Childcare Questionnaire

Childcare Questionnaire

Childcare Questionnaire. I'm Greg Martin with today's Fruit Grower Report.

Recent issues have brought the problem of farmworker child care to the forefront. Mike Gempler with the Washington Growers League says they have been looking hard at this issue and have created a 10-question survey to try and get some answers.

GEMPLER: Probably the biggest factor was the U.S. Department of Labor actions against the growers for violation of child labor standards and it was apparent there was some circumstances where some growers, those employers had some underage kids, at least around the work - maybe not in it, probably because parents had no other place to take the kids.

Department of Labor came out with a very heavy hand on the issue.

GEMPLER: Another major factor in triggering this investigation is the safety with kids and also we found as we did this that there seemed to be a lot of women in particular who'd like to work more but don't or can't because they don't have childcare. Here we are in a time for labor shortage, you have people who want to work more.

Gempler says they are asking ag industry people to take a few minute and fill out the questionnaire.

GEMPLER: We're trying to make the situation with kids during the non-academic year better so they're not on the farm so the farmers aren't at risk of being cited by U.S. Department of Labor for unwarranted child labor violations, so the kids don't get hurt and so people are able to work.

Visit their website at http://www.growersleague.org to complete the survey.

That's today's Fruit Grower Report. I'm Greg Martin on the Ag Information Network of the West.

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