Picking up the Slack: Correcting the Childcare Shortage Post Covid-19
Authors: Cana Bennett
Faculty Supervisor: Emily Boyle, MAT
Community Partner: Boys and Girls Club of Southeast Georgia
Abstract:
For my project, I used my position as Youth Development Professional (YDP) for the Boys and Girls Club to identify needs I recognized in the community. Almost as soon as I started there, I realized the impact of the childcare worker shortage. After an extensive amount of research, I have come to find that the number of childcare related dropouts is on a massive incline after the effects of Covid-19. This affects me directly, as a Middle Grades Education major, and it affects the community as far as steering the future contributing citizens of Glynn County on the right path. Working on this project, I had a realization that my students (seventh and eighth graders) have not had a normal academic school year since fifth and fourth grade and the impact it has left on them behaviorally is like none I have seen before. Concluding this project, when individuals within the community take the initiative to become a representative, a worker, and an advocate for our children we will see the community thrive, see a decline of delinquent behavior, and be proper hosts to the future doctors, lawyers, and teachers of Glynn County. The attached essay and poster contain my research.
