What began in Kentucky as a novel idea to reshape the early childhood workforce, in effect reinvigorating the broader labor market, quickly spread to states across the country.
To bring the Bluegrass State’s early educators and legislators back into the classroom. made changes In fall 2022, we will expand eligibility requirements for Kentucky’s child care subsidy program to include all staff working at least 20 hours per week in licensed early child care and education programs. In effect, early childhood educators were automatically eligible for free childcare for their children, regardless of household income.
It was an immediate boon.In its first year, 3,200 Kentucky parents engaged in early care and education I participated Approximately 5,600 children have benefited from this program.
Early childhood advocates, policy makers and business leaders in other states took notice. A creative solution with a quick fix? They wanted in.
“It’s exploded,” says Lauren Hogan, managing director of policy and professional development at the National Association for the Education of Young Children, a nonprofit membership organization that advocates for high-quality early childhood education. “There’s a reason why steam has risen. It’s proven to be worthwhile.”
A year and a half after Kentucky’s experiment began, more than a dozen states have launched or are seriously considering their own programs. arizona, colorado, Indiana, iowa, Massachusetts, nebraska and rhode island.
More than 234,000 early care and education workers with children under age 6 could benefit if all 50 states and Washington, D.C., adopted a policy like Kentucky’s, according to a report It is said that there is. estimate From the Childcare Employment Research Center.
The premise of this initiative is simple. Early child care and education programs with improved staffing will increase the supply of child care and help more parents return to work. However, the sector is struggling to retain and attract staff.
In recent years, amid a pandemic and rising inflation, many early educators left the field Because I realized I could make more money elsewhere. Every company from Amazon to Target to Chick-fil-A was offering higher wages. Childcare providers are already operating on meager profits; Charge your family more They could reasonably afford and could not compete.
As a result, early care and education programs are understaffed, classrooms are closed, and more families are left without care.
Kentucky’s approach works because it gives early care and education providers the tools to retain their existing staff and make contracts more favorable to future educators.
“Even if we can’t directly put more money in people’s pockets, we can at least reduce their costs,” Hogan explains. “Many of them have child support obligations.”
Beyond how attractive this program is to the economy, it erases a bitter cynicism that has long persisted in the sector. This means that those providing childcare can hardly afford it themselves.
“Some of our educators can’t even pay for their children to attend the programs they work in. That just doesn’t make sense,” said the executive director of the Rhode Island Association for the Education of Young Children. , says Lisa Hildebrand. . “Now there’s a way they can afford it.”
Rhode Island is eight months into its $4 million annual funding drive. pilot The program is modeled after Kentucky, and Hildebrand hopes it will be renewed by the state Legislature in June.
There is certainly evidence to support its continuation, she shares.
As of March, 475 children had participated in the pilot program. Their parents are involved in 162 different center and home-based early education programs across Rhode Island.
Of the participants, 23 percent were already eligible based on their state’s existing income. Childcare support system. However, more than three-quarters were exempted from paying childcare fees on a trial basis. (Rhode Island’s program differs from Kentucky’s in that it has income limits, but they are significantly higher than what is available to other households in the state.)
Providers have shared that they have been able to bring back original classroom teachers and attract new teachers to their programs, which is a big relief for the sector, Hildebrand said.
“Right now, staffing levels are at a very critical level. [for some providers] “Losing a teacher means a classroom with many children is closed,” she explains. “we [already] There are long waiting lists and families wait years to get a slot. In other words, the working population is decreasing. ”
In a survey conducted by the Rhode Island Department of Human Services, which administers the program, one provider called the pilot “life-changing” for employees with young children. Others said there is an influx of job seekers and new employees who are experienced and excited to work in this field, neither of which are taken for granted in society. poorly paid occupation.
Another health care provider said: We were able to attract top early childhood teachers who chose to stay home because childcare was too expensive relative to their income. ”
“Categorical eligibility” for child care workers is a rare policy solution that “is acceptable in both red states and blue states,” Hogan said.
In Nebraska, a bipartisan group of legislators invoice This Congress expanded eligibility for early care and education staff.
“Nebraska is in a workforce crisis, and we’re in a child care crisis,” said Katie, data and policy research advisor at First Five Nebraska, a nonpartisan public policy group focused on expanding early opportunity. Bass says. “We cannot solve the workforce crisis without solving the child care crisis.”
Nebraska’s bill ultimately failed to pass by the end of the session in mid-April. Bass says they just didn’t have the money this time, but added: “Of course we’re not done here.”
Representatives from conservative and liberal groups alike testified in support of the plan. The sponsor of this bill is State Senator John Fredrickson, Bass says he intends to reintroduce the bill in the next session, which begins in January 2025.Meanwhile, he introduced the following Intermediate research to evaluate the different approaches that other states have taken and determine which version is most appropriate for Nebraska’s early educators.
“This is unprecedented,” Bass said of the bill’s broad support base. “The lack of child care is impacting the operational capacity of every sector.”
