Advocates, parents, educators and county leaders held a rally Friday to convey the need for high-quality, accessible early childhood education and care.
The Hawaii Children’s Action Network Speaks!, or HCAN Speaks!, and the Hawaii Early Childhood Advocacy Alliance organized the “Keiki Strong Rally” at the Hawaii County Building to advocate for keiki and their rights.
“I’m here because I struggled to find early childhood education for my two children and experienced a number of obstacles, disappointments and serious concerns,” said Christen Zulli, an advocate and mother of two. “With the way the system is set up, and the lack of after-school programs, there is a situation where there is a lot of mental load on parents, as well as a loss of time and money.”
When her husband is away from home for about half the year as a merchant mariner, Zulli faces more difficulties when trying to access child care and education for her young sons. The limited options within the early childhood sector have also affected her ability to have a day job.
“If I have to pick up my kids at 12 p.m. or 2 p.m., or if I have to drive to different locations because of their ages, I can’t work a full-time position, or even a part-time position in some cases,” Zulli said. “I think that if there was more funding on a public level, and if child care workers and professionals had better wages, then there wouldn’t be this many concerns.”
Speakers during the public rally emphasized their support for two state legislative measures, House Bill 1964 and HB 2535.
HB 1964 would require the state Department of Human Services to provide a child care provider subsidy to supplement wages in order to improve recruitment and retention of child care professionals.
HB 2535 would require the DHS to establish two-year pilot program aimed at developing and implementing procedures to subsidize child care by contracting for classrooms in licensed infant and toddler child care centers.
Both bills were introduced by the House, passed the second reading in the Senate, and have been referred to the Senate Ways and Means committee.
County Councilwoman Jennifer Kagiwada showed her support for HB 1964 when she told a story — written in 1992 during the Worthy Wage Campaign — about the cycle of losing quality educators to better-paying jobs and how it affects children and families.
While the Worthy Wage Campaign sought to improve many of the challenges child care professionals faced throughout the ’90s, currently their jobs are still plagued by low wages, poor working conditions and a lack of recognition.
“There is no end to this story, and it is repeating in child care programs across the country,” Kagiwada said. “We had a saying in the old Worthy Wage Campaign: Parents can’t afford to pay, teachers can’t afford to stay, there has to be a better way. I think we all know the better way is finding additional revenue.”
Local mother and advocate Leilani Kailiawa talked about her experience as a parent of a 7-year-old with medical needs and how they have been unable to find an equitable and inclusive learning program.
“It has been difficult to navigate resources to support my child, and I believe more early learning programs would have been helpful for me as a parent in helping him be successful academically and emotionally,” Kailiawa said. “The schools have tried their best to accommodate, but it’s not enough. He deserves more. All families are in different situations, and we all want our keiki to be successful.”
Kailiawa’s son, Jeremiah, uses a feeding tube for most of his meals and has challenges with reading and writing, which qualifies him for specialized instruction through an Individualized Education Program, or IEP.
While Jeremiah is able to receive an academic education, he does not get as much social and emotional education that comes from school as many teachers are not equipped to handle a child with feeding challenges, according to Kailiawa.
“Early childhood care and learning programs are not inclusive and equitable enough to meet the diverse needs of all families. We should prioritize equity, so we can support the success of every child,” Kailiawa said. “This is near and dear to my heart, because we live it, and it is a struggle sometimes.”
Kailiawa has been one of Hawaii Island’s representatives for HCAN Speaks!, which is a nonprofit with a vision of well-funded, family-focused public policies and programs that prioritize keiki and give them resources to learn, grow and thrive.
After the speakers finished on Friday, the group marched around the block with signs to inform the public about the need for more opportunities for young keiki.
Similar events on Oahu and Maui echoed the same sentiments.
For more information about current policies regarding Hawaii’s children, or to become an advocate, visit the HCAN Speaks! website at speaks.hawaii-can.org.
Email Kelsey Walling at kwalling@hawaiitribune-herald.com.