NPR: In Allentown, Gov. Wolf celebrates early learning funding, unveils free breakfast program
September 9, 2022 by Sarah Mueller
Gov. Tom Wolf visited the Volunteers of America Children’s Center in Allentown to celebrate increased state funding for early education in this year’s budget.
He also came with a big announcement: free breakfast for every child enrolled in school this academic year. It takes effect Oct. 1 and will benefit more than 1.7 million children at a cost of about $21.5 million.
Wolf briefly played parachute with a group of small children at The Children’s Center before holding a news conference.
Lawmakers approved an additional $79 million in this year’s state budget, targeted for high-quality preschool programs through Pennsylvania Pre-K Counts and the Head Start Supplemental Assistance Program.
Wolf says it’s OK to celebrate all of the strides his administration has made on this issue over his eight years of leadership.
“But as soon as we finish patting ourselves on the back, I think we also need to understand we need to get back to work,” he said. “We need to recommit ourselves to doing more.”
Children’s Center Director Betty Druckenmiller says the facility is only at 60 percent capacity because she can’t find qualified staff to fill vacant positions.
“I have an empty classroom and shortened hours and we would absolutely add more people if we had the qualified teachers to do it,” she said.
Read or listen to the full story here.
Letter to the Editor: Pa. budget gets it right on Pre-K funding, but more must be done to avert crisis
Express-Times
July 29,2022
I was relieved to see that the 2022-23 Pennsylvania state budget includes additional funding for child care and Pre-K.
My child care program has never had the staffing challenges we have today in the five years we have been in operation. While there are other businesses also struggling to recruit and retain staff, our industry supports the workforce of every other industry. If a family doesn’t have access to early care and education, they cannot work. And when families can’t work, businesses can’t hire.
We are struggling to recruit and retain staff because we are unable to compete with rising wages and benefits offered by companies requiring less specialized skills. With the average child care wage at less than $11 per hour, our teachers don’t have to look far to find higher pay and even benefits.
I am thankful that Pennsylvania lawmakers like state Rep. Mike Schlossberg prioritized federal resources to offer child care teachers a one-time bonus. The state budget also grew the availability of Pre-K to more eligible kids and increased Pre-K rates to help providers like me deal with historic inflation and rising wages.
If child care and Pre-K providers continue struggling to recruit and retain staff to keep classrooms open, more families are going to suffer. We need to continue investing in our early care and education system, paying teachers and providers adequately and ensuring that all kids have access to this once-in-a-lifetime opportunity.
Monae Rivera is director of Elevation Child Care Center in Allentown.
Read the Letter to the Editor here.
2022-23 State Budget: Growth for Pre-k, Child Care and Home Visitation
Budget deal stops short of recurring funds to raise child care wages
HARRISBURG, PA (July 8, 2022) – Today, the principal partners of Early Learning Pennsylvania (ELPA), a statewide coalition of advocates focused on supporting young Pennsylvanians from birth to age five, issued the following statements regarding the final 2022-23 Pennsylvania state budget. ELPA operates four issue-based advocacy campaigns: Pre-K for PA, Start Strong PA, Childhood Begins at Home and Thriving PA.
Budget Expands Pre-K Access and Boosts Rates for Providers
“The Pre-K for PA campaign applauded the Pennsylvania General Assembly and Governor Wolf for once again expanding state funding for high-quality pre-k. The 2022-23 state budget includes $60 million in new state funding for PA Pre-K Counts and $19 million for PA’s Head Start Supplemental Assistance Program. Over the past eight years, investment in these critical early learning programs have increased by nearly 180%, serving tens of thousands more eligible children.
“Public investment in high-quality pre-k has become a consensus issue in Pennsylvania; aligning political parties, rural, urban and suburban communities, and families across the commonwealth on a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity that improves the life chances of Pennsylvania’s children. State leaders including Governor Wolf and Senator Pat Browne deserve recognition for their role in Pennsylvania’s continued expansion of Pre-K for PA. According to a recent poll, 90% of likely Pennsylvania voters said that formal early childhood care and education are important in helping set kids on a path toward leading healthy and productive lives.
“The $79 million expansion will provide high-quality pre-k to over 2,300 additional young learners as well as increase rates for providers to support the early care and education workforce and address rising costs. The Pre-K for PA campaign thanks our more than 20,000 supporters for lending their voices to advance the power of pre-k to more of Pennsylvania’s youngest learners.”
Budget Utilizes One-Time Funds to Stabilize Child Care Workforce
“The Start Strong PA Campaign appreciates the General Assembly’s effort to stabilize child care programs by including $90 million in one-time discretionary American Rescue Plan Act federal funding to support bonuses for child care staff. These funds will provide desperate child care programs the short-term solutions they need to alleviate the workforce recruitment and retention crisis.
“Unfortunately, this budget misses the opportunity to provide long-term solutions to the tens of thousands of families who are struggling to find child care to return to work, as it fails to address the root cause of Pennsylvania’s devastating child care crisis – a history of low wages, resulting in thousands of open staffing positions and more than 1,600 closed classrooms. Currently there are 32,400 children sitting on waiting lists in child care programs as a result of 7,000 vacant child care staffing positions statewide.
“Even though child care professionals have a significant impact on our children, their families, and our economic recovery, they make, on average, less than $11.00 an hour. This budget does nothing to raise child care wages on an on-going basis to help solve for this systemic issue. It is not surprising that this industry, with 50% of professionals who work in it qualifying for government benefits, cannot compete for staff with other industries offering higher wages for less specialized skills.
“This budget also increases state child care funding by $25 million, allowing families currently enrolled in Child Care Works to continue receiving a child care subsidy up to 300% of poverty. These new funds should also have the flexibility to support the 160,978 children younger than age 5 who are eligible but have yet to be served. Start Strong PA partners have long encouraged the state to advertise Child Care Works to ensure every family who needs the financial support is aware and thus able to enroll their children in child care.
“Sadly, Pennsylvania’s elected leadership has fallen short on ensuring the availability of sustainable child care funds to stabilize the industry. Without a stabilized child care system, families will continue to struggle to find and afford high-quality child care significantly impacting their ability to return to work and remain employed.”
Budget Makes Historic Investment in Evidence-Based Home Visiting
“Childhood Begins at Home is pleased with the historic increase of $15 million for evidence-based home visiting in the Department of Human Services budget to serve an additional 3,800 pregnant women, children and families. In addition, $1 million is earmarked for the Nurse-Family Partnership line item to serve 200 more families.
“Voluntary, evidence-based home visiting programs mentor parents and others raising children and provide supports to address substance use disorders, develop school readiness, improve maternal and child health, promote economic self-sufficiency, and reduce abuse and neglect.
“Policymakers made a wise decision to diversify funding and meet families where they are in counties across the state so more parents and their children can access the research-proven benefits the home visiting models deliver.
“With this investment, we can increase service levels beyond the 5% of Pennsylvania families currently served.”
Funding Increases Included for Early Intervention Programs
“Our campaign is pleased the budget includes an increase of $9.3 million for the Early Intervention Part C (infants and toddlers) program in the Department of Human Services budget. Some budget documents show an increase of $12.2 million, which is also accurate, as it does not include additional stimulus dollars. The Early Intervention Part B (age-three-to-five) program in the Department of Education budget is receiving a $10 million increase.”
In summary, the final 2022-23 Pennsylvania state budget included:
- $60 million in additional funding for the state’s Pre-K Counts program, which will serve over 2,300 additional young children.
- $19 million in additional funding for the Head Start Supplemental Assistance Program.
- Level funding for the state Child Care Assistance line item.
- $25 million in Child Care Services specifically to serve families currently enrolled in Child Care Works up to 300% of poverty or the state median income (whichever is lower).
- $90 million in federal funding to provide one-time child care staff recruitment and retention bonuses.
- $15 million in additional funding for evidence-based home visiting in the Community-Based Family Center line item and $1 million for the Nurse-Family Partnership line item.
- $9.3 million for the Early Intervention Part C (infants and toddlers) program through DHS (this figure also appears as $12.2 million when stimulus dollars are not included).
- $10 million for the Early Intervention Part B (age-three-to-five) program through PDE.
- Creation of a Pennsylvania Child Care Tax Credit equal to 30% of the federal credit to support working families.
About Pre-K for PA
Pre-K for PA launched in 2014 with the vision that every 3- and 4-year-old in Pennsylvania will have access to high-quality pre-k. Learn more at www.prekforpa.org.
About Start Strong PA
Start Strong PA launched in 2019 to support healthy child development, working families, and the economy by increasing access to and affordability of high-quality child care programs for young children. Learn more at www.startstrongpa.org.
About Childhood Begins At Home
Childhood Begins At Home is a statewide campaign launched in 2017 to help policymakers and the public understand the value of evidence-based home visiting and support public investments in the programs. Learn more at www.childhoodbeginsathome.org.
About Thriving PA
Thriving PA is a perinatal and child health campaign launched in 2021 and is working to ensure each birthing person, infant, and toddler in Pennsylvania has the opportunity for affordable, quality health care access. Learn more at www.thrivingpa.org.
Child Development Centers Welcomes State Senator Dan Laughlin and Local Officials to New Downtown Site
Erie, PA (June 1, 2022) – Head Start and Keystone STAR 4 child care provider Child Development Centers, Inc. welcomed PA State Senator Dan Laughlin (R-49), Erie County First Assistant District Attorney Jessica Reger and Nick Scott, Vice President, Scott Enterprises, today for a tour and conversation at its new Downtown location at 121 East 10th Street in Erie. The officials discussed the ongoing historic workforce shortages the early care and education sector faces that are threatening both pre-kindergarten and child care capacity in Pennsylvania. Also participating in the discussion were Rina Irwin, Chief Executive Officer at Child Development Centers, Inc.; Bruce Clash, Pennsylvania State Director, Fight Crime: Invest in Kids; and Tracy Weaver, Outreach and Communications Coordinator, Pennsylvania Association for the Education of Young Children (PennAEYC).
Rina Irwin, Chief Executive Officer of Child Development Centers, Inc., emphasized the impact that staffing shortages are having on the children the nonprofit serves across the region. “Consistent, positive interactions in the classroom are vital to a child’s healthy development and academic success. Turnover places a strain on our administrative staff as we work to promote seamless transitions to ensure that each child’s developmental and academic growth remain uninterrupted throughout this process.”
Throughout Erie County and the entire commonwealth, early learning providers are experiencing significant staffing shortages due to a lack of applicants, in part because the average child care worker makes only $10.69 per hour. A March 2022 survey of nearly 1,000 PA child care providers indicated that these low wages are not only impacting the child care teachers, but also are driving a state-wide staffing crisis. This crisis has resulted in over 32,400 children currently sitting on waiting lists for a child care slot and nearly 7,000 open child care staff positions. More than 30,000 additional children could be served if child care programs were fully staffed.
Speakers made it clear that the child care staffing crisis is very real and impacting local families’ ability to access care they need in order to work. Erie County providers responding to the survey reported 220 open staffing positions. Those 34 programs could serve 823 more children if they were fully staffed.
Nick Scott, Vice President of Scott Enterprises in Erie, said, “One thing that became clear during the COVID-19 pandemic is how crucial early care and education programs are to a family’s ability to work. A lack of child care is a barrier to our community’s economic recovery because it impacts not only working families, but also employers’ ability to hire the workforce they need.”
The panel stressed the need for direct action to boost wages for early care and education professionals. Given that Governor Wolf’s budget proposal flat funds Pennsylvania’s Child Care Services and Child Care Assistance line items for the third consecutive year, advocates are urging state policymakers to allocate $115 million in sustainable state and/or federal funds to provide a $2 per hour wage increase for teachers and staff. This would help child care providers attract new teachers and retain their current workers.
Expanding access to state-funded high-quality pre-k for more eligible children was also discussed. Erie County First Assistant District Attorney Jessica Reger noted the significant long-term research showing that young children who participate in high-quality early learning programs are less likely to be held back in school, are more likely to graduate from high school and are less likely to have problematic social and self-control behavior that can lead to later juvenile and adult crime. She described important benefits that children receive when early learning providers engage parents to help their children become eager learners. “Healthy child development and being ready to enter school put children on the path to success instead of delinquency,” she said. “Law enforcement leaders know that our best strategy to increase public safety is to expand programs like high-quality pre-k and child care.”
Governor Wolf’s proposed 2022-23 state budget includes a $60 million increase for Pre-K Counts and $10 million increase for the Head Start State Supplemental Assistance Program, which continues the tradition of expanding access to high quality pre-k. This new funding will serve approximately 2,300 additional children in these high-quality early learning programs and would provide a rate increase for providers to increase teacher compensation, bolster the early education workforce and enhance program quality.
Localized data was also provided showing that 81 percent of the 5,990 eligible children under age five in Erie County—or 4,840 children—are not served by Child Care Works (CCW), the Pennsylvania state subsidized child care program based on family income. Additionally, 2,165 children–or 48 percent of eligible children–do not have access to high-quality publicly funded pre-k in Erie County.
