Snapshot Californias Early Childhood Workforce Lea J E

Snapshot: California’s Early Childhood Workforce Lea J. E. Austin, Ed. D Co-director Center for the Study of Child Care Employment University of California, Berkeley Connect with us: www. cscce. berkeley. edu @CSCCEUCB facebook. com/cscceucb October 17, 2020

What Early Educators Need REWARD PREPARE Teacher preparation to work with young children in group settings Appropriate compensation, including dependable increases in pay and benefits SUPPORT Supportive adult working environments including non-child contact time to perform professional responsibilities © Center for the Study of Child Care Employment

© Center for the Study of Child Care Employment

Can California Answer Essential Questions About Early Educators? © Center for the Study of Child Care Employment

What Do We Know About the Size of California’s ECE Workforce & Children Served? © Center for the Study of Child Care Employment

What do we know about the demographics of California’s ECE workforce ? Source: Austin, L. J. E. , Edwards, B. , & Whitebook, M. (2018). California’s ECE Workforce: What We Know Now and the Data Deficit That Remains. Berkeley, CA: Center for the Study of Child Care Employment, University of California, Berkeley. http: //cscce. berkeley. edu/californias-ece-workforce/ © Center for the Study of Child Care Employment

What do we know about the demographics of California’s ECE workforce ? 97% are women © Center for the Study of Child Care Employment 54% of home-based providers & 29% of center-based teaching staff are immigrants

What do we know about the educational attainment of California’s ECE Workforce? Source: Austin, L. J. E. , Edwards, B. , & Whitebook, M. (2018). California’s ECE Workforce: What We Know Now and the Data Deficit That Remains. Berkeley, CA: Center for the Study of Child Care Employment, University of California, Berkeley. http: //cscce. berkeley. edu/californias-ece-workforce/ © Center for the Study of Child Care Employment

What do we know about the compensation of California’s ECE workforce? © Center for the Study of Child Care Employment

What do we know about the compensation of California’s ECE workforce? © Center for the Study of Child Care Employment

Disparities Within in the ECE Workforce © Center for the Study of Child Care Employment

Funding Source Matters © Center for the Study of Child Care Employment

There is a Racial Wage Gap © Center for the Study of Child Care Employment

The Younger the Child, the Lower the Pay Early educators working with infants and toddlers face a sizeable wage penalty compared to educators working only with children age three to five, not yet in kindergarten. In California, an early educator working full-time exclusively with infants and toddler earns $6, 240 less than educators who work with preschool age children. Source: 2018 Early Childhood Workforce Index © Center for the Study of Child Care Employment

Consequences of Low Pay & the Status Quo © Center for the Study of Child Care Employment

Due to the high cost of living in San Mateo County 55% of ECE teachers resigned in the past year & 31% of teachers moved out of the area Median ECE hourly wages Living wage in San Mateo County Single Adult $18. 11 Adult with 2 children $45. 40 See the San Mateo County Early Childhood Education Teacher Compensation Study © Center for the Study of Child Care Employment Teacher’s Aides $15. 47 Assistant/ Associate Teachers $17. 35 Teachers $22. 07 Site Supervisors/ Directors $27. 17

Adult Well-being: Early Educators in Alameda County, CA • 54% of teaching staff agreed that they worry about having enough food for their family • 75% of teaching staff worry about paying their families’ monthly bills © Center for the Study of Child Care Employment Read: Teachers’ Voices - Alameda: Work Environment Conditions That Impact Teacher Practice and Program Quality

Checking Bias, Mitigating Historic Barriers Learning Together: 5 -year longitudinal study of 108 early educators in bachelor’s degree completion cohort programs in California ● 76% were women of color ● 31% identified a language other than English as their primary language ● 40% had previously attempted to complete a bachelor’s degree ● Most were first generation college students 81% graduated - a rate more than double that of the typical transfer student from a community college to a four-year college Source: Kipnis, F. , Whitebook, M. , Almaraz, M. , Sakai, L. , & Austin, L. J. E. (2012). Learning together: A study of six B. A. completion cohort programs in early care and education. Year 4. Berkeley, CA: Center for the Study of Child Care Employment, University of California, Berkeley. https: //cscce. berkeley. edu/files/2012/Learning. Together. Year 4 Report. pdf © Center for the Study of Child Care Employment

The Myth of Good, Cheap Child Care Child care costs too much for many families. Early educators are undervalued and underpaid. “The amount of funding available for the workforce is the linchpin of a successful early care and education system. ” The root cause of the problems with the ECE system is underfunding. What does a values-based budget for children, parents, and teachers look like? A California Case Study An annual cost of $29. 7 to $75. 4 billion, or $30, 000 to $37, 000 per child A one-time investment for recruiting and training teachers of $3. 0 to $9. 7 billion Such a system could serve 323, 000 to 826, 000 children a year Source: Gould, E. , Whitebook, M. , Mokhiber, Z. , & Austin, L. J. E. (2019). Breaking the Silence on Early Child Care and Education Costs: A Values-based budget for children, parents, and teachers in California. Center for the Study of Child Care Employment and the Economic Policy Institute. https: //cscce. berkeley. edu/files/2019/07/Break-the-Silence-on-Early-Child-Care-and-Education-Costs. pdf © Center for the Study of Child Care Employment

What Can Funders Do? Support research to understand the intersection of outcomes for children, families, and early educators Act with urgency for educators Emphasize fixing the system, not the people © Center for the Study of Child Care Employment

Thank you! cscce. berkeley. edu cscceinfo@berkeley. edu facebook. com/cscceucb @CSCCEUCB