Thousands of Advocates Call on PA General Assembly to Raise Child Care Wages

HARRISBURG (May 19, 2022) – Today, Start Strong PA, delivered a petition containing 4,565 signatures to members of the Pennsylvania General Assembly urging them to “Raise Child Care” by allocating sustainable state and/or federal funds as part of the final state budget to help solve the child care sector’s current workforce crisis. The petition calls for  a $2 per hour wage supplement for child care teachers and staff.

“As Pennsylvania businesses struggle to find employees, tens of thousands of working parents are struggling to find child care,” said Jen DeBell, executive director, Pennsylvania Association for the Education of Young Children. “This is due to a workforce crisis within the child care sector that is resulting in closures of classrooms and entire facilities.”

According to a March 2022 survey of 994 Pennsylvania child care programs, nearly 7,000 child care staffing positions remain open resulting in 48% percent of respondents  reporting at least one of their classrooms is closed. The current staffing crisis has created a waiting list in these programs of over 32,500 children.