TAMPA, Fla. — Disgust and disbelief got here Wednesday, as dad and mom reacted to the truth that two leaders with their kids’s former daycare—Children’s Land of Imagination Academy—had been charged with little one abuse.
And the alleged abuse was caught on digicam.
“I don’t know what else to say except that it’s disgusting,” stated Elizabeth Carpenter.
“I can’t believe that a person could look at a child and hurt them in the way that they did these kids,” stated Kelly Autrey.
It’s a scary expertise that has each mothers shaken, but additionally nonetheless in want of kid care after pulling their sons out of the ability.
And whereas Carpenter stated she has members of the family to fall again on:
“The only person that I trust to take care of my kid is my family,” stated Carpenter.
Autrey stated that is simply not the case. And now she’s caught on a ready listing.
“We’re only looking at places that have live feed cameras,” she stated.
It’s a actuality ABC Action News heard time and again from Bay space dad and mom— that you just’re struggling to discover high quality and inexpensive childcare.
Data from the Center for American Progress reveals that there are gaps in access, often known as “daycare deserts” proper right here within the Bay space.
But even in areas the place there may be access, the wait for a lot of continues, and specialists stated the explanation behind that is layered.
RELATED: Teacher at Odessa daycare arrested for little one abuse days after co-owner’s arrest for identical cost: HCSO
The interim CEO for the Early Learning Coalition of Hillsborough County, Gary Meyer, informed ABC Action News he works with greater than 1,000 childcare suppliers locally.
And he stated many are at present scuffling with staffing.
“We do hear that there is a struggle recruiting and retaining teachers,” Meyer stated.
Meyer stated a part of it comes down to cash and the ELC of Hillsborough is working to tackle that.
“We’ve had a $4 million dollar workforce initiative, where we’re providing childcare providers with stipends for hiring new teachers, for retaining them,” stated Meyer.
It’s a grievance that the oldsters over at Hillsborough Community College’s Quality Early Education System (QEES) hear too.
And they’re working to tackle it by beefing up the assist could be early schooling lecturers obtain whereas in coaching.
“What we try to do here at the college is provide a space where they can thrive while they’re learning,” stated the Program’s Director, Marni Lebowitz Fuente.
And little by little, Fuente stated, they’re seeing success.
“Once you start changing the lens so that an individual can understand how powerful it is to be an educator and that you can have an impact that’s going to last generations to come. That’s the ‘aha’ moment,” she stated.
If you are in search of assist in discovering a safe and credentialed place to ship your children, the ELC of Hillsborough County has a complete division devoted to simply that.
You can contact them by way of cellphone at (813) 515-2340 or by way of their web site at https://www.elchc.org/.
