Frazer Center Can't Wait for a Living Wage

ATLANTA, Ga., Sept 1, 2021

In the face of a national hiring crisis, the Frazer Center’s board of directors voted unanimously to raise the minimum wage to $15/hour, effective September 6, 2021, Labor Day.

Frazer Center is a nonprofit that provides direct care through two programs—inclusive early education for children with and without disabilities, and a supported employment and community access program for adults with developmental disabilities.

Early childhood educators and direct support professionals at Frazer and throughout the country are showing up on the front lines in spite of the uncertainty of COVID-19, many while providing care for their own children and families.

“We are proud of Frazer’s health and safety record throughout the pandemic, but none of that would have been possible without the courage and strength of our front-line staff,” says Paige McKay Kubik, Frazer Center CEO.

Communities depend on their early childhood educators and direct support professionals to care for our youngest children and vulnerable adults, but for far too long, industry salaries have not reflected the profound value of these essential workers. And now, both these industries face a nation-wide hiring crisis.

“We are feeling it very directly here at Frazer,” says Kubik. “We’ve been operating under capacity throughout the pandemic, primarily because we are understaffed. Our dedicated team is stressed and exhausted.”

Frazer’s board of directors and senior leadership have worked tirelessly and creatively to forge a 3-year sustainability plan, ensuring that Frazer Center staff receive fair wages from this point forward.

The new minimum wage will increase Frazer’s annual costs by nearly $250,000, but the Frazer leadership team believes the time has come for everyone in the community—public entities, private corporations, and everyday families—to join together and demand fair wages for early education teachers and direct support professionals.

Kubik says, “We can’t wait for a federal minimum wage mandate. We’re tightening our belts and leaving no stone unturned—not just for the sake of our own staff, but for what we hope becomes an industry-wide sea change in both the disabilities and early education arenas.”

For more information about Frazer Center, visit frazercenter.org.

Frazer Center, a nonprofit originally known as the Cerebral Palsy Center, was founded in 1949 and is located in the Lake Claire/Druid Hills neighborhood on the beautiful Cator Woolford Estate. The 39-acre campus includes an old-growth forest and historic garden which serves as a rental venue for weddings and events. All proceeds from the gardens benefit Frazer Center’s programs.