Here is my work in progress regarding how to reimagine parenting policy for this pandemic time (when schools, daycares, camps and extracurricular activities are closed) and into a new future where unpaid care work is not only considered, but calculated in budgets – federal, state, local, business, communities, and families – to reflect the real costs and value to society. Without this recognition and funding, parents (primarily women) will continue to leave the workforce, shutter their businesses, and refuse leadership roles in order to meet the urgent care needs of children and other family members.

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A MODEST” CHILDCARE PROPOSAL: A WEEKLY PARENT/CAREGIVER STIPEND

Some weeks ago, I posted the idea of a weekly childcare stipend for home-based care by a parent (or dedicated caregiver) on Facebook and Twitter. Despite the growing pressure to commit to opening schools in August or September, I am even more convinced that a policy like this is both realistic and necessary until children’s education and childcare services can fully open (most likely after a vaccine). Providing a stipend to caregivers will (i) reduce the financial stress on working parents, (ii) allow a parent to make the choice to prioritize the time and attention given to the education and welfare of the children in their care, (iii) facilitate support for those parents who need more outside help than distance learning typically provides, and (iv) stimulate the economy directly and immediately by putting money into families’ and/or paid caregivers’ hands.

APRIL 24, 2020 on Twitter

1/3: A “modest” childcare proposal (to increase employment, protect from school-based COVID-19 transmission, and facilitate opening the economy): How about funding in-home childcare, i.e., pay a weekly stipend to one adult in the home to care for any school age children under 14

2/3 Child care proposal: … including supervising distance learning, and as needed, an additional adult for babies/toddlers, and/or special needs children requiring more focused supervision? Yes, there are issues to work through, but until we have a vaccine I do not believe

3/3 Child care proposal: … school as we have known it will open again. And, a policy like this can help us reimagine how to include unpaid care work directly in economic calculations in the future.

Care policy to open up the economy could use a kinship care model to pay in-home caregivers of children, elderly, disabled, sick members of a household.

WHAT PANDEMIC PARENTING POLICY NEEDS TO CONSIDER

A fully developed pandemic parenting policy would need to consider who is the CARE PROVIDER – parent or dedicated outsider and who is/are the CHILD RECIPIENTS OF CARE. Outside caregivers would need to strictly adhere to pandemic safety protocols and likely be limited to only one family (or possibly two or three paired families depending on the children in their care). Considerations should be given to children’s age and needs as well as differences by caregivers, such as the examples below. Families with multiple children will add complexity to the equation. And, the same model could provide stipends for caregivers of the elderly, disabled and sick members of the household who by necessity are socially distancing away from the outside care providers who previously provided services. In addition to stipends, those who are parenting children and responsible for their education need more support. Schools have continued to focus on the needs of teachers who had to make major changes in how they fulfilled their teaching obligations on WHAT the children can be taught under the new distance learning conditions. Yet, little focus has been on recognizing and adequately supporting parents in HOW to teach the children depending on the chid’s age and needs, and their parents’ capacity to implement the curriculum. In these uncertain and changing times, a child-centered approach with adequate flexibility to address the social-emotional needs of childrens and families is paramount. [Not discussed here, but also of importance is children made vulnerable by conflict or abuse in their home and/or community in which they live.

Here’s are examples to consider how differences by children’s age and needs could be addressed by a comprehensive childcare policy:

  • Babies. With extended paid leave, a parent (or a split between the parents) could stay home with their baby if they so choose
  • Toddlers to two years old. The option of extended paid parental leave through the critical 0-2 age period would allow parents to provide the critical early bonding if they so choose, or a caregiver who could take care of multiples and/or children from paired families with parents doing other work [Note the change in language away from “paid work” to other work to validate the care giving work which would be compensated under a child care policy]
  • Pre-School. For the pre-school years, play-based activities could be provided by parents with or without “curriculum” guidance, or a paid caregiver could provide children from paired families would lead activities in small groups.
  • Early Elementary School (K-2). One stipended adult in the household or a paid tutor could help guide children through distance learning lessons and extracurricular activities during working hours. This is especially important because children in these grades typically cannot yet read at a level to read and understand instructions independently, and do not have the impulse control to manage online learning without constant supervision/monitoring. Paired families could be cost-effective and allow for social skills development.
  • Upper Elementary School (3-5). One stipended adult in the household or a paid tutor could help guide children through distance learning lessons and extracurricular activities during working hours. Paired families could be cost-effective and allow for social skills development.
  • Middle School (6-8). One partially stipended adult in the household or a paid tutor could help children through distance learning lessons with homework help and extracurricular activities during working hours. Paired families could be cost-effective and assist in social skills development, including a focus on positive decision-making, social-emotional and adolescent health, gender-based violence (especially technology-related violence) and anti-trafficking safety.
  • High School (9-12). High school students generally are capable of following on-line curriculum without too much oversight. A smaller stipened for an adult in the household or a paid tutor – even remotely – could supplement the individual attention high school teachers are able to give students when they have multiple classes rotating through during the day. The additional assistance could be directed at homework help and keeping on track with extracurricular activities during working hours. Tutors paired with multiple paired families could be cost-effective and strengthen social skills development, including a focus on positive decision-making, social-emotional and adolescent health, gender-based violence (especially technology-related violence) and anti-trafficking safety. Special focus for this age group should be (direct or through links to outside programs) on life skills and job skills development.
  • Vocational Education, Community Colleges, Universities. Additional support and funding will likely be needed for vocational program and community colleges who play a critical role in providing low cost alternative and higher education for students who are not planning to pursue a four-year degree. Public universities and some private colleges and universities could be provided funding to continue, expand and/or develop programs in critical areas such as public health, medicine, research, educational technology, public administration, policy planning, economic development in changing environments,
  • Special Education; Children with Special Needs. Children in need of special education services – and their parents – will require added support to access online learning and support activitities. Depending on the needs of the children, parents may need both a stipend and a specialized training or a specialist to provide additional support to address the added burden of distance learning. Children with special needs may need specialized tools or other types of accommodation services to set up a home learning area consistent with the child’s special needs (e.g., hearing, sight, dislexia, etc.).
  • Foster Children – Children in foster care need the safety standards and oversight to ensure their placement famililies/insistutions are providing for the children’s required social distancing, frequent handwashing (ready access to soap and water at all times), face masks, and hygienic facilities (daily virus-killing wipedown). Promoting and adequately funding a kinship care model whenever possible would better facilitate social distancing by keeping family units together. Funding for technology and training will be needed for caseworkers to adjust casework and oversight standards for social distancing (including remote visits as necessary, including when a member of the household is sick).
  • Homeless Children. Homeless children are particularly vulnerable to a variety of risks: getting sick due to lack of access to regular hygiene and clothes cleaning facilities, abuse and neglect due to inconsistent connection to education and social services, increased risk of drugs, sexual and other forms of violence, trafficking, etc. Distance learning is virtually impossible when access to the internet is required and drop-in centers and libraries are closed. Special caregiving with focused on educational equity will be needed to reach this population.
  • Abused/Traumatized Children. Children who are abused or traumatized face special challenges in the current enviroment of lockdown and distance learning. Schools (with teachers, counselors and classmates) and neighborhoods (with engaging parents, grandparents and/or concerned non-parent adults; and pickup activities among the children) that previously played a protective role of safe space and support – and a monitoring and reporting system for ongoing abuse – are now absent. Special guidance should be provided to parents (who are not perpetrators) and schools for how to provice the additional support to abused and traumatized children through remote learning and services. Additional mental health support activities may be necessary for those who do not respond well to remote therapy, such as in-person (socially distanced) wellness checks. Wellness checks may be especially important to ensure the safety of children who have suffered abuse or neglect by family members who reside with them or may have access to them without the usual oversight.
  • Children in Juvenile Detention. Children in juvenile detention centers – similar to adults – need conditions that allow for the same safety standards of social distancing, frequent handwashing (ready access to soap and water at all times), face masks, and hygienic facilities (daily virus-killing wipedown). Education for detained children can be provided through remote learning by providing the necessary technology, training and qualified staff/tutors to guide the children through their grade-appropriate lessons and homework. With the additional of technology, some parents may be able to play this role and be compensated to reengage with their children and provide not only the educational guidance but help prepare the children for reentry.
  • Children of the Incarcerated. Additional emotional and financial support may be needed for children of the incarcerated, especially related to the higher risk of infection of the incarcerated parent. Communication systems need to provide access to no-cost video and phone calling – with greater frequency – to maintain connections while in-person visits are ill-advised or not allowed due to high infection rates in jails and prisons. Support programs will need to address the trauma of inmate parents getting sick and dying of COVID-19 away from their children.
  • Children of Active Duty Military. Similar to children of the incarcerated, children of active duty military who are at greater risk of getting sick and dying of COVID-19 away from their children may also need additional emotional and financial support.
  • Immigrant Children in Detention or Foster Care. Immigrant children in detention centers – similar to adult immigrants – need conditions that allow for the same safety standards of social distancing, frequent handwashing (ready access to soap and water at all times), face masks, and hygienic facilities (daily virus-killing wipedown). Immigrant children in foster care need the same standards and oversight to ensure their placement famililies/insistutions are providing the same. A funded kinship care model would help ensure not only safety and quality care for immigrant children and better facilitate social distancing by keeping family units together, but could also facilitate their bilingual education in both English and their native language.

Differences by Parent/Caregiver (examples to consider, among others):

  • Single parent
  • Two parents
  • Guardian(s) – family/kin
  • Foster Parent
  • Divorced Parents (custody issues)
  • Essential Workers
  • Second/Third Shift Workers
  • Disabled (different types)
  • Low Literacy
  • Limited English Language Proficiency

IMAGINING A BETTER FUTURE

From the ashes of our crashed economy and the retooling of our education system to accommodate full-scale home-based learning, we should rethink and imagine a better future. We have an opportunity – if we have the will and foresight – to make right in the new that which was wrong with the old system. To use this tragedy to build a forward-looking economy with an integrated parenting policy that recognizes the care work being done to nurture, develop and educate our children beyond the school setting. Sound pandemic parenting policy should lay the groundwork for a more supportive environment going forward for those who parent our children into the future.

More to come . . .