Perspectives on Meeting the Early Childhood Workforce Challenge NACCRRA Annual Policy Symposium Washington, DC April 2,

1. Perspectives on Meeting the Early Childhood Workforce ChallengeNACCRRA Annual Policy SymposiumWashington, DCApril 2, 2008

2. Today’s Session • A Child Care Provider’s Perspective • Jim Greenman, Bright Horizons Family Solutions • A Systems Perspective • Barbara Thompson, U.S. Department of Defense • Addressing the Workforce at the State Level • Terry Casey, Pennsylvania Child Care Association • The Changing Policy Context • Eric Karolak, Early Care and Education Consortium • Discussion • Audience

3. A Child Care Provider’s Perspective Jim Greenman Bright Horizons Family Solutions (612) 729-0718 Jgreenman@brighthorizons.com

4. Child Care Workforce Dilemma • Rising expectation for credentialed staff • Consensus: early childhood education needs “quality” • The issue: quality = BA? Sooner or later? • ECE/child care divide – NAEYC Accreditation • Reality: diminishing talent pool • Compete with health care, education, service industries

5. Early Care and Education Work ForceWhere Will They All Come From? • The number of women age 25 – 54 in the labor force will grow only 9% from 2000 – 2050 • Women with BA degrees: growth everywhere but education • Since 1970, dramatic increase in % of B.A.’s awarded to women: 43% of degrees in 1969-70, and 57% percent in 2000   • In 2000, 30% of women aged 25 to 34 had four-year college degrees, up from 18 % in 1975   • Increases: biological science 51%, business 40%, accounting 40%, - education only 1% • % of female lawyers and engineers aged 25 to 34 has doubled since 1983 • Increase from 38% in 1983 to 51% in 2000 in the percent of young women working in executive, administrative and managerial occupations outside of education

6. Where Will They All Come From? • Men in education: lowest number in 40 years • Male elementary school teachers down to 9% from 18% in 1981 • Estimated ECE male workface under 4% • More competitions with all better paid education and special education • Better paid health care competition • Increase in demand for RN/LPN and long term care workers of close to 50% from 2000 to 2010, 80%-100% by 2020 • Entry level salary for 1 and 2 yr trained LPN’s and 2-4yr RN’s 25% to 120% higher than child care teachers

7. Future of Bright Horizons t Horizons Workforce More diverse staff More mature staff More part time staff More English as second language staff Fewer staff with pre service training and college coursework Fewer staff committed to the profession Fewer staff able or willing to achieve certification or degrees

8. A System’s Perspective Barbara Thompson Office of Family Policy/Children and Youth U.S. Department of Defense Barbara.Thompson@osd.mil

9. Workforce • Approximately 15,000 Direct Care Staff • Paraprofessional • Wide Range of Experience and Education High School Grad CDA College Grad No Experience With Experience

10. Professional Development Orientation Training Program Pre-Service Training Scholarships Established Timeline Self Paced Module Program On-Going Observation/ Feedback On-Going Annual Training Staff Paid

11. Key Component of Success • T&C Position Critical • Ensures Mandatory Training Completed • Improves Practice Through Observation & Feedback • Supports CDA/AA/BA Continuum • Smart Investment • Frees Director to Work Management Issues

12. Impact of Model Success • Standardized DoD System • Reduced Employee Turnover • Provided Career Path • Facilitated Continuity of Employment after Relocation of Spouse • Improved Professional Image

13. National Accreditation DoD Certification CDC Quality Components Parent Participation Staff to Child Ratios Fire, Health and Safety Standards Training & Curriculum Specialist Strict Oversight > 4 Unannounced Inspections “Fix, Waive, or Close” Formal Training for Caregivers > Linked to Wages 13

14. For More Information • Website: http://militaryhomefront.dod.mil • Download Staffing Your Child Care Center at http://www.cfs.purdue.edu/mfri/pages/research/staffing_your_child_care_center.pdf

15. Addressing the Workforce at the State Level Terry Casey Pennsylvania Child Care Association (717) 657-9000, ext. 114 terry@pacca.org

16. Pennsylvania: Workforce Challenges vs Great Expectations • Some “Challenges” PA faces with ECE workforce? • High turnover • Low wages • Non-competing benefits • More opportunity elsewhere • Job stress • Loss of degreed staff • Shrinking higher education programs to deliver ECE degree and credentials

17. Pennsylvania: Workforce Challenges vs Great Expectations • What are some of the “Great Expectations”? • Improving quality care and early learning for children through Keystone STARS (quality rating system) • Professionalization and retention of ECE practitioners • Community programs participating/partnering in PA’s Pre K Counts initiative

18. Strategies to Overcome Challenges Financial incentives for child care programs and staff thru Keystone STARS: • T.E.A.C.H. Early Childhood ® PENNSYLVANIA scholarship • Educational Retention Award • Merit Award • Tiered reimbursement

19. What is T.E.A.C.H.? • Teacher Education And Compensation Helps is a nationally licensed scholarship program out of NC administered in PA by PACCA • Designed for those working in the early childhood field • Scholarship pays for 80% of tuition and fees, reimburses 75% of books, provides an $100 stipend to help with travel costs, reimburses sponsoring program for 75% of release time at $9 per hour. • Provides other supports such as counselor.

20. Highlights of T.E.A.C.H. Scholarship • Nationally licensed program administered by statewide advocacy organizations in each of 22 states (more coming on board) • Scholarship built on principles of maintaining and strengthening existing systems within each state • Enables current workforce to work toward degree or credential in ECE • Increases education and compensation of workforce • Helps to retain educated staff in sponsoring programs

21. Added Value of T.E.A.C.H. • Helps better serve communities through workforce development, • Builds advocacy base and empowerment, • Maintains and strengthens existing systems including higher education.

22. T.E.A.C.H. scholarships funded in PA include . . . • CDA Credential • CDA Assessment • Associate • Bachelor • PA Director Credential Coming in 08-09: scholarships for student teaching, practicum, & certification

23. Overview from 1998 to 2007 • PACCA has awarded over 4,700 scholarships in 65 out of 67 counties • Recipients have completed over 55,000 college credits at 40 participating colleges & universities • 2,100+/- child care programs have sponsored a scholarship recipient. • 500+ graduates have earned an AA degree or CDA credentials. • Compensation has increased by 34% over 4 contracts with turnover rate at 3% after 4 contracts

24. T.E.A.C.H. Participant Profile • 98% are women • 41% are persons of color • 49% only have a high school diploma or GED • 37% have some credit hours toward a 2 year degree • 66% are parents • 66% have household incomes of less than $20,000 per year

25. Workforce Needs More • Educational Retention Awards (ERA) (depending on education level and size of program bonuses range from $250 to $5,000) • Health Insurance – PA does not have a health insurance program for ECE workforce • ECE programs need help finding substitutes • System needs strong infrastructure and resources

26. Where does the funding come from? • In PA the funding comes from state and federal dollars as well as private sources such as foundations. • Programs must be in Keystone STARS and serving a minimum of 5% subsidy children to be eligible for Merit award and ERA funding. • Pre K Counts is funded at $75 million of state dollars.

27. Why is it important to have a well educated, compensated workforce? • Good for young children • Good for workforce • Good for community programs that wish to be Pre K Counts provider (Must be STAR 2 or above now and STAR 3 by June 30, 2009.)

28. Useful websites for PA info • www.pacca.org – T.E.A.C.H. scholarship information, resource and information clearinghouse, plus advocacy • www.pakeys.org – Professional development information; Keystone STARS info on standards, career lattice, financial rewards

29. The Changing Policy Context Eric Karolak Early Care and Education Consortium (202) 408-9624 ekarolak@ececonsortium.org

30. The Changing Policy Context • State-funded Prekindergarten • NIEER benchmark: B.A., with ECE specific training • “Fewer than half the 38 pre-K states required all lead teachers in their programs to hold a bachelor’s degree.” (NIEER, 2008) • Many require B.A. degrees of teachers in public school preK classrooms only • Recent initiatives mixed: Pennsylvania (2007) required B.A. with phase-in, Iowa (2007) and Massachusetts (2006) do not 30

31. The Changing Policy Context • Head Start for School Readiness Act of 2007 Workforce Requirements • 50% of teachers nationally must have at least a B.A. in ECE or a related field and experience teaching preschool-age children within 6 years. • All teachers must have an A.A. within 4 years. • All assistant teachers must have at least a CDA, be working toward completing a degree within 2 years.     • Reserves 40% of new funds for quality enhancements, including salary increases for staff.

32. The Changing Policy Context • Ready to Learn Act – S. 1823 (Clinton, D-NY) • New standards-based federal ECE program • $5 billion growing to $10 billion over 5 years • Children from families with incomes below 200% FPL or with limited English proficiency • Teacher qualification requirement: • 100% of teachers must have B.A. degree in ECE or B.A. with ECE-specific training • Two year implementation timeframe

33. The Changing Policy Context • Prepare All Kids Act – S. 1374 (Casey, D-PA) • New standards-based federal ECE program • $5 billion, growing to $9 billion over 5 years • Children from families with incomes below 200% FPL • Teacher qualification requirement: • Within 6 years, teachers must have or be working toward a B.A. degree in ECE

34. The Changing Policy Context • PreK Act – H.R. 3289 (Hirono, D-HI) • Grants to states to increase quality and expand access to state prekindergarten programs • $100 million • Up to 50% of funds for top level grants can be used to extend access with priority to low-income communities • Teacher qualification requirement: • Top level grants reserved for states where teachers have an A.A. in ECE or a related field and where the state has a plan to require a B.A. in ECE or a related field within 5 years

35. The Changing Policy Context • Quality Child Care for America Act – S. 2187 (Clinton, D-NY) • Authorizes $200 million to fund CCDBG quality set-aside workforce initiatives • 30% of funds must be spent on family child care providers

36. The Changing Policy Context • Higher Education Act • Extends Perkins and Direct loan forgiveness to early childhood educators in licensed child care, Head Start, and state prekindergarten programs • Grants to states for comprehensive childhood professional development and workforce systems

37. For more information: http://ececonsortium.org – website of the national organization for center-based child care and early learning providers, featuring legislative reports, preK information, and federal and state ECE action center

38. Questions?