Gladys Jones
Jones started her home daycare business three years ago because she loves working with children, and has always wanted to be her own boss. Often, she cares for the children of women fleeing domestic abuse, who are in shelters. Her goal is to provide a strong developmental foundation for the kids. They bring their family stresses with them, she says. “You have to be concerned; their trials and tribulations, you go through it with them.”
She didn’t know until after she started her home program, how hard the work can be and what little support is provided by the agencies that pay and license providers.
“We need a voice,” says Jones of the provider union campaign. “Respect is lacking because we’re an unrecognized profession.
“Regulations are decided upon by everyone but providers, who have the hands-on experience,” she says. A provider should have been at the table when the state Office of Children and Family Services (OCFS) drafted new fire egress regulations, which subsequently have forced many providers in the city to close their doors. “Everyone would agree there needs to be regulations,” says Jones. But, “it’s the way things get done, the decisions that get made and who makes them.” Providers, as well as the children in their care and their families are all affected, she says.