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On Tuesday, April 9, the local non-profit First Steps of Barnwell County held an early childhood summit to discuss ongoing issues within the child care industry and give awards to regional child care workers and leaders.
Across the United States, high child care prices and the shortage of child care facilities and workers has had strong impacts on rural communities. Child care educators, who are some of the lowest paid jobs in the workforce, are experiencing burnout and fatigue. In Barnwell and Allendale, the shortage of childcare workers and facilities has created long wait lines for parents. However, a recently opened child care center in Williston aims to help fill this void locally, as previously reported by The People-Sentinel.
At the event, Kristal Campbell, director of First Steps Dorchester County, spoke about the importance of understanding what child care education means to children, and how the child care experience is different for every child.
“We have to treat individuals as individuals,” Campbell said. “Our children deserve our respect. We need to be sure that we learn and know what they [can] bring to the table and it needs to be looked at as an asset and not a deficit."
Campbell also commented on the importance of child care as a means for establishing foundational building blocks in children. Campbell believes that younger generations’ frequent use of technology should not come in lieu of basic educational skills like learning to tie shoes, frying an egg, etc.
“We've also got to help them realize that even though technology makes our life easier, even though you may have a more excellent way of doing things, there's still a foundation that needs to happen,” Campbell said.
Tricia Gordon, executive director of Barnwell County First Steps, spoke about the necessity of getting every child into child care, regardless of their background. Child care research shows that low income children who receive early childhood education are more likely to graduate college.
“A lot of the students that receive First Step services become successful adults and more importantly, break the cycle of poverty,” Gordon said.
Gordan also emphasized the importance of appreciating child care workers, who are often understaffed and overworked. Many childcare workers lost their jobs during the COVID-19 pandemic.
“I don't think we pay enough attention to the people that are working with our children day after day that are in the centers or in the classrooms that are working in our partnering agencies, because it really does take a village to do this work,” Gordon said.
Gordon then gave out Children’s Champion Awards to Melinda Wilson, Kate Roach, Lil Stoltzfus and Donna Selvey, all of whom have played a role in advancing regional child care.
“We’re recognizing four special people this evening that have worked in this county in different ways that have all impacted early childhood [education] in this area,” Gordon said.
Elijah de Castro is a Report for America corps member who writes about rural communities like Allendale and Barnwell counties for The People-Sentinel. Your donation to match our RFA grant helps keep Elijah writing stories like this one; please consider making a tax-deductible gift of any amount today.
