CAPITOL RESEARCH
HUMAN SERVICES
As an intervention, early childhood education programs have a relatively high return on investment.5
Diverse stakeholders have recognized that these
programs are not only a workforce development
opportunity for future workers, but also decrease
the chances that a low-income child will need public
social supports in the future.6 These programs also
enable guardians to work outside the home.
While child care represents a large expense for both
low-income and middle class families, child care
workers themselves often receive wages that would
qualify them for public assistance.7 There is a gap
in many instances between the pay earned by child
care workers and early childhood educators, and
that of kindergarten teachers in all states, contributing to the obstacles faced by programs to attract
and retain experienced, educated providers.8
Policymakers have worked at the federal, state and
local levels of government with nonprofits and those
in the private sector to devise policy solutions to
enable caregivers to work while sending their young
children to child care facilities.
California, one of the many states offering professional development opportunities for child care
providers, provides Career Incentive Grants for
students at four-year universities to cover educational expenses up to $1,500 a year.23
The Georgia Department of Early Care and Learning provides scholarships and incentives for aspiring
and current early childhood educators.24 Georgia
provides a salary bonus for early childhood educators
designed to reward educational attainment and job
retention, up to $1,250 for up to four payments,
depending on qualification earned.25 Students pursuing technical certificates, associate degrees, bachelors
degrees and masters degrees can receive 80 percent
of tuition and a stipend through the scholarship
program.26
Cohn, DVera; Parker, Kim; Livingston, Gretchen; Rohal, Molly. After Decades of
Decline, A Rise in Stay-at-Home Mothers. Pew Research Center. April 8, 2014. Pg 29.
http://www.pewsocialtrends.org/2014/04/08/after-decades-of-decline-a-rise-instay-at-home-mothers/. According to a Pew Research Center survey conducted in
2013, women were more likely than men to cut back on their work hours, take time
off, quit their job, or turn down a promotion to fulfill caregiving needs for their
family. For more information, see the first research brief in this series, The Child
Care Dilemma: Overview.
2
Sawhill, Isabel; Rodrigue, Edward; Joo, Nathan. The Brookings Institution. One
Third of a Nation: Strategies for Helping Working Families. May 2016. According to
this report, there is a work gap for those in the bottom third of income earners
many are not working full-time or at all, often citing family responsibilities in the
case of women. https://www.brookings.edu/research/one-third-of-a-nation-strate
gies-for-helping-working-families/.
3
According to authors analysis of average child care costs presented in the research
brief The Child Care Dilemma: Affordability, the average cost of infant care at a
child care center could represent at least 17 percent of the income of a single
mom with two kids living at 150 percent of the poverty rate in Mississippi, and up
to almost 60 percent in Massachusetts and 79 percent in the District of Columbia.
4
Wein, Harrison. NIH Research Matters. National Institutes of Health. Early Childhood Program Has Enduring Benefits. 2011. https://www.nih.gov/news-events/
nih-research-matters/early-childhood-program-has-enduring-benefits. Center on
the Developing Child (2007). Early Childhood Program Effectiveness (InBrief).
Retrieved from www.developingchild.harvard.edu. Most of those returns, which
can range from $4 to $9 per dollar invested, benefit the community through reduced
crime, welfare, and educational remediation, as well as increased tax revenues on
higher incomes for the participants of early childhood programs when they reach
adulthood.
5
Ibid.
The U.S. Chamber of Commerce has published a series of reports making the
business case for early childhood education, and providing business owners concrete ways they can support and advocate for early childhood education that are
both affordable and accessible. https://www.uschamberfoundation.org/blog/post/
13-things-business-can-do-support-early-childhood-education/41710.
9
11
The Permanent Fund for Vermonts Children. Business-Supported Child Care.
March 24, 2016. http://www.permanentfund.org/business-supported-child-care/.
12
Ibid.
Authors correspondence with Susan Elliot, Business Liaison for the Permanent
Fund for Vermonts Children. July 26, 2016.
13
14
Ibid.
The PNC Financial Services Group, Inc. A Focus on Early Learning. https://www.
pnc.com/en/about-pnc/corporate-responsibility/grow-up-great/our-great-story.html.
15
Fishman, Stephen J.D.. Nolo. Tax Relief for Child Care Expenses. http://www.nolo.
com/legal-encyclopedia/child-care-expenses-tax-breaks-29505.html.
16
17
The Hatcher Group. TaxCreditsforWorkingFamilies.org. States with CDCTCs.
http://www.taxcreditsforworkersandfamilies.org/state-tax-credits/.
New York Department of Taxation and Finance. Empire State Child Credit. https:
//www.tax.ny.gov/pit/credits/empire_state_child_credit.htm.
18
19
Oregon Office of Child Care. Oregons Child Care Contribution Credit. https://
www.oregon.gov/OCC/docs/CC%20TX%20Flyer.pdf.
20
21
24
Georgia Department of Early Care and Learning. Scholarships & Incentives.
https://www.decalscholars.com/.
25
Ibid.
Smart Start, the North Carolina Partnership for Children, Inc. Frequently Asked
Questions. http://www.smartstart.org/about-smart-start/faqs/.
28
29
Wechsler, M., Kirp, D., Tinubu Ali, T., Gardner, M., Maier, A., Melnick, H., & Shields,
P. (2016). The road to high-quality early learning: Lessons from the states. Palo
Alto: Learning Policy Institute. Pg ix. https://learningpolicyinstitute.org/sites/default/
files/product-files/Road_to_High_Quality_Early_Learning_REPORT.pdf.
30
Ibid. Pg viiix.
31
Ibid. Pg viii.
32
Ibid. Pg vii.
33
Ibid.
34
35
Ibid. Pg viii.
Ibid.
U.S. Department of Health & Human Services Administration for Children &
Families Office of Early Childhood Development. Early Head StartChild Care
Partnerships. June 24, 2016. http://www.acf.hhs.gov/ecd/early-learning/ehs-ccpartnerships.
36
37
The National Center on Early Head StartChild Care Partnerships. Early Head
StartChild Care Partnerships: Growing the Supply of Early Learning Opportunities for More Infants and Toddlers. April 15, 2016. http://eclkc.ohs.acf.hhs.gov/
hslc/tta-system/ehs-ccp/docs/ehs-ccp-brochure.pdf.
38
U.S. Department of Education, U.S. Department of Health & Human Services.
Race to the Top Early Learning Challenge 2015 Progress Update. August 2016.
http://www2.ed.gov/programs/racetothetop-earlylearningchallenge/2015apr/201
5progressfinal.pdf.
39
Edmondson, Jeff; Crim, Bill; Grossman, Allen. Stanford Social Innovation Review.
Pay-For-Success is Working in Utah. October 27, 2015. http://ssir.org/articles/
entry/pay_for_success_is_working_in_utah.
40
Ibid.
Golden, Megan; Nagendra, Brian; Seok-Hyun Mun, Kevin. Institute for Child
Success. Pay for Success in the U.S.: Summaries of Financed Projects. February
2015. http://www.payforsuccess.org/sites/default/files/pfs_summary_chicago.pdf.
41
White House Office of Management and Budget. The Presidents Budget for
Fiscal Year 2017: Overview. Accessed August 9, 2016. https://www.whitehouse.
gov/sites/default/files/omb/budget/fy2017/assets/fact_sheets/The%20Presidents
%20Fiscal%20Year%202017%20Budget%20Overview%20.pdf.
42
43
Kurtzleben, Danielle. National Public Radio. Child Care Plan is a Change in
Rhetoric for Donald Trump. August 9, 2016. http://www.npr.org/2016/08/09/
489314346/child-care-plan-is-a-change-in-rhetoric-for-donald-trump.
27
Smart Start, the North Carolina Partnership for Children, Inc. About Smart Start.
http://www.smartstart.org/about-smart-start/.