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Career Ladders for Childcare Workers

There is an enormous need for good childcare providers.
As mothers enter the workforce in increasing numbers, the need for child care has grown dramatically. Today, mothers comprise two-thirds of all women in the workforce—double their presence since 1960. Sixty-two percent of mothers with children under age six and 70 percent of mothers with children ages six to 17 are in the labor force.1 All told, 20 million children in America receive childcare services outside of their homes.2 This includes three out of every five preschoolers.
Too many children receive poor or mediocre childcare services.
A four-state study found that 40 percent of childcare facilities serving infants were so unsatisfactory that they jeopardized children’s health, safety or development.3 A national study found that over one-third of family childcare programs were rated inadequate, and could have a negative impact on children’s development.4
The most essential component of good child care is a sustained relationship between child and caregiver.5
Good caregivers have a lasting impact on a child’s well-being and ability to learn. Children who have consistent relationships with their early childhood caregivers acquire better thinking and language skills, are more sociable, and show fewer behavior problems.6 On the other hand, children who receive poor or inconsistent care tend to be delayed in language and reading skills and display more aggression toward other children and adults.7
Childcare workers typically earn less than parking lot attendants.
Caregivers are grossly undervalued and underpaid, with some salaries close to the minimum wage. The average hourly wage for childcare workers is $7.34.8 Consequently, turnover among early childhood education teachers exceeds 40 percent. These high turnover rates severely undermine the quality of care that children receive.
Career ladders create incentives for childcare workers to advance their education and stay in the field.
A career ladder program is a public-private partnership that funds incremental wage enhancements based on experience, job responsibility, and relevant education. Career ladders create a financial incentive for caregivers to stay and advance in the field. It is well-proven that when child care centers increase wages, turnover declines.9
States and localities across the nation have implemented career ladders.
Based on the success of the Military Caregiver Personnel Pay Plan initiated by the Department of Defense, states have begun to implement career ladders for caregivers. Connecticut, Nevada, Utah and Washington currently operate career ladder programs. At the local level, caregiver career ladders have been established in San Francisco, Kansas City, MO, Madison, WI, and Nassau County, NY.
The Washington career ladder has proven highly successful.
Established in 2000, Washington’s Early Childhood Education Career and Wage Ladder pilot project uses TANF funds to give childcare workers wage increases based on education, job responsibility, and experience. Funding responsibility for the program is shared with private entities, and the state contributes a larger proportion for childcare centers that serve a high percentage of low-income children. An independent evaluation of the Washington program found that wages have increased and turnover has declined in participating childcare centers.10 In 2006, the legislature enacted a law authorizing collective bargaining for the child care providers in this program.
Voters strongly favor more government support for child care.
A majority of voters believe government should do more to support high-quality early childhood education.11 Eighty-six percent of Americans believe that government support for child care is essential in order to move families from welfare to work.12

This policy brief relies in large part on information from the Economic Opportunity Institute.

Endnotes
  1. Dept. of Labor, Bureau of Labor Statistics, “Women in the Labor Force: A Databook,” May 2005.
  2. Sonenstein, Gates, Schmidt and Bolshun, “Primary Child Care Arrangements for Employed Parents: Findings from the 1999 National Survey of America’s Families,” Urban Institute, 2002.
  3. Helburn et al., “Cost, Quality, and Child Outcomes Study, University of Colorado,” 1995.
  4. Galinsky et al., “The Study of Children in Family Care and Relative Care: Highlights of Findings," Families & Work Institute, 1994.
  5. Shonkoff and Phillips, “From Neurons to Neighborhoods: The Science of Early Childhood Development,” National Research Council and Institute of Medicine, 2000.
  6. National Center for Early Development and Learning, 2000.
  7. Deborah Philips, testimony before the U.S. Senate Committee on Labor and Human Resources, March 1, 1995.
  8. Bureau of Labor Statistics, “Child Day Care Services,” 2005.
  9. Whitebook, Howes and Phillips, “Who Cares? Child Care Teachers and the Quality of Care in America, Final Report of the National Child Care Staffing Study,” Child Care Employee Project, 1990.
  10. Boyd and Wandschneider, “Washington State Child Care Career and Wage Ladder Post-CWL Evaluation Report,” Washington State University, July 2005.
  11. National Institute for Early Education Research, Peter D. Hart Research Associates, November/December 2001.
  12. W.K. Kellogg Foundation poll, January 1999.
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