01:00 AM EDT on Sunday, June 12, 2005

RHODE ISLAND'S child-care system should make every Rhode Islander proud. It's a program that works for everybody. Children are cared for in healthy and safe environments, either in providers' homes (as is the case with family child care) or in child-care centers (Head Start and other center-based child-care agencies).

This lets both parents go to work and earn for their families. Meanwhile, home-based family child-care providers receive some of the most generous subsidies in America. As a state, we all benefit from this program.

This innovative system of child care, under the umbrella of Starting RIght, was developed in 1998 through a collaboration of family- and center-based child-care providers, child-care advocates, and the General Assembly. These proposals took shape as legislation, led by Rep. Nancy Benoit and Sen. Thomas Izzo, both since retired from the legislature. It is now a nationally recognized system.

In fact, Education Week magazine has praised Rhode Island as the only state to guarantee child-care assistance for families below a certain income. Currently, Rhode Island guarantees child-care assistance for all families with incomes up to 225 percent of the federal poverty level, or $42,400 for a family of four. More people, as a percentage of the population, are eligible for a subsidy here than in almost every other state.

In addition, the state spends $2 million a year to provide health insurance to home-based family child-care workers who serve families.

As chairwoman and vice-chairwoman of the Permanent Legislative Child Care Commission, we have seen firsthand how our system has helped low-income families improve their lives and has let family child-care providers be independent and successful business owners.

The commission has not taken an official position on this issue, but we are disappointed and disturbed by the Service Employees International Union Local 1199's recent push to expand its membership at the expense of the working families and child-care workers who have been helped by our Starting RIght system. Through glossy brochures and news releases, the union leadership has made some grossly unfair and inaccurate statements about child care in Rhode Island.

With our experience and knowledge of the state's child-care industry, we want to set the record straight about the harmful effects that unionizing the private, home-based family child-care providers would have.

There are more than enough available child-care slots -- a "slot" is a bundle of funded programs and benefits to care for a single child -- in the state. The union leadership has called for increased access to subsidized child-care slots. But in Central Falls, Newport, Pawtucket, Providence, West Warwick and Woonsocket, there are five child-care slots for every four children under the age of 6. In Providence alone, there are 171 child-care slots for every 100 children, a ratio of nearly 2 to 1.

And the number of children served by the state-subsidized child-care system continues to increase. From 1999 to 2004, the number of children receiving assistance from the state nearly doubled from 8,200 to 13,600. There is certainly no lack of access to child-care assistance!

The state's investment in subsidized child-care payments has more than doubled. While the union leadership wants to make child care more affordable and expand state assistance, our state's investment has increased from $31 million in 1999 to more than $80 million in 2004, a 156 percent increase.

Reimbursement rates to providers who care for children enrolled in the state program have increased 142 percent since 1997. Our state subsidies are higher than those of neighboring states. This investment has let many heads of households continue their educations and find higher-paying jobs.

Far from making child care more affordable, a union will burden some providers with additional costs for dues and additional time commitments for union activities. While Governor Carcieri has held office, child-care providers have received an 8 percent increase in reimbursement rates. The governor's request for home-based providers to co-share health-insurance premiums is only fair. After all, the families who receive RIte Care already pay a co-share for their health insurance.

Rhode Island already has an extensive network of child-care support resources. Low-income families and child-care providers regularly meet with representatives from nonprofit agencies and state agencies to discuss issues that are of concern to them. A subcommittee of the state Department of Human Services' Advisory Committee on Child Care and Development meets monthly as a forum for providers to discuss their issues and concerns of the child-care system.

In addition, the Rhode Island Children's Cabinet, composed of directors and senior staff from state social-service and education agencies, meets regularly to address the needs of low-income families and children in an integrated and effective way. Through all of these efforts, we continue to make real progress.

A union will fracture the strong network of child-care providers. We know that a large percentage of home-based family child-care providers do not support the unionization efforts. In addition, providers in the center-based child-care agencies as well as the Head Start programs, which care for 70 percent of the children in child care, are very concerned that a union could actually weaken the Starting RIght initiatives that have made our state such a leader in child care.

We agree that there are problems that need to be addressed. The continued strength of our child-care system is our primary goal, which is why we continue to work at making improvements. A union would unnecessarily divide the child-care advocacy effort and split the spirit of cooperation and goodwill that has made our system the success that it is today.

Sen. June N. Gibbs (R.-Tiverton, Newport, Middletown and Little Compton) is chairwoman of the Permanent Legislative Child Care Commission. Rep. Susan A. Story (R.-East Providence and Barrington) is vice-chairwoman of the commission.