This commentary is by Edward Timmons, vice president of policy at the Archbridge Institute, a public policy think tank.
According to the Archbridge Institute’s State Child Care Regulations Index, Vermont already has the most restrictive child care facility regulation in the country. Academic research has clearly established a link between rigid child care regulations and costs for families. Rigid education requirements, in particular, have been estimated to raise the cost of child care by as much as 40%.
Working families in Vermont are already saddled with some of the most expensive infant child care in the nation. A recent report from the Economic Policy Institute estimates that infant child care averages nearly $19,000 per year—well over $1,500 per month. This places Vermont 12th nationally regarding the cost of infant child care.
Instead of taking a close look at existing regulations and cutting red tape, legislators in Montpelier are looking to add new regulations. A new bill, S.206, has already passed the Senate and is currently under consideration in the House. If it moves forward, a new Board of Early Childhood Educators will be created.
This will mean even more regulatory hurdles for day care teachers in addition to the day care provided in family child care homes.
On the surface, tougher regulation might sound good. Who doesn’t want more educated teachers?
If pending legislation moves forward, early childhood educators would need to obtain a license to work. Child care centers are already facing staffing shortages. Making it harder and more expensive for child care educators to begin working will only worsen the situation.
On top of that, child care workers who already receive low compensation will be forced to pay annual fees for the privilege of working. This boils down to a new tax on employment. Vermont should be looking to attract more child care workers, not penalize them.
In addition, we know that regulation has trade-offs, and families who can least afford it will suffer the most. Academic research has examined whether more stringent child care regulation improves quality or child safety. At best, the evidence is mixed.
For wealthier families who already have no issue accessing high-quality child care, outcomes improve. But when options become more limited and more expensive, low-income families are priced out of the market and left scrambling for child care. This problem will be exacerbated if regulations are further tightened.
If legislators want to get serious about improving access to high-quality, affordable child care, they need to take a hard look at their existing regulations.
Instead of adding even more red tape, Vermont should look to ease its regulatory burden. Permitting child care facilities to have less rigid child-to-staff ratios, increasing maximum group size caps, and providing less rigid education requirements for child care teachers and directors will go a long way toward making child care more affordable and ensuring that the most vulnerable Vermont citizens have access to more options.
Here’s hoping common sense will prevail. Families in Vermont simply can’t afford even more child care red tape.
