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Child Care Workforce

Children in high-quality child care programs perform better in math, language, and reading and show fewer behavioral problems. Research overwhelmingly finds that provider training, retention, and compensation are the best indicators for child care quality. A well-trained child care workforce is needed to meet the increasing demand for high-quality child care in the United States to ensure that children start school ready to learn.

Child care workers provide vital services to families with young children in a variety of settings, including public and private centers, pre-kindergarten programs, and home-based environments.

• Approximately 2.3 million individuals earn a living caring for and educating children under age 5 in the United States, of which about 1.2 million are providing child care in formal settings, such as child care centers or family child care homes. The remaining 1.1 million caregivers are paid relatives, friends or neighbors.

• The Bureau of Labor Statistics estimates the size of the formal child care workforce at 1.3 million. 94.6 percent of these workers are women.
• 16 percent of the formal child care workforce is Black or African-American and 16.8 percent are of Hispanic or Latino origin.

Children in early care and education are better prepared for school when their teachers have higher levels of education and specialized training.

• The amount of formal education attained by a provider is the strongest predictor for the provider's ability to engage children in developmentally appropriate activities and positive interactions that better prepare them for school. A 2002 study of over 200 family child care providers showed that training was a stronger predictor of high-quality care than the provider's experience, group size, ratio of children to adults, or percent of infants in the care setting.
• Providers with specialized training are more likely to be nurturing, reinforce early literacy skills, and challenge and enhance children's learning. In one study of center-based providers, those who had attended training had more positive interactions with children and were less likely to restrict children's activities and ignore their requests.

Many child care providers lack the education and training necessary to provide high-quality child care.

• 38 states do not require child care providers in centers to complete any training in early childhood development before beginning work.
• Only 55 percent of family child care providers and 57 percent of center assistants have at least some college education. Center teachers fare better with 80 percent having some college education, however, center-based staff account for only 24 percent of all child care providers.

Low compensation and high job turnover adversely affect the quality of care that child care workers are able to provide.

• Despite the important role they play in child development, child care workers are among the lowest paid workers in the United States. Only 20 of 821 occupations reported by the Bureau of Labor Statistics have lower average wages than child care workers.
• Child care providers earn an average wage of only $9.46 an hour.With average salaries of $19,670 a year for child care workers, many individuals holding these jobs do not earn very much more than the 2007 federal poverty level of $17,170 annually for a family of three.
• Benefits for child care workers are minimal and inconsistent. A 2002 Study of the Kansas workforce showed that only 41 percent of center staff received partially or fully paid health benefits. Family child care providers, who work out of their homes, invariably have fewer benefits.
• In a field where continuity is of primary importance, the child care workforce experiences an annual job turnover rate of between 25 and 40 percent. High turnover often means that experienced teachers are replaced by novice teachers, who may not share the educational qualifications of their predecessors.

State compensation programs have shown promise for improving provider education levels. North Carolina's Teacher Education and Compensation Helps (T.E.A.C.H.) initiative provides scholarships to child care providers pursuing a credential or advanced degree. Teachers participating in the associate degree scholarship program improved their education levels and left their child care centers at a rate of less than 9 percent per year. Turnover rates for T.E.A.C.H. associate degree scholarship recipients are very low. For example, less than 5 percent in 14 states, 5-9 percent in 6 states and 10 percent in 1 state. 23 states have since adopted the program.
http://www.childcareservices.org/_downloads/TEACH%20annual%20report_08.pdf