TYLER, Texas — Several people around East Texas will be able to return to work for the first time Friday when barber shops and salons can reopen.
For some of those workers, the choice to get back on the job may be tough because they have young children at home. Due to current regulations, dropping them off at day care is not an option.
“So, they’re basically being forced to take their children either to unlicensed care, or to a grandparent,” Stephanie Retherford said, “which would actually be, you know, the class that we’re trying to prevent having access to COVID.”
Child care centers in Texas have stayed open during this pandemic, but they have been limited by Gov. Greg Abbott to caring for the children of essential workers. The restriction was implemented as a way to make sure there would be space in those facilities for the children of nurses, grocery store workers and others. That model worked well when essential businesses were the only ones open, but as more businesses start up again, the restrictions have not been lifted. As a result, child care centers cannot adjust.
“I think one of the hardest parts is having to turn people away that we’ve had for so long at our centers,” Nicole Rivera said. "And they’re calling, saying, ‘Hey, I need care,’ and we’re having to turn them away. And some of them have been here for multiple years with multiple children.”
Rivera, Retherford, and several other board members of the Texas Licensed Child Care Association spoke to CBS19 on Thursday about the state of their industry. They said they felt like child care centers have been overlooked by political leaders.
“Every time the governor gets on, we’re waiting, right, for more information,” Alesha Brandt said. “And it’s almost as if there’s a disconnect of, ‘Let’s open these businesses, and let’s open the economy, but let’s not think about their child or children or where they’re gonna go.”'
“We would like for [Abbott] to say that we can take children of the people that are allowed to back to work, whether they’re essential or not,” Tedra Jackson said. “So, if a restaurant worker or a beauty salon worker is able to go back to work because he added their job, then they’re able to bring their child to licensed child care.
“Now, I don’t think any of us are wanting to do anything more than that at this point, because we want to grow with the economy as it’s opening. But we also want the opportunity to be able to grow with the economy, and be able to employ our staff, and to take care of these kids that we love and that we have taken care of for most of their lives.”
Jackson says many of her employees chose to remain at home during the pandemic, and she was okay with their decision. She says she found things to do for any employees who chose to show up.
Rivera, meanwhile, says all of her staff have continued to work. However, the child care center operators said they had been reduced to caring for 10% - 40% as many children as they typically would.
“I mean, I don’t understand,” Rickie Lafon said, “because here we’re trying to have 25% of the market and stuff is trying to open back up, and things, but it’s kinda hard for a lot of those individuals to go back into retail when they have children and they’re not able to do anything with their children.”
Teresa Federspiel says there has been a lack of guidance from state and local officials and regulators.
“They’ve also made the centers almost like police for the government,” Federspiel explained. “It is up to the centers to tell these folks whether they qualify or not, and if they are an essential worker or not, and they have to have letters from them.”
Federspiel said some child care centers have been fined for caring for children who do not belong to essential workers.
Retherford said all child care facilities are required to check the temperature of every child and employee who enters. Parents have to leave their children at the door, and visitors may not enter. There are also strict cleaning codes.
“So, the safest place for children right now would be child care,” Retherford claimed. “And yet, people aren’t allowed to bring them to child care.”
The TLCCA has a full-time lobbyist, but the board members say there has been no response from Gov. Abbott’s office or the Strike Force to Reopen Texas about possibly expanding the operation of child care centers.
“And then, I’m seeing, too, just on moms’ groups and things, that their bosses aren’t understanding,” Brandt said. “Their bosses have no idea. So, they’re being told, ‘come back to work, your position’s here, you start Monday.’ And they’re going, hold on, wait a minute, I can’t, you know? And so, now they’re put in that situation, and what do they do? And so, this mom was literally like, ‘what do I do?’ And so, I said, ‘call your child care provider. They can give you the essential letter from licensing indicating that their hands are tied.”
Retherford said her group estimated that 10% of child care centers would go out of business because of the pandemic, though she said research from the National Association for the Education of Young Children put the figure at nearly 40%.
“We think about the impact of us as adults, and what coronavirus has done to all of us: those who’ve had to work from home, or major lifestyle changes. Imagine how scary that is to a child,” Retherford said. “And when it’s now time for their parents to reenter the workforce, and what should feel like a very welcoming item, to go back and see their friends and their teacher, they’re not able to.”
Lafon said he is aware that increasing the occupancy of child care centers would put them at greater risk to be sources of spread of COVID-19, but he believes they are prepared for that.
“I think we all have that reservation,” Lafon acknowledged. “But again, we’re all just very protective with the temperature, checking temperature and making sure about kids not being sick and stuff. So, I mean, even with that coming, I think we’re all going to be very cautious. And, plus, like we said, we want a safe place for kids to come to. We want a safe place where parents will feel comfortable dropping their children.
“We offer licensed, regulated care with a very safe environment. We have staff that are trained. They have to do criminal backgrounds, so I don’t know why they don’t give us the opportunity to receive those children.”