Ami Sainfort Would Like to See More Provider Who Look Like Her Children

Story By: Bruce Poinsette

Illustration By: Paola De La Cruz

This story is made possible by a grant from the Oregon Community Foundation.

For Ami Sainfort and her two boys, 6 and 2 years old, the biggest challenge they face is a lack of support.

“It’s just me with my kids,” she says.

Sainfort works 10 hour nights as a home care provider. Recently, she qualified for assistance from the Employment-Related Day Care program, but prior to that, she was paying out of pocket for babysitters and often had to stay home to look after her children. Eventually, she had to leave her prior job at a mental healthcare facility because she couldn’t afford childcare.

Even when affordability wasn’t an issue, Sainfort says she had to be vigilant because daycares are run differently. There were times, she says, where she successfully found a provider but then observed things that would concern her. 

“If this is happening, what else is happening?,” says Sainfort. “It’s not just the cost that’s the issue. It’s the wellbeing of the kids.

“Not everyone is a natural caregiver, so I look for that.”

Her 6 year old is now in school and Sainfort was able to find a provider for her 2 year old. Prior to finding the current provider, she says looking after her youngest child was like working a second full time job. Now the daycare provider gets her child ready so she just has to focus on dropping him off and picking him up.

Sainfort’s situation as a single parent sits in contrast to how she grew up in Haiti, where the majority of her family still resides. There, the community was more tight knit and it was normal for a neighbor to look after someone else’s kids. When she was old enough, Sainfort would look after her brothers if her biological mother or stepfather, who took turns, weren’t available.

“Everyone knows everyone,” says Sainfort. “There’s a trust there. You just have more support, more help. You can leave and your kid is okay with the neighbor, or a friend, and all your family is there. It’s just easier for childcare.”

Sainfort moved to the US when she was 10 years old and lived with her foster mother and brother. The foster care experience and growing up in a close community in Haiti gave her plenty of perspective when it came to what she wanted for her children and the childcare field in general.

For her, an ideal childcare system would include more access and affordable options. Sainfort would also like to see more Black providers. Initially, she had trouble identifying these providers before learning about them through word of mouth. Nonetheless, she believes having someone her boys can see themselves in is very important to their development.    

“I would like to see more people that look like my kid,” she says.