely because BPW/USA, (The National Federation of Business and Professional Women's Clubs), I am also a Federation of of which I am a member in Kansas, asked me to lend my expertise as a child care consultant to your discussions. member of the Chamber of Commerce, The National Independent Business and other business organizations. I was In 1986, a delegate to the White House Conference on Small Business appointed to the Advisory Board for the and have recently been Midwest Region of the Small Business Administration. arguments for and against this type of legislation. I know the I am here like myself who support ABC. My business is child care. I am the President of Corporate Kids, More". To me, day care is not just a matter of helping children. It is a matter of helping business employees. attract and keep quality 3/15/88 Cheryl Smith, Testimony I have which are before the Congress carefully evaluated the two major bills on Child care ABC and The Child Care Services Improvement Act (S. 2084 and S. 2085) introduced by Sen. Hatch. Care for the following I support the Act for Better reasons: Child 1. It will expand the availability of day care services by training new providers and creating an influx of capital into the child care area. 2. It will elevate the wages paid to providers, resulting in a higher quality of care and more care givers. 3. It will outline a means to creating standards in this country, which are so very important to ensuring quality child care.. 4. It encourages and expands information and referral where it is needed. 5. It will help populations who will not be helped by businesses minimum wage workers, those who work in small businesses, people who work in rural areas and by example and supply will encourage businesses to act. This bill will provide some of the means to care for our children I got Let me elaborate on my support for ABC and my reasoning. involved in child care at first, as an employer. My husband and I have owned an interior design business for the last 11 years. A few years ago, we found ourselves needing child care for our 2 1/2 year old daughter and the designers who worked for us who were young mothers. Child care was unreliable in our interrupted projects, missed appointments, We were unhappy community, and what was available did not meet our work schedule. As the employer, we had to deal with this problem. having employees and frustrated customers. The solution for us was to purchase a building a few blocks from our studio and turn it into a child care center. In this center, we were able to provide a program that our employees wanted and that met our needs. We owned this center for five years. During this time, we started looking at the reasons we chose to get involved with our employees' child care. We were aware that the major reason was that it made our employees better employees. We were not seeing the stress, absenteeism, missed appointments and unhappy people |