It may seem to you that there is an abundance of childcare available for working parents, with many churches, cities and for-profit centers offering a variety of programs. Would it surprise you to learn that there is one segment of our population that suffers from an acute lack of quality resources? It is our tiniest, most vulnerable citizens: infants and toddlers.
There is a clear need for a quality educational resource for this demographic; nationwide, this age group represents a mere 5% of center capacity. Infant and toddler childcare needs are not being met by either childcare centers or by commercial and municipal businesses. There simply are not enough chairs and sleeping cubbies allocated to them in our current childcare centers.
If you've ever had to search for child care for an infant, you know how tough it can be. Expectant moms put their names on multiple lists and wait, wait, wait. It is extremely stressful! The lack of openings force parents to use a caregiver who isn't their first, second or even third choice. Parents may be forced to rely on different providers on different days or travel to find an opening. Mothers may delay a return to work. More often the result is the child is in a less quality environment than the parents might like. Parents are more comfortable with the formal setting, higher qualified teachers that center based settings provide them but the lack of capacity forces parents to use alternative lower quality care for their infants and toddlers.
Unfortunately, from our perspective for-profit centers have dominated the childcare industry, cherry-picking the most profitable age groups and serving the more affluent families. The quality of care and education across the age spectrums has been uneven. To us at Spectrum Infant & Toddler Montessories, that status quo is unacceptable. We challenge our municipalities, businesses and the general public to join us in investing in the care and education of all of our young citizens, regardless of ethnicity, faith or socio-economic status.
We plan to establish our first centers in Irvine, which continues to experience significant commercial and residential growth. Irvine comprises only 5% of Orange County's residents, yet 12% of Orange County's employees work within its boundaries. Current statistics indicate that Irvine has a shortfall of 422 licensed infant spaces, a number that does not include workers who commute to Irvine from other communities and use Irvine's childcare facilities. Otherwise, this number would be much higher.
Our current challenge is to gather sufficient funds to appropriately capitalize our new venture. If we are to adequately address the acute shortage of spaces for infants and toddlers in our centers, we need to partner with Irvine businesses, Irvine residents and Irvine City officials. By utilizing funds from and forming partnerships with the state of California, school districts, corporations, foundations, organizations and individuals, we will be able to build and operate quality infant and toddler child care centers and we will be able to provide full scholarships so that even the neediest children can participate in our programs.
