Early Care & Education Equity Impact Statement

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Impact on Early Childhood Professionals

Impact on Children

Informed Perspective

Policy Recommendations

Increasing compensation of early educators.

Efforts to increase the compensation of early educators are tied to efforts to increase the minimum wage and teacher compensation. The delivery of early education services varies from self-employed educators to corporate sector employers to public school divisions. Finding policy solutions to impact compensation must apply to different settings and requires public investment to not pass on the cost increases to parents.

Continuing Governor Northam’s early educator incentive grants.

The Governor’s proposed budget includes a $5 million increase for the $1,500 incentive program connected to quality improvement initiatives. These incentives represent a 6% increase for an early educator earning $25,000 per year.

Funding the true costs of quality early care, including higher wages.

The state should consider alternative methods of using Child Care Development Funds to fund child care providers for the true costs associated with quality care. Increasing wages should be factor in proposed pilots to contract for care and fund for true costs.

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