What Will It Take to Build a Competent, Stable Child Care Workforce?

Meeting the nation’s child care needs requires a competent and stable workforce. Conversations on how to support this workforce often center on increasing compensation for teachers. While compensation is certainly one aspect of recruiting and retaining a workforce, it is not a silver bullet.

Many of the challenges for the child care workforce stem from ambiguity in what it means to be a part of the profession. Panelists will discuss state-led policies that pave the way for successful compensation interventions.

In a new report, BPC describes 10 steps that can lead to a more competent and stable child care workforce, noting:

• State agencies should write or adopt definitions for the child care workforce, including directors, teachers, and support staff; write or adopt competencies for all defined roles; and collect and connect all relevant data from child care subsidies, program licensing, the QRIS rating system, workforce registries, professional development, higher education, and other relevant programs.

• State agencies should determine the competency-based education and training required of each role and what resources individuals need to advance along a career path. They also should effectively communicate requirements and use a monitoring system to ensure that their workforce meets them.

• State agencies should determine the operating costs for a child care center with a competent and stable workforce; determine the cost of education and training, compensation scales, and workplace benefits, including health insurance and paid leave; and conduct a system-level cost model to determine the total cost of a child care system that addresses gaps and meets short- and long-term goals.

• State agencies should consider how to allocate available public funding to best meet their goals; and they should decide how, and at what level, they will fund child care workforce wages and benefits as part of our federal and state public investments.

Panelists

Lauren Birchfield Kennedy | Co-President, Neighborhood Villages

Marcia Cox Mitchell | Vice President, Early Childhood, Bainum Family Foundation

Walter S. Gilliam, PhD| | Executive Director, Buffett Early Childhood Institute, University of Nebraska

Calvin E. Moore, Jr., PhD | Chief Executive Officer, Council for Professional Recognition

Caroline Osborn | Project Associate, Early Childhood Initiative, BPC (Presenter)

Linda K. Smith | Director, Early Childhood Initiative, BPC (Moderator)