Urge increased state investments for Child Care Staff Recruitment and Retention Program
May 28, 2026 – Standing at their City Center site with two closed classrooms behind them, Early Connections CEO Stacey Hellmann joined state and local leaders today to spotlight an unrelenting child care staffing crisis that is leaving hundreds of Erie County children without care and parents sidelined from the workforce.
“Let me show you what this crisis looks like on the ground, starting right here at our City Center site. Across our four locations, we currently have eight staff vacancies. Here at City Center alone, two classrooms are closed,” shared Hellman. “Recently, we made the heartbreaking decision to close an entire site at John E. Horan Garden Apartments. If every one of our centers were fully staffed today, we could immediately serve an additional 91 children. That is 91 families scrambling for backup care and 91 futures being put on hold.”
An April 2026 survey conducted by the Start Strong PA Campaign of 1,141 child care providers from across Pennsylvania showed that 87% of child care programs reported challenges in recruiting staff and 78% are struggling with teacher shortages. Those shortages are leaving more than 2,600 unfilled positions statewide. Programs could serve an additional 21,917 children if they could recruit and retain the staff they need, and these numbers represent less than 18% of the total open registered programs in Pennsylvania.
Hellman also shared that 38 programs from Erie County responded as part of that 2026 survey. They reported 74 unfilled positions closing 21 classrooms. Another 41 classrooms in these programs are under-enrolled, meaning they are open but cannot take more children due to lack of staff.
“As a chamber, we hear regularly from employers about the difficulty of hiring and retaining workers. Time and time again, one of the most cited pain points impacting working families’ ability to work is the availability of child care,” said Brandon Mendoza, President and CEO of the Erie Regional Chamber and Growth Partnership. “That is why we have been able to build a coalition of more than 75 local chambers of commerce and economic development organizations advocating for immediate action to stall the exodus of child care teachers.”
As part of the event, Mendoza presented data released by ReadyNation Pennsylvania in a new report noting that these child care issues have a real cost to the economy. The economic analysis shows gaps in Pennsylvania’s child care system now cost the Commonwealth’s economy $6.4 billion annually, including $4.9 billion in costs to working parents and $1.5 billion in costs to Pennsylvania businesses through lost earnings, lost productivity, and extra hiring costs.
“We hear daily from providers and parents across the state. They tell us about classrooms closing because teachers can’t afford to stay. They tell us about parents who are sidelined from the workforce because care is too expensive or simply unavailable,” Kimberly Early, Senior Director of Public Policy and Advocacy at PennAEYC said. “Affordability matters, but without educators, there’s no care to afford.”
As part of the event, Early shared new March 2026 Pennsylvania voter polling numbers:
- 78% support increasing state funding for child care staff salaries
- 81% support increasing state funding for pre-k teachers’ salaries
- 82% support increasing state funding for Head Start
“More than half of Pennsylvania residents live in child care deserts, and less than half of Pennsylvania’s child care is considered high quality,” stated Representative Pat Harkins (D-1). “I was happy to support the creation of the Child Care Staff Recruitment and Retention Program last year but we still have a lot of work to do for early learning programs and a mandate from the voters to do it.”
The Child Care Staff Recruitment and Retention Program launched in January 2026 with an appropriation of $25 million in the 2025-26 Pennsylvania budget. Program launch highlights include:
- 4,358 child care providers applied in the first year of the program (75% of eligible providers in PA).
- 33,688 child care teachers will receive $645 retention bonuses.
- 4,972 newly hired child care teachers will receive $645 recruitment bonuses.
“Before I was a legislator, I was a teacher,” shared Representative Bob Merski (D-2). “For 16 years, I stood in front of young children in Erie’s Catholic schools, in the Corry School District, and most recently in Erie City Schools. I know what it takes to educate a child. And I know what it takes to keep a classroom staffed. Here’s what I learned: You cannot have a strong classroom without strong teachers. And you cannot keep strong teachers without paying them a living wage.”
Participants shared that the current average wage of a child care teacher in Pennsylvania is $15.23 hour. This wage does not meet the cost of living in any county in Pennsylvania. And it is these low wages that continue driving this staffing crisis.
Event speakers urged that, as part of an enacted 2026-27 budget, the General Assembly must include:
- A $10M increase for the Child Care Staff Recruitment and Retention Program
- A $2M increase for the Head Start Supplemental Assistance Program
- A $7.5M increase for Pre-K Counts
Others participating in the event included: Mike Plazony, Board Advisor, GBU Life; Commissioner, PA Early Learning Investment Commission; Board President, Early Connections and Jody Irwin, Director of Benefits, Erie Insurance; Commissioner, PA Early Learning Investment Commission.
###
