Resolution Adopted by the CCAR
Child Care
Adopted by the CCAR at the 100th Annual Convention of
the Central Conference of American Rabbis
Cincinnati, Ohio June, 1989
Background
As women enter the work force in ever-increasing numbers, we have yet to deal effectively
with the dual challenge that this trend poses for our Jewish community and the general
public: first, the need to provide care and early Jewish educational foundations for our own young children; and secondly, for public-supported child care on a
national level. Both these issues have reached a crisis level which must be addressed
if we are to preserve and protect our children as the resources of our future.
Since 1970 there has been a 108-percent increase in the number of mothers in the work
force with infants under one year of age. With child care costs upwards of $3,000
a year, women in lower-paying jobs may be forced out of the job world entirely if
viable alternatives are not provided. The availability of child care may be the deciding
factor for a family struggling to overcome poverty; if it is not provided, a permanent
underclass may be the consequence. In spite of this danger, government allocations
have actually decreased by 12 percent since 1981. Child care is still the last benefit
offered as a job-reward when it should be the first.
As more Jewish women move into the work force, the difficulties of teaching our children
the values of the Jewish family, the traditions of our culture, and the lessons of
the Torah increase–thus, the provision of Jewish-supported child care can only strengthen our sense of family and community. Further, Jews have traditionally supported
the universal concerns of the larger community; we cannot teach the values of justice,
freedom of religion and education in the vacuum of a Jewish child care center any
more than we can address the problems of the homeless, the AIDS crisis, or the aging,
only as they pertain to the Jewish community. Answering the call to the child care
emergency is an investment in the growth of the Jewish community and our earliest
opportunity to break the cycle of prejudice, ignorance, and poverty resulting from unequal
opportunities to quality care and education for all children.
THEREFORE BE IT RESOLVED that the Central Conference of American Rabbis urge its members
I. In the congregational setting:
a. To establish on their own, and in conjunction with other Jewish agencies, child
care centers which provide extensive experiences in our tradition and engender a
love for Judaism.
b. To establish support systems for Jewish families, such as parenting centers and
counseling opportunities, and support for parents who choose to work in the home
and provide primary child care for their preschool children even though this reduces
the family income.
c. To educate and inform its congregants of their child care needs as well as those
of the larger community.
II. In the general community:
a. To take affirmative steps with other religious organizations, private sectors and
government agencies to assure that universal childcare is provided without regard
to race, religion, gender, class, or income.
b. To support legislation such as the following, keeping in mind that it be consistent
with protecting the First Amendment’s principles of the separation of Church and
State:
- Funding only for licensed child care centers.
- Benefits that reflect the current market cost of child care and go directly to the
provider or individual.
- A federal minimum standards guide for all centers, including inspection by federal
or state officials and minimum training requirements for child care providers.
- Cooperative efforts between private and federal agencies for on-site child care.
- Job protection with medical leave for families with newborns, or children with serious
illnesses.
- Child care provisions for parents and children with special needs:
- Non-traditional working hours
- Neglected and abused, disabled, and emotionally disturbed children
- Children of migrant families
- Care for newborns and pre-toddlers
- Drop-in care
- Sick-child care
- On-site care for children of high-school-age parents.
- An upgrading of the image and status of child-care providers, including advocacy
of adequate training, better salaries and benefits.
- Providing public information and evaluation services.