Five child care workers on the joys and frustrations of a struggling industry

Mar 30, 2023
Staffing shortages and high turnover have dogged the early education and child care field for years. The pandemic has made them acute issues.
From left to right: Bernadette Davidson, Kiya Savannah, Vanessa Pashkoff, Kimberly Artez and Anna Rogers.
Robin Lubbock/WBUR

Apprenticeships may help build the child care workforce

Nov 26, 2021
Low pay is still an obstacle to bringing people into the field, where employment is 10% lower than before the pandemic.
Carmen Del Alamo stands in her front yard, where children can play and strengthen their motor skills.
Mariana Dale

With low pay, finding qualified early childhood teachers remains a challenge in some areas

Nov 30, 2017
If the early childhood education system is a food chain, district-run preschool programs in California are the new big fish, gobbling up a lot of the resources – including qualified teachers.
Selma Sanchez, program director of the Child Development Consortium of Los Angeles, oversees ten child care centers. When the majority of staff at this Canoga Park center left for other jobs, she stepped in to pick up the slack.
Priska Neely/ for Marketplace