Survey: Low Pay Creates Challenges for Child Care Employees

BATON ROUGE — On May 9, the Louisiana Policy Institute for Children released the results of its first-ever survey exclusively on the compensation and working conditions of child care employees in the state. The survey was conducted in partnership with Agenda for Children, For Providers by Providers, and Louisiana Association for the Education of Young Children. 

It includes responses from employees in all regions of the state who hold all types of roles in child care centers, including teachers, support staff, administrators and more.

“It is critically important for people to understand the realities experienced by our child care educators and staff,” said Libbie Sonnier, Ph. D., executive director of LPIC. “These experienced, high-quality early child care professionals earn very low wages. If our child care educators cannot make ends meet, it is detrimental to the working parents who need access to quality child care to stay in the workforce.”

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Building on LPIC’s previous research on parents of young children and child care providers, this new report gives detailed insight into early childhood education workers’ current roles, compensation, and feelings about their careers.

“Overwhelmingly, our early educators deeply care for and enjoy the work that they do, but persistently low compensation in the field drives them out of the classroom,” said Rochelle Wilcox, CEO of Wilcox Academy of Early Learning and co-founder of For Providers By Providers.  

The report found that while the individuals who care for and educate young children in Louisiana are educated and credentialed, the average rate of pay in the sector is insufficient to support them, especially if they choose to have children of their own. As a result, one-third of early care and education staff are thinking of quitting their jobs despite caring deeply about their work.

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A three-part webinar series will explore the survey findings and related strategies for increasing early educator compensation. The first webinar will occur on Wednesday, May 22 at 11 a.m.; attendees can register here.

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