Excerpts
A new report from the Center for the Study of Child Care Employment (CSCCE) at UC Berkeley finds that child care workers in every state struggle with poverty-level wages, even as they nurture and educate our children in the most important years of development.
The 2024 Early Childhood Workforce Index shows that nationally:
- Early childhood educators are paid a median wage of $13.07/hour, from $10.60 in Louisiana to $18.23 in the District of Columbia;
- Those hourly rates are not a living wage for a single adult in any state;
- Nearly half (43%) of childcare workers' families survive on public assistance like food stamps
...
Recommended policies include:
Invest in direct public funding to provide early educators with a living wage, health care, and safe, supportive work environments. For an estimate of a values-based budget for each state, see Financing Early Educator Quality.
Prioritize compensation standards and a wage floor across all settings so no one working in early care and education earns less than a regionally assessed living wage. Create a wage/salary scale that sets minimum standards for pay, accounting for job role, experience, and education levels.
Adopt system-level workplace standards such as guidance on appropriate levels of paid time off for vacation and sick leave, paid planning and professional development time, and mental health and teaching supports.