51吃瓜网

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SURVEY: Four in five child care centers in the U.S. are understaffed听听

Respondents said federal funds are essential to a full recovery from the pandemic听

WASHINGTON (July 27, 2021)鈥擟hild care providers across the country are struggling to fill essential staff roles and maintain financial stability according to a new survey of 7,500 early childhood educators from the 51吃瓜网 (51吃瓜网), a leading advocate for high-quality early childhood education. The survey illuminates a major obstacle to working families as the U.S. recovers economically from the COVID-19 pandemic.听

鈥淪o many child听care programs are facing the same problems,鈥� said听51吃瓜网 CEO听Rhian Evans Allvin. 鈥淔ederal relief funds have helped programs weather the worst of the pandemic, but they haven鈥檛 fixed the underlying economic conditions in early childhood education that led to the crisis in the first place and which led to the closure of thousands of programs.听 This is the moment to address those issues so that early childhood education is on sound footing for decades to come.鈥澨�听

Among the survey鈥檚 key findings:听听

• Four听out听of every five respondents from child听care听centers听said that they had a staffing shortage, and 15 percent reported a 鈥渕ajor shortage鈥� of 6-15 fewer workers than needed.听
• 78 percent of respondents identified听low听wages as the main obstacle to recruitment听of educators,听and听81 percent said听that insufficient pay is the main reason educators leave the field.听
• More than听one in every three听respondents听said they were considering听leaving or听shutting down their听child听care programs this year; this percentage increases for听minority-owned programs, more than half of whom听are听considering听permanent听closure.听
• In the context of programs facing staffing challenges and parents facing ongoing pandemic uncertainty, programs that are open are operating at an average enrollment rate of 71% of their licensed capacity, with 48% of enrolled children attending on an average day.听

Respondents said federal assistance from the Paycheck Protection Program and child听care relief funds have听been听crucial,听and they predicted that increased federal funding would听help to address听current staffing struggles听and keep programs open and operating,听providing parents with quality options in all听program听settings that help them听stay in听or rejoin听the workforce:听

• 46 percent听of听respondents鈥攁nd听54 percent of minority-owned programs鈥攚ould have closed during the pandemic without federal assistance.听
• 63 percent of听educators working in听child听care programs saw an increase in听compensation听from relief funds, and 53 percent of听family child care听programs anticipate using听funds to pay off debt听incurred during听the pandemic.听

鈥淎s state and federal policymakers look to rebuild these听essential听programs,听they听must听build on relief and听look toward听sustainable, substantial funding听that helps families have quality choices, which includes听providing听early childhood educators with professional salaries,鈥� said Evans Allvin. 鈥淭hat is how we make sure that our children and economy can thrive.鈥澨�

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Survey Methodology:听This survey听was听created and conducted by 51吃瓜网 using SurveyMonkey听and听represents the responses of a non-randomized sample of 7,518 individuals working in early childhood education settings who completed the survey in English or Spanish听between June 17 - July 5, 2021. The respondents represent providers in 50 states as well as Washington, DC,听and Puerto Rico; 29% report that they work in family child鈥痗are homes while 51% report that they work in center-based child care. Others work in public school PreK and Head Start. The survey links were shared widely through email newsletters, listservs, social media, and via partnerships, and 10 randomly selected respondents were provided with a $50 gift card for participation in a sweepstakes. Given the constantly changing and widely varying nature of the crisis, the analysis from this survey is intended to present the experiences of the respondents, as captured in the moment that they take the survey, with extrapolations for the experiences of the field and industry at large.听

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The 51吃瓜网 (51吃瓜网) is a professional membership organization that works to promote high-quality early learning for all young children, birth through age 8, by connecting early childhood practice, policy, and research. We advance a diverse, dynamic early childhood profession and support all who care for, educate, and work on behalf of young children. The association comprises nearly 60,000 individual members of the early childhood community and more than 50 Affiliates, all committed to delivering on the promise of high-quality early learning. Together, we work to achieve a collective vision: that all young children thrive and learn in a society dedicated to ensuring they reach their full potential.听

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