Governor and First Lady Shapiro Host Annual Easter Egg Hunt at Governor’s Residence, Highlight Importance of Investing in Early Childhood Education Across the Commonwealth
Harrisburg, PA (March 28, 2023) – Governor Josh Shapiro and First Lady Lori Shapiro hosted pre-school classrooms and families from across the commonwealth at the annual Easter Egg hunt at the Governor’s Residence today. The event was co-sponsored by Pre-K for PA, a non-partisan advocacy group that supports the expansion of high-quality, publicly funded pre-k.
“Safe and strong communities are built on the foundation of an adequate and equitable education, from pre-K through college – and we must invest in early education so that every child in Pennsylvania can get the best possible start in life,” said Governor Shapiro. “Strong early childhood education programs set students up for success, both inside and outside of the classroom, and that’s why my budget invests over $30 million in Head Start and Pre-K Counts to help us recruit more preschool teachers and serve more students. Lori and I are thrilled to welcome preschool students and teachers to the Residence, and we’re committed to working just as hard for all Pennsylvania children as we do for ours.”
“When our children have access to high-quality pre-K from dedicated and hard-working educators, the entire Commonwealth thrives,” said First Lady Shapiro. “Josh and I are excited to join students, educators, and advocates from across the Commonwealth today to bring attention to this important issue. We are committed to doing our part to ensure that every Pennsylvania child has the support and resources they need to thrive, and we extend our gratitude to the hardworking educators who provide quality education to children across the Commonwealth every day.”
Governor Shapiro’s first budget proposal begins to address the growing shortages of pre-kindergarten and Head Start teachers by including a $32.7 million increased investment to increase the cost per child reimbursement rates in the 2023-24 budget.
“Today, only 43 percent of eligible children in Pennsylvania benefit from the once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to attend high-quality, publicly funded pre-k,” said Kari King, President and CEO of Pennsylvania Partnerships for Children. “Our coalition is energized to be working with Governor Shapiro to continue to advance the expansion of pre-k in Pennsylvania. His ongoing commitment helps ensure this valuable early learning experience will continue to become available to more and more children.”
Studies show that children who participate in high-quality pre-kindergarten perform better in school, graduate at higher rates, and earn more throughout their working lives compared to peers who do not have access to early learning programs. Additionally, children who were previously enrolled in Pre-K Counts outperform their economically disadvantaged peers in third grade math and reading.
Governor Shapiro’s 2023-24 budget proposal specifically includes an additional $30 million in new funding for the Pre-K Counts program to increase rates by approximately $1,000 per child (full-day) / $500 per child (part-day) and $2.7 million in new funding for the Head Start Supplemental Assistance Program to also increase the cost per child rate.
This is Governor and First Lady Shapiro’s first Easter Egg Hunt in partnership with Pre-K for PA, which annually welcomes pre-K classrooms from across Pennsylvania to the Pennsylvania Governor’s Residence to participate in an Easter egg hunt and celebrate the importance of high-quality, accessible early learning programs.
To learn more about pre-k in Pennsylvania, please visit www.prekforpa.org
###
Early Care and Education in Governor Shapiro’s 2023-24 State Budget Proposal
HARRISBURG, PA (March 7, 2023) – 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 regardingGovernor Josh Shapiro’s 2023-24 state budget proposal. ELPA operates four issue-based advocacy campaigns: Start Strong PA,Pre-K for PA, Childhood Begins at Home and Thriving PA.
Budget Proposal “Maintains” Child Care System in Crisis
“Governor Shapiro correctly emphasized the importance of high-quality child care for working families and the need to boost childcare wages to get “more teachers and professionals on the job,” and eliminate growing wait lists. Unfortunately, the Administration’s$66.7 million proposal merely maintains a system already in crisis.
“The proposal continues subsidized child care access to 75,000 low-income working families and sustains Child Care Works reimbursements to meet or exceed base rates at the 60th percentile of the market rate for a child care provider’s region. This represents a continuation of the current child care operating environment that has been in place since January 2022 after utilizing one-time federal funds to boost rates. Since that time, conditions within the system have not improved, in fact, wait lists have increased.
“Currently, Pennsylvania’s child care system is experiencing a 4,000 person workforce shortfall resulting in more than 35,500 children sitting on wait lists making it difficult for parents to work.
“The average child care teacher earns less than $12.50/hr. with approximately 21 percent of those child care teachers relying on SNAP benefits and 21 percent insured by Medicaid. As many of these staff are college educated, it’s no surprise that nearly 50 percent of educators surveyed say they are unlikely to remain in their child care jobs. Without a direct investment in the child care sector’s workforce, this crisis will continue and is likely to mean that more classrooms will close and more working parents will struggle to find care for their children.
“The child care crisis is costing working families, employers, and taxpayers $6.65 billion annually in lost wages, productivity and revenue. Fortunately, child care is an issue that crosses over the political divide with 81 percent of Pennsylvania voters in favor of allocating state funding to increase wages of child care workers and 78 percent percent of voters supporting an increase in state funding to help more low-income working families afford high-quality child care.
“The PA House and Senate must build on what’s been proposed by Governor Shapiro and not simply maintain a system that is currently in crisis but invest more, prioritizing the sector’s workforce to get ahead of this staffing shortage. Pennsylvania businesses depend on working families and working families depend on child care.”
Shapiro Proposal Boosts Pre-K Counts / Head Start Supplemental Assistance Program Rates In Effort to Combat TeacherShortage / Stops Short of Expanded Access
“Governor Shapiro’s first budget proposal begins to address the growing shortage of pre-kindergarten and Head Start teachers by including a $33 million increase to boost cost per child reimbursement rates in the 2023-24 budget. Specifically, the proposal would add $30 million in new funding for the Pre-K Counts program to increase rates by approximately $1,000 per child (full-day) / $500 per child (part-day) and $3 million in new funding for the Head Start Supplemental Assistance Program to also increase the cost per child rate. This funding is intended to further support pre-kindergarten providers in combating rising inflation and address increasing staffing shortages. It is worth noting, however, that the classroom closures and teacher shortages resulting from low wages found in the child care sector is also impacting pre-k availability because 48 percent of the children served in Pre-K Counts classrooms are located in high-quality child care centers.
“As part of his budget address, the Governor also noted the importance of giving Pennsylvania children a “ladder up” through pre-k. Unfortunately, this budget proposal does not provide the resources necessary to expand publicly-funded pre-k opportunities tomore of the 100,000 Pennsylvania children that are eligible but not served.
“The General Assembly should respond to the 78 percent of Pennsylvania voters that supported increasing state funding to serve more eligible children in pre-k programs by building on the Governor’s proposal and expanding pre-k access.”
Sustained Funding in Home Visiting Appropriate Following Historic Increase in 2022
“Following last year’s historic budget increase for evidence-based home visiting, the Childhood Begins at Home campaign appreciates the continued funding in the proposal. Voluntary, evidence-based home visiting programs mentor parents and others raising children and provide supports for child development and school readiness, child health, family economic self-sufficiency, linkages and referrals, maternal health, positive parenting practices, reductions in child maltreatment and reductions in juvenile delinquency, family violence and crime.
“While there is a large unmet need for services with only 5 percent of eligible pregnant women, young children and families currently receiving them, we acknowledge increased access must be done in a manner that home visiting programs can effectively implement.”
Budget Address Emphasizes the Importance of Referral Services for Young Children
“All children birth through age five with developmental delays must be identified, referred to and accepted for the services they need to reach their fullest potential. The proposed state budget includes a needed investment in Early Intervention services with an increase of $10.4 million for the Early Intervention Part B (age three to five) program in the Department of Education (PDE) budget and a $20million increase for Early Intervention Part C (infants and toddlers) program in the Department of Human Services (DHS) budget.Thriving PA welcomes both of these proposed increases.”
Governor Shapiro’s State Budget Proposal Includes:
- $30 million in additional funding for the state’s Pre-K Counts program to boost reimbursement rates by nearly $1,000 per child (full-day)/ $500 per child (part-day).
- $3 million in additional funding for the Head Start Supplemental Assistance Program to boost cost per child.
- $66.7 million in new funding for the state’s Child Care Services line item to maintain subsidized child care access to 75,000low-income working families and sustain Child Care Works reimbursements to meet or exceed rates at the 60th percentile of the market rate for child care facilities.
- Level funding for evidence-based home visiting in the Community-Based Family Centers line item as well as level funding for the Nurse Family Partnership line item.
- $10.4 million increase for the Part B Early Intervention program (age three to five) offered through PDE.
- $20 million increase funding for the Early Intervention Part C (infant and toddler) program through DHS.
- $2.3 million increase to expand Maternal Health Programing, implementing strategies outlined by the MaternalMortality Review Committee (MMRC).
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 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 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.
###
Ahead of Shapiro’s budget, poll stresses funding for early child care
Eighty-five percent of providers said they face staffing shortages; blame low wages
March 2, 2023 by John Micek
With Gov. Josh Shapiro’s first budget address now less than a week away, a new poll underlines the staffing shortage facing Pennsylvania’s child care providers and, advocates say, the need for policymakers to step up to help them.
Eighty-five percent of provider respondents to the poll commissioned by the advocacy groups Start Strong PA and Pre-K for PA said they face staffing shortages, while 50 percent said they’ve shuttered at least one classroom in response to the staffing gap.
In the meantime, providers need to fill nearly 4,000 open staffing positions, with more than 38,000 children statewide now on waiting lists for child care placements, according to the poll.
“One-hundred-and-twenty of our YMCA sites responded to the survey and the numbers are staggering,” David John, the vice president of governmental affairs at the PA State Alliance of YMCAs, said in a statement. “Those programs have 382 open staffing positions that have caused the closure of 269 classrooms. Across 36 counties there are nearly 4,700 children on waiting lists. That means thousands of families without care.”
The new findings mirror a May 2022 poll, where 32,500 children were on waiting lists. Then, as now, advocates pointed to low wages as the main driver for the worker shortage.
“It is not surprising that this industry, with pay averaging less than $12.50/hr and 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,” the advocacy groups said in their statement.
More than 1,100 programs across 54 counties responded to the survey, the advocacy groups said.
On the campaign trail last year, Shapiro spoke broadly about the need for “building opportunity” for all of the commonwealth’s students — from the very youngest to those about to graduate from high school.
Research has consistently shown that access to quality, early childhood education puts students on the path to a successful academic career, and can impact such factors as graduation rates and whether they experience the criminal justice system later in life.
That need has become particularly pressing in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic, which “[erased] a decade of growth in preschool enrollment,” according to the National Institute for Early Education Research, at Rutgers University in Newark, N.J.
“We no longer can offer school-age care because of staffing. If we can’t get some help soon, I don’t know how long we can continue. Someone else just left our program to take a job in housekeeping at a local hospital night shift making $16/hr.” Jocelyn Kreig, the owner/director of Sunshine and Rainbows Child Care in Lackawanna County, said. “I can’t compete and there’s just not enough money to go around. Everyone is already working overtime and I am now the cook and relief staff along with being the director.”
Read the full article here.
New Survey: Historic Staffing Shortage Eliminates At Least 30,000 Early Care and Education Slots; Over 38,000 Children Sit on Waiting Lists – Low Wages to Blame
Advocates call for increased investment to stabilize and strengthen early care and education sector for PA working families
HARRISBURG (March 1, 2023) – Partners of the Start Strong PA and Pre-K for PA advocacy campaigns released new survey results detailing the historic staffing crisis in the early care and education sector that continues to contract the capacity of child care, Pre-K Counts and Head Start State Supplemental programs. Advocates are calling on Governor Shapiro and the General Assembly to increase investment in early care and education programs using recurring funds as part of the 2023-2024 state budget.
The new survey, conducted between January 31, 2023 and February 12, 2023, details the current staffing crisis in Pennsylvania child care, Pre-K Counts and Head Start State Supplemental programs and its effects on working families’ ability to access care.
More than 1,100 programs across 54 counties responded to the survey. According to respondents:
Staffing Crisis:
- Programs need to fill nearly 4,000 open staffing positions.
- 85% of child care respondents reported staffing shortages.
- 50% of child care respondents have closed at least one classroom.
Impact on Working Families:
- Nearly 35,500 children currently sit on child care waiting lists.
- More than 30,000 additional children could be served at respondents’ sites if they were fully staffed.
- Over 2,200 children currently sit on Pre-K Counts waiting lists.
- Over 650 children currently sit on Head Start Supplemental Assistance Program waiting lists.
The February 2023 survey results depict a deepening crisis in the early care and education sector. In May 2022, Start Strong PA released a similar survey showing that Pennsylvania’s child care centers were experiencing a staffing shortage resulting in nearly 32,500 children sitting on waiting lists. These new survey results show that over the past 10 months, waiting list numbers have continued to increase across Pennsylvania. It is not surprising that this industry, with pay averaging less than $12.50/hr and 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.
“One hundred and twenty of our YMCA sites responded to the survey and the numbers are staggering,” said David John, Vice President of Governmental Affairs, PA State Alliance of YMCAs. “Those programs have 382 open staffing positions that have caused the closure of 269 classrooms. Across 36 counties there are nearly 4,700 children on waiting lists. That means thousands of families without care.”
“Our early care and education programs need more than one-time funds to begin to solve this crisis. While we are thankful for the federal monies that have helped stabilize many programs, those funds are running out. We must give this industry long-term resources,” said Jen DeBell, Executive Director, Pennsylvania Association for the Education of Young Children (PennAEYC). “The partners of Start Strong PA believe that immediate and sustained action is required to boost pay for Pennsylvania’s child care teachers and staff to stem this tide of closures and wait lists.”
“We no longer can offer school-age care because of staffing. If we can’t get some help soon, I don’t know how long we can continue. Someone else just left our program to take a job in housekeeping at a local hospital night shift making $16.00/hr.” said Jocelyn Kreig, Owner/Director of Sunshine and Rainbows Child Care in Lackawanna County. “I can’t compete and there’s just not enough money to go around. Everyone is already working overtime and I am now the cook and relief staff along with being the director.”
“This current situation is unsustainable. With tens of thousands of families sitting on waiting lists, how can those parents return to work? said Diane Barber, Executive Director of Pennsylvania Child Care Association (PACCA). “The partners of Early Learning PA just released results from a new poll last week that an overwhelming majority of voters believe funds invested in child care and child care teachers is money well spent. Our elected leaders must prioritize additional investments in the early care and education sector to address the systemic issues causing this staffing crisis.”
###
The Daily Item: Editorial: Funding Early Childhood Education is Always Money Well Spent
February 25, 2023
New analysis from the Pennsylvania Partnerships for Children presents a lot of the same conclusions and data stakeholders have long known about the impact of funding early childhood education. Essentially, you can never go wrong putting money into programs that boost high-quality programs and make them more accessible to more people.
The number of families with access is slowly returning after they cratered early in the COVID-19 pandemic. The new polling also shows near unanimous support for increased funding in the next budget, the first under new governor Josh Shapiro. According to the poll conducted in the first week of February, 98 percent of those who responded said early childhood education is important.
In that same poll, 78 percent supported spending more to increase public funding for the programs.
The list of things 98 percent of Pennsylvanians agree on is incredibly small.
There is clearly a want, perhaps only topped by availability.
It is incredibly troubling to read that more than 60 percent of Pennsylvanians ages 3 and 5 had no access to proven programs like Pre-K Counts or Head Start. To fill that need, an additional 5,075 additional classrooms are needed to serve those children, the study found.
In that same poll, 78 percent supported spending more to increase public funding for the programs.
As we have noted time and again in this space, it is money well spent.
According to the National Education Association, the benefits from a solid foundation built on programs like Pre-K Counts are immense. Consider:
Children in high-quality programs are projected to make roughly $143,000 more over their lifetimes than those who didn’t take part in such a program.
School districts can expect to save more than $11,000 per child because participants are less likely to require special or remedial education.
Read the full editorial here.
Tribune-Democrat: Pa. poll finds voters overwhelmingly support early childhood education investments
February 23, 2023 by Eric Scicchitano
HARRISBURG. Pa. – New polling of Pennsylvania voters shows near unanimity on the value of early childhood education, results advocates hope will lead to increased funding in the commonwealth’s next budget.
An estimated 101,500 children ages 3 and 4 in the commonwealth, or 61% of those eligible, had no access to high-quality, publicly funded pre-kindergarten such as Head Start and Pre-K Counts in October 2021, according to a data analysis by the Pennsylvania Partnerships for Children.
An additional 5,075 classrooms are needed to serve those children, the study found.
Partners of the Early Learning PA Coalition are seeking support for building out pre-kindergarten and high-quality child care. They point to the polling data as evidence that they have backing from the public and they hope it translates to support within the state legislature and the governor’s office.
In a poll of 800 voters conducted Feb. 1-7 by Susquehanna Polling and Research, 98% of respondents said early childhood education is important. Asked about state funding, 78% supported spending more to increase access to pre-kindergarten programs. And, 78% supported increasing funds for working low-income families to afford child care.
“Even more amazing is that this level of support is consistent across all age brackets, education levels, ethnicity, and gender. There is also no discernable difference between the views of Republicans or Democrats, conservative or liberal – they are all at or above 98% in agreement. The same goes for voters in different regions of the state,” Steve Doster, state director of Mission: Readiness, said during a press conference Tuesday at the state Capitol.
“Gov. Shapiro knows high-quality early childhood education and child care are essential for putting Pennsylvania children and families on the path to success from an early age. The governor strongly supports efforts to improve access to early childhood education and child care in our Commonwealth – and we are reviewing all options ahead of sharing more information soon,” said Emily Roderick, the governor’s director of press operations.
Staffing shortages and program closures following the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic are blamed, in part, for the limited access to pre-kindergarten and child care, though challenges already pre-dated the pandemic.
A survey from March by Start Strong PA found that 91% of programs had staffing shortages, with low wages and lack of benefits cited for nearly 7,000 job openings.
Read the full article here.
