With the unemployment aid ending, childcare providers were more hopeful applications will start to trickle in and return to normal. However, months after the aid was cut off for most states, application rates remain very low.
With staff shortage at every center and daycare, childcare providers face long waitlists and empty classroom. Due to this situation, we examine the 3 main reasons why childcare staff shortage still exists and how childcare providers can solve these to entice qualified applicants to finally sign on the dotted line.
COVID-19
Childcare is known to be a high contact work wherein staff are required to interact with children in their care.
While most childcare staff are vaccinated, most are still worried about either contracting COVID-19 at their workplace or infecting children in their care.
Solution
Reassure applicants that your center adheres strictly to COVID-19 guidelines.
Let them know what protocols and contingency plans you have in place to ensure everyone remains healthy and free from COVID-19.
If your enrolled children already know the protocols by heart and practice them religiously, you could also emphasize this with your applicants.
Knowing you place an importance on hygiene and safety for everyone can be a reassuring factor for anyone applying.
Pay and Benefits
The US Treasury Department recently released a report on the state of the childcare industry and called it a failed business model.
With high operational costs that leads to high childcare fees, childcare providers are fighting to stay out of the red on a monthly basis.
Meanwhile, even if staff wages account for almost 70% of the cost of running a childcare center, it still isn’t enough to raise staff salaries.
Other employers in other industries are also currently offering better hourly rates and benefits which most childcare providers cannot compete with.
Solution
Take advantage of recent federal support released specifically for childcare providers such as the stabilization grant.
As all states have been given a budget, find out how you can apply and qualify for this grant.
As the IRS extends child care credit to parents, they also reimburse childcare providers for sick leaves incurred due to COVID-19 vaccination.
As for improving your current benefits, you could ask the help of your immediate community.
Whether through partnerships, freebies, or discounts exclusively for your staff, these can add up with your center ending up with a more comprehensive benefit package that’s local and tailored according to your staff’s needs.
Work Culture
Another factor in the rampant staff shortage is work culture.
With the dawn of the Great Resignation, early childhood education professionals are now carefully examining and weighing their options as the scales are in their favor.
Work-life balance, flexibility, and accountability are no longer buzzwords.
Applicants are certainly looking not only for better opportunities but also a workplace where they know they thrive and work for a great purpose.
Solution
Centers and daycares must put in the effort to create a work environment that’s welcoming and encouraging for qualified applicants.
Whether it’s ensuring staff are properly trained and supported, ratios are observed, and staff are heard over their concerns, childcare providers must do everything they can to promote a healthy workplace where the staff would enjoy working.
These are the top reasons for the overwhelming childcare staff shortage all over the country. But so long as childcare providers are committed to finding and executing a solution to get rid of their childcare shortage, childcare slots will soon be available again and classrooms will soon be filled with children’s laughter.
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