Speaker: Charnel Ferba
Introduce yourself, including (if you feel comfortable) what city you live in, the ages of your children, & whether they attend child care.
Charnel Ferba: Hi, my name is Charnel. I live in Decatur, Georgia, and I have a one-year- old son. And right now, my son does not attend child care, just because there are not any affordable child care centers for us. And if they are available, no one has space for him. And it's not due to the lack of having space, it's the lack of staffing. I applied for CAPS. I've been denied several times. I tried again and I was just denied recently. And it's unfair that they have all of these requirements for us, and we're not able to just get what we need. I'm a single mother trying to go back to work and make something affordable for my son, for my family. Give him the things that I kind of received as a child. And it's not fair that my son can't get those things, just because we don't have them available for him.
What do you appreciate most about your child’s teacher or early learning provider?
Charnel Ferba: Well, once again, because my son is not in child care, I am pretty much his teacher, I'm his early learning provider and I appreciate the fact that I do have other resources that helps me teach him the things that he needs to be taught before I am able to send him to child care or an early learning provider. And I just wish that we had more resources that were free and available and within distance for us as single parents who are struggling to get to those things for our children. Because without any kind of resources or help, our children will be lost, and I would be lost as a parent. And I don't want to be that parent that leaves my child behind, because he wasn't able to get them adequate care that he needed so that he can have a great education.
What challenges has your family experienced affording and finding child care?
Charnel Ferba: A few of the challenges that we have faced or experienced, I should say, in finding child care. It's actually finding child care that isn't too far from home or is close enough in proximity from work. And being able to afford it, because why is childcare almost $300, maybe $400 a week for a one-year-old? That is absurd to me. I understand that times change, but this is not the time for things to change. I visited a few daycares, and they just don't have the space for him, because they don't have the staff. I'm not gonna spend more money on child care when it costs the same amount for my rent. I have to decide, do I wanna. pay my rent, or do I pay for childcare for my son? And I think that's kind of unfair for us parents who are single parent homes.
If your child receives or has previously received a CAPS scholarship, what impact has it had on you and your child?
Charnel Ferba: Well, my son can't receive CAPS, has never received CAPS, because I'm not working. I don't have any kind of activities or any anything that I'm doing for myself to put him in child care to receive a CAPS scholarship. I think if they change some of the requirements for CAPS, I think that it would make it a lot easier for other parents to be able to go out and say, "Hey, yes, I applied for CAPS. I was approved. Now I need to find adequate child care for my child." Or, I need to find a decent childcare center for my child that does accept CAPS, not anything that's almost run down or the staff doesn't care about the children, because that's a profession that you all picked. And, you know, CAPS is made for people with low income or no income at all, so they can be able to afford it, but it's hard when you've been denied, and you feel defeated.
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