Report stresses importance of high quality child care

The West Virginia Kids Count Fund has issued its annual report on children’s well-being. This year, the focus is on improving child care.

The early childhood years are critical for later development, the report says, and West Virginia should put a child care quality rating in place. This will ensure every child in child care will receive the highest standard of care.   

Kids Count executive director Margie Hale describes the difference between high quality and low quality care.

“In many programs we see teachers standing up, talking down to the children, being plopped down in a high chair,” Hale said.

“What high quality does is there’s a very enriched interaction between the teacher and the child to encourage the child to answer his questions, be on his level. And that’s what happens when you have fewer staff and they’re better trained.”

These programs, Hale says, also include a focus on the “whole child.” Besides providing education and supervision, they offer breakfast or lunch and screen for vision, hearing and general health.

During the upcoming legislative session, Kids Count will ask state lawmakers to fund a program to provide financial incentives for child care facilities to improve.

“A quality rating system is a wonderful mechanism for allowing centers to progress gradually so it gives providers a chance to incrementally improve and it provides financial incentives for them to do so,” Hale said.

West Virginia ranked 44^th nationally in child well-being. Between 2000 and 2006, the latest year for which statistics were available, West Virginia worsened in several categories. The number of children receiving free or reduced-cost lunch rose, as did the number of high school dropouts and the teen injury death rate.

Particularly troublesome to Hale was the increase in the number of low birth weight babies.

“One of the most significant problems is the percent of low birth weight babies and that has gone up again and has gone up every year for years,” she said. “And now it’s at 9.5 percent. West Virginia has the highest rate of pregnant people who smoke.”

To see the report, go to www.wvkidscountfund.org or download the attached document.