WASHINGTON — To mitigate the effects of the pandemic on the early child care and education sector and address long-running challenges, decision-makers can consider assisting educators through better pay and professional development, or changing subsidy reimbursement and payment policies, among other strategies, says a new rapid expert consultation from the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine.

The consultation says that early child care and education before the pandemic was already struggling to meet the needs of many families: high-quality programs were expensive, educator compensation was low, and workforce turnover was high. Stay-at-home orders, social distancing, and new health and safety regulations led many programs to close — which has had an exacerbated impact on low-income families and communities of color.

• Assist the early child care and education workforce. Increase compensation, provide bonuses, encourage professional development opportunities, and improve overall working conditions to attract and retain qualified staff.
• Change subsidy reimbursement and payment policies. Change ways of determining state subsidy reimbursement rates and payment policies, so that subsidy rates are based on the actual costs of providing high-quality care and education, for example, by basing subsidy rates on enrollment rather than attendance.
• Reduce the rate of closures. Use available recovery funds to assist early child care and education providers that closed during the pandemic, those struggling to stay open, and those attempting to open new sites.
• Improve coordination. Coordinate services and harmonize funding across the sector to support continuous improvements in quality, and to reduce administrative burdens for families and providers.
• Integrate data systems. Support the integration of data systems at the state and local levels to help with rapid-response planning and allow officials access to real-time information about the early child care and education sector.

DETAILS: Addressing the Impact of COVID-19 on the Early Care and Education Sector is available for immediate release. Media inquiries should be directed to the National Academies’ Office of News and Public Information; tel. 202-334-2138 or e-mail news@nas.edu.

Contact:
Megan Lowry, Media Officer
Office of News and Public Information
202-334-2138; e-mail news@nas.edu