Bob Menendez: “I am proud to be submitting a resolution designating May 1, 2007, as National Child Care Worthy Wage Day. On this day…”

“I am proud to be submitting a resolution designating May 1, 2007, as National Child Care Worthy Wage Day. On this day, child care providers and other early childhood professionals nationwide conduct public awareness and education efforts highlighting the importance of good early childhood education for our Nation's young children. This resolution is an effort to support these initiatives and to help develop greater public awareness to our early educators and the critical work they do. Every day, nearly 63 percent of children under the age of 5 are cared for outside their home so their parents can work. Early care and education workers, who number more than 2.3 million, make it possible for millions of parents to leave their children at day care and go to work. By enabling parents to go to work every day, our early education workers add more than $580 billion to our economy nationwide. The importance of early education cannot be overstated. From the day they are born, children begin to learn, and the quality of care they receive will affect their language development, math skills, behavior, and general readiness for school. Our early educators help future leaders and workers of our Nation develop their social, emotional, physical and cognitive skills so they can be ready for school. However, the committed individuals who nurture and teach these young children continue to be undervalued, with grossly low wages and lack of benefits.”