This site is intended to educate the public on broad social, political and economic issues affecting low-income families. Comments made by readers herein do not represent the views or positions of the Marguerite Casey Foundation or Equal Voice, America’s Family Story, and do not constitute a recommendation for or against any specific candidate, legislation, or legislative proposal.

Users must refrain from making or posting comments that may constitute or could be viewed as lobbying or political campaigning under the U.S. federal tax laws. In addition, users must refrain from making or posting vulgar, obscene, threatening or abusive comments on this site. The website moderator reserves the right in its sole discretion, but not the responsibility, to delete or edit any user submission to this site, and/or to bar the participation by anyone who it reasonably believes to have violated these principles. Complete rules of conduct for this site are contained in the Term of Use

Friday, July 10, 2009

Low-Wage Schedules and the Child Care Struggle

ore than 60 percent of Americans have jobs that pay by the hour. One-quarter to one-third of them are low-wage jobs like waiting tables, working at nursing homes and standing behind the counter at the Rite-Aid. These employees often face unpredictable hours and less-than-full-time paychecks. And if these employees also happen to be parents, the instability and inflexibility of their work life is likely having negative effects on the health and education of their kids.

Yesterday, at a New America event titled "Flexible Work Arrangements and Low-Wage Work," several researchers laid these facts on the table. It was another reminder of the interdependence of policies related to health, education, the economy and the American workforce. And it highlighted why working families often struggle to find appropriate child care, to care for sick children or to find ways to participate in their children's education.

Read More

No comments: