Feb 14, 2008 11:35 AM
Market rate — the rate set by the state to pay the newly organized UFT home child care providers who care for subsidized children for 10 to 11 hours a day — has finally gone up. Unfortunately, providers haven’t received the raise because the city claims it has no money. At a Jan. 23 press conference at UFT headquarters, providers called on the state Legislature to pass the budget with the increased spending earmarked for child care. UFT Vice President Michelle Bodden said that when “you raise the rate without paying the rate, it’s a paper raise.” In preparation for negotiations, scheduled to start in February, for their first contract, UFT President Randi Weingarten noted that because the market rate increase would go only to some providers but not to others, providers should focus on issues “that will raise all boats.”