DES MOINES, Iowa — Iowa lawmakers are considering legislation that would allow 16 and 17-year-olds to watch school-age children without additional supervision.
Even though it aimed at alleviating Iowa's child care challenges, it is drawing support and opposition from caregivers.
"It would be a safe environment for kids," said Carol Hibbs, CEO of the Marshalltown YMCA-YWCA.
Jennifer Cooke, a preschool teacher in Sioux City, disagrees.
"It scares me that terrible things will happen to young children because of it," she said.
There are points of agreement between the two sides. Most will say accessing child care for many parents can be difficult, whether that's finding affordable child care or just finding an opening nearby.
"Everyone wants quality affordable child care," Hibbs said.
How to achieve that is where the opinions diverge.
"I think we can do better. I think we can think of better options," Cooke told Local 5.
Hibbs called it another tool in the toolbox for her organization.
"We feel confident that we can train and assess whether staff are qualified or not. An arbitrary age doesn't necessarily determine whether a person is qualified."
Cooke, however, argued 16 and 17-year-olds are not ready for that kind of responsibility.
"You need to have total room awareness; you need to be able to have a headcount at all times," Cooke said. "Most adults struggle with that, so I don't see how easy that would be for a teenager."
The other concern: quality of care.
"We need to build on the health and safety," said Sheila Hansen, government relations director for Common Good Iowa. "We need them to thrive."
Hibbs, however, said her organization has training in place to make sure that happens.
"We have a lot of support a lot of training to provide for child care and a lot of resources to bring to the table to train staff for child care," she said.
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