Professional, licensed in-home child care providers who pulled together as a union in April 2007 have reached a landmark deal with the state that provides new rights and a formal role in the regulatory process for providers represented by the union.
Child Care Providers Together, a unit of the American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees (AFSCME), announced a memorandum of agreement Wednesday.
If approved by union members, the agreement would establish an ongoing discussion between providers and regulators, allowing the providers to give input on rules and regulations, and mechanisms put in place to make sure the rules are applied fairly and consistently.
"It sets forth rights for licensed, professional in-home child care providers that they previously didn't have," said Rich Abelson, executive director of ASFCME Council 48 in Milwaukee, the parent union of Child Care Providers Together.
The three-year agreement runs through the 2008-09 biennium.
The agreement says inspections of in-home child care facilities will be conducted without interruption of the facility's daily routine, a union representative can be present at the inspection, and a grievance procedure is being established.
"This is a tremendous step forward for professional child care providers but it is only a first step," said Genniene Lovelace-Michel, a Beaver Dam child care provider and a member of the union's bargaining team.
The union has about 3,500 members out of 6,000 professional, licensed in-home child care providers.