Child Trends’ Post

Education grantee Center for the Study of Child Care Employment, UC Berkeley (CSCCE) just released the 2024 Early Childhood Workforce Index, which contains a state-by-state look at policies and conditions affecting the early care and education workforce. It finds that the median wage for early educators is just $13.07 per hour, placing them in the lowest 3% of earners across all occupations. Despite their critical role in child development, they struggle to make ends meet.   With interactive maps, data by state, and actionable policy recommendations, the Index fills a critical gap in understanding the workforce’s challenges. It also includes bright spots - how states used federal pandemic relief funding to support early educators and how some states continue to lead the way.   Explore the Index on CSCCE’s website https://lnkd.in/gVcav9a7 

The Productivity Commission released the report on universal early childhood education yesterday. This inquiry report examines the early childhood education and care (ECEC) sector, including centre-based day care, preschools, family day care, outside school hours care, and in-home care. The report outlines what a universal ECEC system would look like, and the significant reforms necessary to achieve it. These reforms tackle issues that affect ECEC availability, inclusion, affordability, quality and equity. The report's recommendations aim to remove barriers to ECEC access and support better outcomes for children and families.

We just updated our 50-State Comparison on Early Care and Education #Governance! For this comparison Adrienne Fischer, senior policy analyst, and Matt Weyer, policy director, researched the policies and regulations that guide key components of agencies that oversee early care and education programs in all 50 states and the District of Columbia. Explore our full 50-State Comparison here: https://ow.ly/iSHQ50TFOY0 #EarlyChildhood #EducationPolicy #Preschool

The Productivity Commission's final report on early childhood education and care out today calls for the government to provide universal access to a minimum of three days of early childhood education and care for all children aged 0-5 years. This is a positive step forward, as we know the benefits of a universal system are immense. However, we also know that the current Child Care Subsidy model significantly impacts affordability and accessibility for families. Continuing with small tweaks that fail to address the deeper systemic issues with the current funding model - like access, affordability and complexity - won’t help deliver a truly universal early childhood education system. CPD stresses that a bold reform agenda is required. We look forward to the government's response, and urge them to go further than the Commission’s recommendation and adopt a child-centred funding model, as this will be crucial for delivering a truly improved system in the long term. Read our statement: https://lnkd.in/dRrM3Dpt

This. We have been in this uphill battle long before covid. The early years are crucial for development. We know that. The time and effort spent by ECE professionals prepping, implimenting, observing, continuing education, continuing professional development is mountainous. This filed has some of the top experts with the absolute lowest pay. Pay that doesn't even provide for basic needs. Facilities are capped because realistically we have more families in poverty than not and costs have to be managable. It often doesn't pay the facility bills and payroll though. Something has to change. #stabilityforece #fairpayforeceteachers

This is true in many parts of Canada as well.

#ICYMI We updated our 50-State Comparison on Early Care and Education #Governance! Early care and education systems are complex and often have multiple agencies overseeing programs. Explore this 50-State Comparison for data on these systems, with a focus on the agencies that oversee these programs, the level of alignment of these programs and the advisory entities for early care and education in the state. See the 50-State Comparison here: https://ow.ly/iSHQ50TFOY0 #EarlyChildhood #EducationPolicy #Preschool

High cost, limited options, and concerns about safety, quality, and logistics are among the top concerns for parents searching for child care and early education. This new report from OPRE, NORC at the University of Chicago and Urban Institute shares details on how parents look for and select care, highlighting areas for future research. Read more from Heather Sandstrom, Catherine Kuhns, Sarah Prendergast, Teresa Derrick-Mills, MPA, PhD, and Laura Wagner:

📢The results from our 7th annual Early Childhood Ireland Barometer are out! Based on a national opinion poll by RED C Research, Barometer 2024 again reveals broad public support for access to Early Years and School Age Care for all children. Key Findings 👉76% agree that every child should be guaranteed access to high quality and inclusive Early Years and School Age Care in their community 👉 Over two-thirds (67%) believe that education for children under 5 is as important as for those over 5 👉 Almost three-quarters (74%) think that Early Years education should be freely available to all children 👉 More than half (54%) agree that Early Years and School Age Care staff with university degrees should have the same terms and conditions as primary school teachers 👉 53% think Government should pay the wages of crèche staff To explore the full Early Childhood Ireland Barometer 2024, click here: https://loom.ly/_CgTkfA #QualityForChidlren #ECIBarometer #EarlyYearsIreland

We welcome this report from Nesta on narrowing the gap between children from lower- and higher-income families. Narrowing this gap in early childhood is at the heart of BookTrust’s work. Our #ReadingTogether proposals reveal how shared reading can transform life chances: https://lnkd.in/egBHy4e6