Early Childhood Educator Compensation in the Washington Region

RESEARCH REPORT Early Childhood Educator Compensation in the Washington Region Julia B. Isaacs Shirley Adelstein Daniel Kuehn with Pamela Loprest, Devon Genua, and Semhar Gebrekristos April 2018 CENTER ON LABOR, HUMAN SERVICES, AND POPULATION ABOUT THE URBAN INSTITUTE The nonprofit Urban Institute is a leading research organization dedicated to developing evidence-based insights that improve people’s lives and strengthen communities. For 50 years, Urban has been the trusted source for rigorous analysis of complex social and economic issues; strategic advice to policymakers, philanthropists, and practitioners; and new, promising ideas that expand opportunities for all. Our work inspires effective decisions that advance fairness and enhance the well-being of people and places. ABOUT WASHINGTON AREA WOMEN’S FOUNDATION Washington Area Women’s Foundation helps build pathways out of poverty for women and their families. We help to create economic opportunities that have positive ripple effects across society. In support of our mission to mobilize our community to ensure that economically vulnerable women and girls in the Washington region have the resources they need to thrive, we work across five areas of need: Workforce development and asset building, Early Care and Education, Two Generation Strategies, and Reproductive Health. WASHINGTON REGION EARLY CARE AND EDUCATION WORKFORCE NETWORK The Washington Region Early Care and Education Workforce Network is a collective partnership of local governments, higher education, and non-profit groups from across the Washington region who are committed to developing a regional competency-based career pathway for early childhood educators that is linked to quality and compensation. The Network is part of a larger national initiative of state groups that seek to improve the position of the early care and education workforce, with technical assistance from the National Academy of Medicine. The Network is the only group of its kind working to address equity issues within the early care and education workforce across state lines, including membership from across Washington, DC, southern Maryland, and northern Virginia. The work of the Network is funded by Washington Area Women's Foundation's Early Care and Education Funders' Collaborative. Contents Acknowledgments iv Errata v Executive Summary vi Introduction 1 Background 1 Research Questions 2 Data Sources 3 Organization of the Report 8 I. Compensation of Early Childhood Educators 9 Annual Earnings 9 Hourly Wages 11 Health Insurance Coverage 22 Teaching Assistants 24 Summarizing Early Childhood Educator Compensation 25 II. Costs and Benefits Associated with Closing Gaps 26 Costs Associated with Closing the Compensation Gap 26 Alternative Measures of the Gap 31 Additional Compensation Costs 32 Benefits Associated with Increasing Compensation 34 Improvements in ECE Program Quality 35 Long-Term Economic Benefits of High-Quality ECE Programs 37 The Benefit of Reducing Poverty and Public Benefit Receipt 38 Summarizing the Costs and Benefits of Closing Compensation Gaps 41 III. Strategies for Addressing Compensation Gaps 42 Direct Compensation Strategies 43 Indirect Compensation Strategies 49 Lessons from the Health Care Sector 56 Considerations for Compensation Initiatives 56 Technical Appendix 58 Notes 61 References 63 About the Authors 67 Statement of Independence 68 IV ACKNOWLEDGMENTS Acknowledgments This report was funded by Washington Area Women’s Foundation. We are grateful to them and to all our funders, who make it possible for Urban to advance its mission. The views expressed are those of the authors and should not be attributed to the Urban Institute, its trustees, or its funders. Funders do not determine research findings or the insights and recommendations of Urban experts. Further information on the Urban Institute’s funding principles is available at urban.org/fundingprinciples. We would like to thank our program officer at Washington Area Women’s Foundation, Martine Gordon, for her guidance and support throughout this project. We also are thankful for the review and input of Shayne Spaulding and Erica Greenberg of the Urban Institute, Christi Chadwick of Early Milestones Colorado, and the members of the Washington Region Early Care and Education Workforce Network who provided feedback for this report, and for editorial assistance from Dan Matos. Cover image by Tim Meko. ERRATA V Errata This report was updated January 16, 2019. On pages 44 and 47, the descriptions of the WAGE$ program were changed to clarify that WAGE$ was developed by the Child Care Services Association, not T.E.A.C.H. On page 52, the following text was added to the first data row of table 20: “The T.E.A.C.H. Early Childhood National Center, a division of the Child Care Services Association, licenses and supports states who want to operate either or both T.E.A.C.H. or WAGE$ programs.” VI EXECUTIVE SUMMARY Executive Sum