In Milwaukee: Offer a cost-free training and development program course for high school students

Early childhood educators are held to a higher standard with a lot of barriers to entry. However, their paychecks do not reflect the same standard. And with lower compensation than those working in retail or fast food, it’s no wonder that the childcare industry is hemorrhaging qualified, experienced, and highly trained workers faster than any other industry.
As other industries have increased their compensation, the struggling childcare industry simply just cannot keep up and provide the same compensation package complete with benefits.

To solve this problem, a partnership across various government agencies and nonprofit organizations created a program wherein high school students can explore a career in early education while taking courses free of charge.

This strategy allows young students to be trained in childcare and provide a steady pipeline of qualified, educated, and well-trained childcare professionals. The initiative has been successful at creating a source of qualified workers who can start off a career in childcare without piling on debts on a college course.

Public-private partnerships that put funding into educating a new breed of early childhood teachers can be a stopgap solution between supply and demand for childcare workforce. However, as these newly trained professionals gain work experience, it is not enough to continue on churning new teachers.

Finding a way to provide these highly qualified and well trained professionals a respectable compensation is sorely needed to keep them in their career paths and keep the childcare industry and programs open to serve the young.

In Massachusetts: State funding of $110 million for early childhood teachers and childcare workers

Massachusetts saw the need for a strong childcare system that works not only for families but also for childcare workers. Which is why they established the Department of Early and Education and Care in 2014 after multiple hearings consulting with various stakeholders.

However, the support for the childcare industry does not end there. While the national Build Back Better bill slated to prop up the struggling and in crisis childcare industry was stalled, efforts at state-level has been crucial in repairing the childcare industry, albeit in disconnected, state-wide only approaches, efforts, and resources.

Still, with a $16.5 million earmarked budget for grants to childcare providers; $10 million to help childcare providers and their staff for their own childcare; $5 million poured into training childcare workers and teachers; and more into raising early childhood teachers salaries and compensation, these state efforts help in ensuring the childcare industry of Massachusetts stays up and running, serving families and boosting the workforce.

In Congress: Democrats send letter to President Biden for a new bill while Republicans launch a bill expanding existing programs

Democrats urge President Biden to continue the campaign to sway lawmakers into creating a bill that will fund universal pre-K for all 3- and 4-year olds and create a sliding scale child-care system for younger children based on household incomes. This is in a continued effort to resurrect parts of the stalled Build Back Better bill focused on childcare.

Meanwhile, on the other side, Republicans seek to simply expand the existing Child Care Development Block Grant (CCDBG) program. While only 11% of children are currently receiving support from the program, Republicans believe that expanding the program will ensure more families are covered.

In particular, Republicans are keen on having families who earn less than 75% of state median income to qualify for free childcare with no required copayments while CCDBG-eligible families’ childcare spending must be capped at 7% of household income.

While the Republican-led bill aims to expand coverage, the Democrats hope to introduce a universal pre-K serving all 3-4 year olds.

While these efforts on multiple fronts serve as beacons of hope for childcare providers everywhere, a nationwide solution is still the best in ensuring no child will be left behind.