Speakers: Jasmine , Georgia Parent
Please introduce yourself, including the city you live in, the ages of your child(ren), & whether they attend child care.
Jasmine : Hi, my name is Jasmine, and I live
Jasmine : Jasmine, and I live with my daughter, who's 16 months old, and she attends child care at a daycare center.
What criteria do you look for in a child care provider or caregiver for your children?
Jasmine : When we were looking for childcare for my daughter, we were looking for a place that would be safe, of course, that was our number one priority. Then, that offered really good curriculum so that she would be able to actually learn and engage and grow to her full potential. And we want to make sure that it was a kind– a place that kind teachers that were also culturally competent. And, of course, we wanted to make sure that it was close by so that it wasn't going to be too strenuous, which is a huge challenge because there's not always that many providers. So we searched for a while to find a good place and landed on a place that was about 10 minutes away from our home, which we appreciate, and that wasn't too expensive for us. And our daughter absolutely loves it.
What challenges has your family experienced affording and finding child care?
Jasmine : We were really blessed that we didn't have too much trouble affording child care, but that was largely because it was when we found out that we were pregnant, instead of kind of getting the bigger house that we wanted to kind of accommodate a new child that would be close to a park or, or something like that, we kind of offset that by saying, "Yeah, let's stay in a place that's smaller," kind of being aware that there will be child care costs. And we were really blessed to be able to navigate all of that, but we know that that's not the story for far too many kids/ And it's just, we–. It's a blessing to have the opportunity, but even speaking to neighbors, who weren't able to make the same choice. We know that she, that our daughter, is in a great place and we're really grateful to have the opportunity to send her someplace where she's safe, learning, and really thriving. Understanding that it is expensive. It is actually– It was more expensive than our mortgage at one point. So that was really, a jarring impact on our budget. But, you know, we love our daughter and wanted to make sure she was good, so always going to be worth it for her.
If your child receives or has previously received a CAPS scholarship, what impact has it had on you and your child?
Jasmine : My child has not received a CAPS scholarship, but we think that CAPS is so important for so many children to be able to attend school, and it's not funded enough, so we need to make sure that it is funded at a greater level for greater accessibility.
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