Research
Pennsylvania Research
Case Studies
Ever wonder what really happens in high-quality infant-toddler classrooms? The research is in, and it proves that the best early childhood programs provide safe and nurturing environments while ensuring babies develop in all domains: physical, social, emotional, and cognitive.
Collected as part of a statewide scan of exemplar programs, these five documents illustrate the elements of high-quality programs that all young children deserve. Narratives delve into teacher-child interactions, early language and literacy development, family engagement, cultural competence, staff training and professionalism, and play-based learning.
Child Care Works Fact Sheet
Start Strong PA state 2023 fact sheet (PDF)
The unmet child care needs of Pennsylvania’s infants and toddlers are significant. Of the 180,480 children under age 5 living in families eligible for the Child Care Works (CCW) subsidy program, only 25% are receiving assistance to pay for child care.
Only 45% are in high-quality child care.
Maps
Local Fact Sheets & Mapping: Child Care in Pennsylvania, April 2023
Campaign partner Pennsylvania Partnerships for Children created interactive maps and local fact sheets demonstrating the unmet need and the availability of high-quality child care to meet those needs at the state, county, and legislative district levels.
The maps and fact sheets provide: a. information on the opportunity for children under age five to access high-quality child care; b. lists of local child care programs; and c. the availability of child care for children participating in Child Care Works, Pennsylvania’s subsidized child care program.
Reports
Solving the Child Care Teacher Shortage Through State Recruitment and Retention Investments
Pennsylvania must tackle the child care teacher shortage head-on by establishing and funding a program that will help providers better recruit and retain their staff. Many states are directly investing in recruitment, retention and other wage impacting strategies to ensure that child care programs can keep classrooms open and the child care supply can meet the demand from working families.
This reports describes the initiatives states have been investing in these types of initiatives to cut down turnover rates. .
$2.4 Billion: The Annual Cost of PA’s Child Care Crisis for Working Mothers
Working mothers face many pressures when their children are young, juggling work commitments with their responsibilities as primary caregivers. These pressures are heightened when child care options are limited.
This Report shows the full negative economic impact for working mothers in Pennsylvania when their child care is inadequate. Using new survey data on 307 mothers with children aged under 5, the report estimates an annual economic cost of $2.4 billion.
The Value and Cost of High-Quality Early Care and Education - December 2023
High-quality early care and education prepares a young child for future success and also supports families who contribute to the economy and workforce. In 2002, Pennsylvania launched Keystone STARS, a Quality Improvement Rating System (QRIS), to expand and promote access to high-quality early care and education programs across the state of Pennsylvania. While there is significant value in Keystone STARS, over 20 years after its creation, early care and education programs continue to encounter costly financial barriers to increasing and maintaining quality ratings.
State of Early Care and Education in Pennsylvania – August 2023
Pennsylvania’s comprehensive early care and education system spans a child’s formative years, from birth-to-age-5. This report looks deeper at Pennsylvania’s child care and pre-k system complexities and recommends the improvements necessary to ensure the system functions equitably and increases access and affordability for all families in the commonwealth.
Rural families and child care providers have some of the greatest challenges in accessing and providing child care due to the unique realities of rural areas including fewer high-quality options, distance and travel, limited transportation, higher teacher turnover, fewer qualified individuals living in the region, and lower family incomes.
There is no doubt that high-quality early childhood education (ECE) is a win for everyone – children, parents, employers, and our economy. Yet this critical sector is on the brink of a breakdown. Nearly 50% of surveyed early childhood educators did not think it was likely that they would be working for their employer within five years.
In Pennsylvania the price of child care is high and a burden for most families, while child care programs operate on razor-thin margins and child care teachers and staff are paid poverty level wages. Parents can’t afford to pay more and providers can’t afford to be paid less. Pennsylvania’s payment rates to programs for children in Child Care Works do not cover the actual cost of care provided by programs.
When a state knows the true cost of care, these data can be used both to reimburse programs for the cost of operations as well as to gain understanding of what level of additional funding might be necessary to adequately incentivize care for underserved populations. Upon completion of the cost estimation model, Pennsylvania would develop a new payment methodology based on the information collected, along with a plan to fund the gap between current subsidy rates and the cost of providing high-quality child care.
February 2023 Cost Estimation Webinar Recording link Webinar Passcode: Z%ngF2T?
A Model to Strengthen and Stabilize the Child Care System (PDF)
This paper aims to lay out recommendations for infant and toddler contracted slots to expand and improve the program. Pennsylvania is well poised to expand contracts for infants and toddlers based on the ITCSP and can serve as a model nationwide for strengthening and stabilizing the child care system.
Elevating the Early Childhood Workforce (PDF)
This paper lays out the historical and current context for the underinvestment and undervaluing of the early childhood field. Start Strong PA offers pathways toward a more equitable, high-quality early learning system through elevating the value of the profession and increasing provider compensation. Early childhood educators are the center of a child’s quality experience and without these professionals there will be no greater access to affordable high-quality child care.
Policy Brief: Overview of Non-traditional Hour Child Care (PDF)
As Start Strong PA continues to address the challenges and barriers to high quality care for families and address the needs of providers, the campaign recognizes the importance of ensuring accessibility to NTH. There has always been a need for increased availability of and support for NTH in our child care system. We must ensure families have safe and nurturing environments for their children during evenings, weekends, and overnight hours.
Getting Back to Business: The Employer’s Case for Non-Traditional Hour Child Care (PDF)
A productive and flourishing economy requires stable and reliable child care. Yet conversations about expanding access to child care continue to neglect families’ needs for more non-traditional hour child care. Industries such as restaurants, healthcare, manufacturing, entertainment, first responders, and many more require employees to work hours outside of the traditional 9 AM to 5 PM work schedule.
The Military Gets It; So Why Not PA? (PDF)
A generation ago, the Department of Defense developed and invested in an exemplary early care and education system for our country’s military families. Military leaders noted the changing composition of the workforce to include more women and families. Investments in high-quality early care and education was viewed as a critical workforce support so that parents could most effectively do their jobs of protecting the nation.
The Case for High-Quality Infant Toddler Child Care (PDF)
Research shows that the most critical phase of human brain development begins even before pre-kindergarten. The majority (85%) of that development occurs during the first three years of life. With 69% of families having both parents working and with 70% of all mothers in the labor force, the Commonwealth can further strengthen high-quality child care leading to a lasting impact on brain growth for thousands of Pennsylvania children under age three.
National Research
Center on the Developing Child at Harvard University
This center conducts and analyzes the science of early brain development in order to inform investments in early childhood. Resources include videos, research, and briefs on the critical period of child development between birth and five years which form the foundation for all future learning, behavior, and health.