[Congressional Bills 111th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[S. Con. Res. 21 Introduced in Senate (IS)]

111th CONGRESS
  1st Session
S. CON. RES. 21

Supporting the goals and ideals of National Early Educator Worthy Wage 
                                  Day.


_______________________________________________________________________


                   IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES

                             April 29, 2009

  Mr. Menendez (for himself, Mr. Lautenberg, Mr. Durbin, Mr. Kennedy, 
    Mrs. Boxer, Mr. Feingold, and Mr. Dodd) submitted the following 
 concurrent resolution; which was referred to the Committee on Health, 
                     Education, Labor, and Pensions

_______________________________________________________________________

                         CONCURRENT RESOLUTION


 
Supporting the goals and ideals of National Early Educator Worthy Wage 
                                  Day.

Whereas approximately 60 percent of the children in the United States under the 
        age of 6 are in nonparental care during part or all of the day while 
        their parents work;
Whereas the early childhood industry employs more than 2,300,000 workers;
Whereas the average salary of an early care and education worker is $18,917 per 
        year;
Whereas only \1/3\ of early care and education workers have health insurance and 
        even fewer have pension plans;
Whereas the quality of early care and education programs is directly linked to 
        the quality of early childhood educators;
Whereas the turnover rate of early childhood program staff is roughly 30 percent 
        each year, and low wages and lack of benefits, among other factors, make 
        it difficult to retain high quality educators who have the consistent, 
        caring relationships with young children that are important to 
        children's development;
Whereas the compensation of early childhood program staff should reflect the 
        importance of the job of helping the young children of the United States 
        develop their social, emotional, physical, and cognitive skills and be 
        ready for school;
Whereas providing adequate compensation to early childhood program staff should 
        be a priority, and resources should be allocated to improve the 
        compensation of early childhood educators to ensure that quality care 
        and education are accessible for all families;
Whereas additional training and education for the early childhood workforce is 
        critical to ensuring high-quality early learning environments;
Whereas early childhood educators should receive compensation commensurate with 
        their training and experience; and
Whereas the Center for the Child Care Workforce, a project of the American 
        Federation of Teachers Educational Foundation, the National Association 
        for the Education of Young Children, and other early childhood 
        organizations, recognize May 1 as ``National Early Educator Worthy Wage 
        Day'': Now, therefore, be it
    Resolved by the Senate (the House of Representatives concurring), 
That Congress--
            (1) supports the goals and ideals of National Early 
        Educator Worthy Wage Day; and
            (2) urges public officials and the general public--
                    (A) to honor early childhood care and education 
                staff and programs in their communities; and
                    (B) to work together to resolve the early childhood 
                education staff compensation crisis.
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