Facts In Action

What is the state of child care in Massachusetts? Where do you go to find out? This year the answer is not the usual response of "we don't know." Several recent reports and initiatives are highlighting research that answers questions about capacity, demand, quality, the child care workforce, and other aspects of the early education system. Two of the most visible reports come from the agencies that administer subsidy programs on the state level - the Department of Education and the Office of Child Care Services.

In April 2001, the Department of Education released its most recent edition of Future Trends - a collection of research and data that takes a hard look at the state of early education and care throughout the Commonwealth. The report, which relies jointly on data collected by the Department of Education as well as by the Office of Child Care Services and other sources, identifies several challenges to the Massachusetts early education and care system, including:

• Affordability: The average annual cost of care in Massachusetts, according to Future Trends, is $10,985 for an infant, $9,820 for a toddler, and $7,951 for a pre-school aged child.

• Teacher education levels: There is a shortage of early education staff with degrees in early childhood education, particularly in the programs that are most heavily subsidized.

• Teacher compensation and turnover rates: According to the report, lead teachers earn an average of just over $12 per hour, with other teaching staff earning less. Future Trends also reports an average turnover rate of 35% among teaching staff.

To improve affordability, quality, and stability of early education and care in Massachusetts, Future Trends makes recommendations around: making early education and care universally available by building the supply of programs and services to families; increasing staff compensation, and developing mechanisms to reduce staff turnover and increase staff qualifications; devising a new way of financing the system to increase both capacity and quality; "developing local infrastructure to support a family-friendly system"; and expanding community-based partnerships between families and health, education, and family support programs.

Shortly after the release of Future Trends, the Office of Child Care Services (OCCS) released its own long-awaited report focusing specifically on child care workforce recruitment and retention. The Massachusetts Early Care and Education Staff Recruitment and Retention Research and Recommendations reports data on staff turnover, hiring barriers, and strategies used by programs to recruit and retain staff. Through a statewide survey of center-based directors and interviews with directors and staff, researchers identify key factors in recruiting new staff and retaining teachers in center-based programs, and make policy recommendations based on their findings. According to the OCCS report, 50% of program directors identified salaries as one of the main barriers to recruiting staff, after the problems of not having applicants (63%) and not having qualified applicants (51%). Newly hired teachers identified educational opportunities (50%), salary (50%), and benefits (50%) as the key factors that would influence their decision to stay in the field for five or more years.

Based on strategies identified by program directors, the report makes a number of recommendations for addressing the workforce crisis, including: tying wages to education levels via a state-level wage scale; establishing a statewide teacher mentor program; funding early education and care courses through reimbursements or stipends; and providing scholarships and loan forgiveness to help teachers achieve higher degrees of education. The report's recommendations are tied to early childhood center-based program staff.

Beyond the two reports described above, a number of other research projects exist and are generating data, including:

• a three-year effort by the Department of Education, Wellesley College, and Abt Associates to measure the cost of quality early childhood care and education in Massachusetts - the "Cost/Quality Study;"

• Community Profiles, a survey project of the Department of Education conducted through local Community Partnership councils to collect data on early education and care needs, utilization, and quality from programs and providers serving children, as well as from families themselves; and

• plans from the Office of Child Care Services to continue collecting data in three areas - a semi-annual market rate survey required in connection with federal funding the state receives, regular updates to OCCS's collection of unduplicated waitlist information, and a potential updating of last year's statewide staff salary and benefit survey.

Using the Research to Inform Policy

What are the opportunities presented by this abundance of research and data to influence early education and care policy in the Commonwealth? Discussions drawing from this recent research to inform proposals and initiatives are happening around a number of tables throughout state agencies and through groups of advocates and providers.

An appointed Governor's Commission on School Readiness has been meeting on a regular basis to develop recommendations for improving services to children ages birth to five in the Commonwealth in an effort to better prepare children for school. The Commission has a number of working groups with open membership, and final recommendations will go to the Governor this fall. For more information, contact Commission co-chairs Dr. Valora Washington (617) 868-6600 or OCCS Commissioner Ardith Wieworka (617) 626-2000.

The statewide Infant-Toddler Services Summit has been meeting over the past four years to develop strategies for improving policies and the coordination and quality of services for infants and toddlers and their families in the Commonwealth. For more information, contact Karin Elliott at (617) 727-7600 x204.

Invest in Children, a statewide initiative to explore new financing mechanisms for the state's early education and care system, has been meeting for the past year to learn about alternative models of financing in other industries and explore strategies for bringing more funds to early childhood programs to meet their workforce and operating needs (see http://factsinaction.org/pageone/p1mar00.htm and http://factsinaction.org/pageone/p1apr01.htm). For more information, contact Sue Halloran at (978) 686-4288, x529.

In addition, Massachusetts is part of a unique federally-funded policy research partnership, New England Workforce Partners for Early Education (NEW Partners). NEW Partners is working with teams from each of New England's six states to: identify existing data on the child care workforce; identify and explore the effectiveness of state level policies developed to improve child care staff quality, recruitment, and retention; and make recommendations to states about data collection and effective policies. In addition to regional quarterly meetings, NEW Partners is convening regular state team meetings. For more information, contact Tasha Davidson at (617) 522-0100.

Finally, policy initiatives like the Early Education for All Campaign are looking at ways to use the abundance of research and data to make the case for expanding access to high quality early education for the state's children and families. For more information on Early Education for All, contact Amy Kershaw at (617) 330-7383.

The Challenge of Coordination

With this wealth of state-level research, data, and discussion influencing the development of policy, a major challenge presents itself - that of coordinating the collection and use of data across agencies, among communities, and between meeting tables. The question that arises is how to best develop policy recommendations to avoid duplicating efforts, maximize effectiveness, and use the resources of the early education and care community to its greatest potential. It is a welcome challenge, however, and one that will hopefully be embraced by the field, state agencies, and families alike to develop the best policies for children.

Action Steps

Participate in research. The reports outlined rely on participation from people in the field. Next time you receive a survey or request for an interview, consider participating. That's the only way researchers can get an accurate picture of the world you live and work in. Understand and use the findings. Take time to review research findings and use them in discussion with parents, staff, and policy makers. Research findings that sit on a shelf don't change policy or the way people think about early education and care. If you have questions about any of the research or findings discussed above, the Early Education Clearinghouse is here to help. Contact Erika Argersinger at (617) 695-0700 x 271 or eargersinger@associatedearlycareandeducation.org. Come to the table. The initiatives and groups identified in this article need diverse voices from the field and from different communities. Taking the time to participate can help influence recommendations and ultimately change policy to improve services to children.

Source:
Securing Our Future: Planning What We Want for Our Youngest Children, Massachusetts Department of Education Future Trends Report - Volume VI, 2001.

To receive a copy of the report:
contact Massachusetts Department of Education Early Learning Services, 350 Main Street, Malden, MA, 02148, call (781) 338-6364, or go on-line at www.doe.mass.edu/mailings/2001/320/future.pdfEditor's Note: this url is no longer active.http://www.doe.mass.edu/mailings/2001/cm032001.pdf

Source:
The Massachusetts Early Care and Education Staff Recruitment and Retention Research and Recommendations, Mills & Pardee, Inc. for Massachusetts Office of Child Care Services, April 2001.

To receive a copy of the report:
contact Kate Arsenault at (617) 626-2064.

Facts in Action, June 2001