At City Hall: Day Care Citation and Rally to Protest Service Cuts
City Council Honors Day Care’s Marie Fadoul
by Yuridia Peña
On April 6, City Council member Daniel Dromm honored Day Care Director Marie Fadoul for her dogged service to early childhood education. Ms. Fadoul has been at the Jerome Hardeman Sr. Day Care Center in Queens, where she has been a director since 2007.
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Ms. Fadoul emigrated with her family from Haiti to Queens at the age of 16. For nearly 25 years, she has been an advocate for children and working families. Ms. Fadoul has repeatedly testified at public hearings, organized numerous parent meetings and protested against government budget cuts to early childhood programs.
In 2008, Ms. Fadoul launched Child Care Training Solutions, a professional development consulting company that runs workshops for early childhood educators.
The citation was given in front of City Hall during a press conference where hundreds of protesters rallied against proposed budget cuts to child care. The city has proposed the elimination of 16,500 child care seats to save $70 million in fiscal year 2012, which begins July 1.
“We will not have jobs or a stable economy if we don’t prepare our children. If we don’t invest now, we will pay later,” said Public Advocate Bill DeBlasio. Among those present at the rally and the ceremony honoring Ms. Fadoul was CSA First Vice President Randi Herman. |
Ms. Fadoul told the crowd that budget cuts are “hurting the young people and the oldest people,” a reference to proposed cuts to both Day Care Centers and senior centers.
Since February, the Administration of Children Services has sent notices to 11,000 families that inform them that they will lose their day care subsidies.
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