This summary highlights key takeaways from a partnership between researchers at Study of Early Education Partnerships and the Louisiana Department of Education funded by a grant awarded in 2019 by the US Department of Health and Human Services, Administration of Children and Families. Explore takeaways from other Child Care Policy Research Partnership Grant teams here.
Many child care providers struggle to hire and retain staff, which can limit families’ access to care. However, most states do not have data about child care staffing and enrollment on a large scale, which can limit their ability to understand and address challenges faced by providers and families.
In partnership with the Louisiana Department of Education, the research team collected data from 90 percent of the state’s subsidized child care centers. These data, collected through applications for the state’s Teacher Support Grants, provided a snapshot of teacher compensation, staffing challenges, and access to care in subsidized centers across Louisiana.
KEY TAKEAWAYS
Louisiana used federal pandemic relief funding to help child care centers increase teacher compensation through two rounds of noncompetitive Teacher Support Grants in July 2021 and January 2022. Even with this unprecedented infusion of funding, compensation remained low in Louisiana child care centers.
Lead teachers made $11.29 per hour on average—far below the living wage of $18 per hour for a single income household in Louisiana. Almost half (48 percent) made less than $11 per hour. Staffing challenges were also widespread.
According to the data, 86 percent of providers reported that the Teacher Support Grants helped stabilize their center’s finances. But 71 percent of providers were worried about how they would sustain increased teacher wages once the temporary funds ended. As one provider explained, “This [grant] has relieved such a load off my stress when it comes to paying teachers. Some teachers went from making $8 an hour to $10 from the help of this grant. However, I am super nervous when these funds stop, because I will likely have to raise tuition price to be able to continue paying teachers these amounts.”
Centers with lower teacher wages were significantly more likely to have unfilled teacher vacancies, and these staffing challenges limited centers’ ability to serve children and families.
POLICY AND PROGRAM IMPLICATIONS
The federal pandemic relief funding helped centers increase pay for teachers and stabilize the workforce. However, these findings suggest that center leaders were reluctant to make long-term changes using one-time grants.
To ensure that families can access child care, federal and state policymakers could establish more reliable funding streams that allow providers to increase teacher pay, keep teachers, and remain financially stable. Without this support, centers with more limited finances and low teacher pay are more likely to lose teachers and turn families away.
To create more evidence-based policies, state agencies and policymakers could identify ways to collect large-scale early childhood education data. Some states have made strides by developing systems like workforce registries. States that do not have the capacity to create formal data systems could consider collecting staffing information on required documents, such as grant applications, to minimize the burden on providers.
METHODOLOGY
After providing a first round of pandemic relief funding in July 2021, the state offered a second round of grants from January to February 2022. Centers serving children from birth to age 5 and that participated in the state’s child care assistance program were eligible. The state awarded centers $3,200 per open classroom to compensate nonadministrative staff and teachers.
On the grant application, the research team included 20 questions about centers’ staffing challenges, wages, and child enrollment. In total, 763 centers completed the application, representing 90 percent of all eligible child care centers in the state. The team used the information to look at the relationship between teacher pay, staffing challenges, and access.