There are many exciting things about
children beginning school for the first time – first pictures, first friends,
first refrigerator artwork.
Parents enjoy all of these, of course,
but they also often look to the transition from home to school as a time when
the burdensome cost of childcare begins to lift.
To be sure, the cost of before- and
after-school care isn’t as heavy typically as full-time day care, but it’s not
cheap.
The YMCA is the largest single
provider of after-school care in our region, and has a well-earned reputation
for providing affordable, high-quality after-school care. But even it has not
been immune from the cost increases brought on by regulations and the cost of
doing business.
“Our pricing has gone up 26%” since
the onset of COVID according to Alicia Kindred, executive director of Ron
Rosner Family YMCA.
That cost increase affects a lot of
families.
The YMCA hosts afterschool programs
for children in the schools of Caroline, Fredericksburg City, King George,
Spotsylvania, and Stafford.
The programs are convenient because
they’re school-based, and the kids get to stay in a familiar environment after
the school day ends. They’re also needed and well-used.
“If we went away,” Kindred said, “the
private sector could not handle the capacity issues.”
The
Impact on Family Budgets
The cost to take part in an
after-school program varies by location and whether one is a member of the
YMCA. In Spotsylvania, there’s a $100 registration fee to enroll in care, and
the weekly cost for before- and after-school care is $90 for members, and $110
for nonmembers.
Next door in Fredericksburg, parents
will also pay a $100 registration fee, and weekly costs for before- and
after-school care are $85 for members and $105 for nonmembers.
Membership at the Y varies depending
upon the number of people enrolling, but family memberships begin at $96 a
month.
This means a family with two children
in Spotsylvania County requiring before- and after-school care will pay roughly
$900 a month for care and membership fees. Should parents be late picking up
their children, late fees do apply.
The Y does have programs for families
facing financial challenges to help with these costs. These programs are
income-driven and can help families substantially lower their costs.
In addition, the Y does not charge
McKinney Vento children, who are classified as homeless.
What
It Takes
The prices can put a strain on
family’s budgets, to be sure, but the Y does offer high-quality care. And
because of this, the Y faces the same challenges staffing its facilities that
private after-school programs do.
Finding teachers is the biggest
challenge.
To gain licensing to teach, applicants
must complete paperwork with the Board of Education and meet minimum standards.
For a person with no experience taking
an entry-level position, they must first complete more than 30 hours of
training. Their starting pay? Around $18 per hour.
To be a director requires a four-year
degree or an equivalent amount of experience and education. Starting pay? $21
to $22 per hour.
“This is high-stress work,” says
Kindred, requiring teachers to “redirect behaviors, prepare lesson plans, and
document” behaviors and problems.
So even though the cost of care to
families is still not inexpensive, families are assured that the people in the
classroom are at least minimally qualified.
The issue of finding workers is
“stumping all of us in Virginia,” says Kindred.
