WILLIAMS RESOLUTION WOULD GIVE CHILD CARE WORKE ACCESS TO HEALTH INSURANCE

HARRISBURG, April 9, 2002 -- State Sen. Constance H. Williams today announced the introduction of a resolution that would help child care workers obtain health insurance.

"We know, and scholarship and experience confirm, that quality childcare produces quality kids, kids ready to learn," Williams (D-Montgomery/Delaware) said at a Capitol news conference today. "Quality childcare comes from qualified caregivers. The fact is that most child care workers make so little that they qualify for subsidized care themselves."

The average salary in the childcare industry in Pennsylvania in 1999 was $12,740.

"Certified childhood teachers can earn more money working in elementary schools, stores, or even for McDonalds," Williams said.

Williams was joined at the press conference by Steve Hertzenberg of the Keystone Research Center, which earlier in the day released a report showing the lack of health insurance drives up the childcare workforce turnover, driving down the quality of care. The study showed that while 60 percent of Pennsylvania workers have health insurance through their employers, only 25 percent of child care workers do. Only one in 16 child care workers in Pennsylvania obtains family health insurance through their jobs, compared with one in three for all workers.

The study also found that 25 percent of Pennsylvania child care workers have no health insurance at all, compared with 11 percent of all Pennsylvania workers. The number would be higher, except that 42 percent of child care workers are dependent upon someone else's health plan. While the overall rate of uninsured has fallen since 1993, the percentage of uninsured childcare workers has risen from 21 to 25 percent.

Williams' resolution would direct the Legislative Budget and Finance Committee to study and report on health insurance discount options for childcare providers through group pooling. She noted that the difficulty childcare workers have in obtaining health insurance is part of a larger insurance crisis, which reaches across all professions.