Speaking the same language
HOW SHOULD a family learn about high-quality, state-supported child care? Word-of-mouth, from a family friend, or neighbor? By chance while talking to a local merchant? The consensus is that there should be a systemic, comprehensive program that clearly communicates available services to all eligible families, regardless of the language spoken in the home.
The real question is: Where is this program?
In the two years since the Bessie Tartt Wilson Children's Foundation released Keep the Promise, its benchmark report on child care and early learning in Massachusetts, providers, state regulators, and advocates have cobbled together reforms to help 52,000 children in the state receive high-quality child care through the federally supported voucher system for low-income families.
Despite steps forward, Limited English Proficiency families who are eligible to use the state system continue to face barriers that limit their understanding of services, benefits, and resources that are their rights as residents and taxpayers.
Research shows that despite good intentions, those with limited English proficiency face significant communication barriers in connecting with the network of services offered by the Department of Early Education and Care. These include:
These barriers persist as Massachusetts's LEP population continues to grow at one of the most rapid rates in the country. Looking for models to follow yielded few examples, but there are pockets of innovation in Massachusetts. The state's early education agency would be well served by looking to the Department of Transitional Assistance, which has built bilingual capacity, employed a broad range of communications tools, and established a network of translators in 29 offices.
The Department of Early Education and Care is cognizant of the need for improvement. But making serious gains in accessibility is going to take more than off-the-shelf solutions. The department needs to deepen its connections to the communities it serves. To effect systemic change, there needs to be broad-scale partnerships with community-based organizations that provide outreach and services to families.
It won't be enough to focus just on Spanish-speaking families. It is crucial that communications embrace all languages spoken throughout the Commonwealth, as research shows that voucher families speak at least nine different languages. Because immigrant workers have become our state's principal source of new labor, it is essential that we offer them the support to help them transition to productive residency. Child care and early education are a big part of that transition. Barriers of fear and misunderstanding among families that don't speak English must be removed. The system is complicated and confusing, and, in the end, when the adults cannot speak the same language, it is the children who suffer.
Mary Reed is president of the Bessie Tartt Wilson Children's Foundation. Valora Washington is principal investigator of Keep The Promise.
