DC’s upcoming elections have reignited interest in addressing the high cost of child care amid threats to a key program in the District’s child care system—the Early Childhood Educator Pay Equity Fund. This voluntary compensation program is one of many innovations that has made DC a national leader in early childhood policy. It addresses a long-standing problem: low pay for early educators, which in turn leads to high rates of turnover (PDF), limited access for families (PDF), and poor outcomes for young children.

With DC well above the national average in terms of child care prices—$47,200 on average for families with two young children in 2024—the compensation program is helping more DC families afford quality child care. The compensation program allows participating child care businesses to receive funding to pay early educators according to a minimum salary schedule (PDF) and allows all child care businesses and staff to opt in to a program that lowers the cost of health insurance. Despite funding shortfalls forcing a waiting list, the program continues to show many documented benefits for early educators, child care businesses, young children, families, and DC’s broader economy. It has also emerged as a national model, with other states and jurisdictions looking to DC to implement similar policies and support their child care systems.

Since 2019, we have collaborated with the Office of the State Superintendent of Education (OSSE), Division of Early Learning through the DC Child Care Policy Research Partnership to document access to quality child care and later, the benefits, opportunities, and challenges of the compensation program across its first four years of implementation. To understand how child care businesses view the compensation program and what the child care landscape would look like if it were eliminated, we surveyed DC child care providers participating in the program in fall 2025.

Here are three key takeaways from our research that can inform the incoming mayor and council.

1. DC’s early educator compensation program creates stability for families and providers alike

Nationwide, child care businesses already operate under slim margins and have high operating costs (PDF); when they are more financially stable, families benefit from more stable tuition prices (PDF). Almost half (45 percent) of surveyed providers reported that the compensation program benefited their facility’s overall financial health and well-being “a lot,” and another 31 percent benefited “somewhat.”

The compensation program helps stabilize tuition for many DC providers. A majority (61 percent) of those surveyed did not increase tuition in the past year, with another 29 percent increasing tuition “as usual,” likely to keep pace with inflation. This suggests some families may see consistent child care tuition prices, or even decreases, in part because of the compensation program’s support.

Families with low incomes, who qualify for child care subsidies and face the greatest challenges to affording child care, may be especially likely to see the benefits of the compensation program. Among facilities that accept subsidies, those that participate in the compensation program have seen lower educator turnover rates compared with those not in the compensation program. Because the program also supports providers’ recruitment and retention of highly qualified educators, DC families who use subsidies benefit from stable, higher-quality caregiving and improved learning and development.

2. Without the compensation program, many child care businesses would have to reduce educator salaries and lose qualified teachers

The compensation program remains a perennial debate in DC’s budget, raising worries for child care providers: 66 percent of those surveyed expressed concern with “uncertainty about whether funding will be available long-term.” Providers said this uncertainty adds stress and places pressure on businesses’ operations.

When asked how they would respond to the elimination of the compensation program, most respondents reported they would have to reduce educator salaries below the current minimum requirements (66 percent) and likely lose educators to positions in DC’s public schools (61 percent), a “talent drain” that could limit child care supply. One-third said they would have to reduce the number of educators they employed. With fewer educator positions, reductions in educators’ salaries, and the potential for educators leaving to find jobs in neighboring states (39 percent), cutting the program would likely have ripple effects for DC’s economy.

Few providers (17 percent) expressed that they would be able to maintain a status quo on either educator salaries or staffing; only 3 percent (not pictured) expected little to no changes to both.