Comprehensive professional development systems for early and education personnel are accessible and based on a clearly articulated framework; include a continuum of training and ongoing supports; define pathways that are tied to licensure, leading to qualifications and credentials; and address the needs of individual, adult learners. Enhancing a spirit of lifelong learning is one goal of any professional development system. Similar to this goal, a professional development system itself is never a finished product and should continually evolve and be refined to best meet the needs of the population it serves.
Within professional development systems there are several interconnected components. These components fall under five broad elements: (1) core knowledge; (2) access and outreach; (3) qualifications, credentials, and pathways; (4) funding; and (5) quality assurance. Additional information about system elements is available in the Early Childhood Professional Development Systems Toolkit, a resource guide for State/Territory policymakers developed by NCCIC. It includes definitions, overviews, State stories, selected resources, State examples, and planning tools and is available at http://nccic.acf.hhs.gov/pubs/goodstart/index.html.
Note that this document is a companion to the NCCIC document Supporting a Skilled and Stable Workforce: Compensation and Retention initiatives. It includes examples of States that have compensation and retention initiatives. These examples do not include all States that have these initiatives, but are meant to represent a range of approaches States have taken to develop compensation and retention initiatives. NCCIC does not endorse any organization, publications, or resource.
Compensation and retention initiatives are designed to reward early childhood and school-age care professionals who complete training, attain credentials and degrees, and who exhibit commitment to the field of early childhood and/or their current workplace. Most of the initiatives require the individual to be working directly with children or supervising those who work directly with children. Some require a period of work history as a condition to apply. Most reward completion of early childhood education/child development training, credentials, or degrees more highly than general training and education. All include a graduated scale that provides increased stipends or salary enhancements based on increased levels of training completion, credentials, or degrees. Some initiatives require movement from one level to the next for continued eligibility. Some States have intentionally linked the wage incentives to their quality rating system. In Oklahoma, for example, working for a program with a specific star rating is required for some levels of the incentive program.
All initiatives face funding constraints. States take various approaches to managing funds. Some initiatives accept applications periodically, such as twice a year. Others have rolling enrollment and stop accepting applications when all funds are allocated. Minnesota awards funds through a competitive grant process. In the State of Washington, wage incentives are paid to the child care program on a monthly basis and passed along to qualifying staff in the form of hourly wage enhancements.
Many of the initiatives rely on a provider registry for documented evidence of training completion, credentials, degrees, and work experience. In many States, program participants must be part of a practitioner registry. Registry or career lattice levels are most often the basis for payment levels or wage increases.
Targeted recruitment efforts have been successful in enrolling underserved populations, such as those in rural areas, family child care providers, and non-English speakers. Reports of participation, education levels, and staff retention indicate that the sample initiatives have been successful in lowering turnover rates among participants, increasing educational levels (and wages via the stipends), as well as motivating participants to pursue ongoing professional development. However, there are differences in impact by type of provider and by current educational level of participants. Participation also varies by State and the status of the State's workforce, but there are clearly higher levels of participation at specific levels on the wage scales or career lattices. Many States have multiple levels and/or have revised their wage enhancement scales to include additional steps as a strategy to aid individual movement and reward progress. In addition, the studies clearly show a link between participation in wage incentive programs and participation in scholarship programs.
The following is a review of research and evaluation efforts related to workforce incentive initiatives. It is organized by the following topics: participation demographics, educational levels/professional advancement, retention, and notes on the "tipping point." Research citations are provided at the end of the document.
By the 5th year of the initiative, a report of participation revealed that 77 percent of all providers had an Associate's degree or higher, with at least 15 semester hours in ECE/child development courses.
Annual Program Summary FY 2006 (2007), by the Georgia Department of Early Care and Learning, provides statistical information about participation and education of INCENTIVES participants. It is available at www.caresolutions.com/docs/SandIAnnualRepFY06_041807_FINAL.pdf.
Child Care WAGE$® Project: An Education-Based Salary Supplement Program for Child Care Teachers, Directors and Family Child Care Providers (2005), by the Child Care Services Association, provides information about program outcomes. It is available at www.childcareservices.org/_downloads/Program_Summarya_Outcomes0405.pdf.
Lessons from CARES and Other Early Care and Education Workforce Initiatives in California, 1999-2004: A Review of Evaluations Completed by Fall 2004 (2005), by Marcy Whitebook and Dan Bellm, Center for the Study of Child Care Employment, provides findings from the initiative. It is available at www.eric.ed.gov/ERICDocs/data/ericdocs2sql/content_storage_01/0000019b/80/1b/ad/98.pdf.
Evaluation of the Illinois Great START (Strategies to Attract and Retain Teachers) Program (2004), by Dawn Ramsburg, Dale Montanelli, and Emily Rouge, is available at www.inccrra.org/WorkArea/linkit.aspx?LinkIdentifier=id&ItemID=469. Key highlights from the report is at www.inccrra.org/WorkArea/linkit.aspx?LinkIdentifier=id&ItemID=463. Current statistics regarding the program are available at www.inccrra.org/greatstart.aspx?id=175.
Washington State Child Care Career and Wage Ladder Pilot Project, Phase 2, Final Evaluation Report (March 2004), by Brenda J. Boyd and Mary R. Wandschneider, Washington State University, provides a summary of the 3-year evaluation of the pilot project. It is available at www.del.wa.gov/publications/research/docs/CareerWageLadder_2004.pdf.
The R.E.W.A.R.D.™ WISCONSIN Stipend Program: Program Year End FY 07 (n.d.) includes information about results from the program. It is available at http://dwd.wisconsin.gov/childcare/teach/pdf/reward_summary2007.pdf.
The following are selected findings:
The Early Care and Education Teaching Workforce at the Fulcrum, An Agenda for Reform (2008), by Sharon Lynn Kagan, Kristie Kauerz, Kate Tarrant, Teachers College Press, explores the demographics of, knowledge base of, and strategies to improve the teaching workforce.
The T.E.A.C.H. Early Childhood & Child Care WAGES Projects, 2005-2006 Annual Program Report (2006), by Child Care Services Association, provides the most current T.E.A.C.H./WAGE$ data. This report is available at www.childcareservices.org/_downloads/TEACH_annual_report_06.pdf.
The Early Childhood Education Career and Wage Ladder: A Model for Improving Quality in Early Learning and Care Programs (July 2004), by Jennifer Moon and John R. Burbank, published by the Economic Opportunity Institute, describes the implementation and evaluation of the Washington State Early Childhood Education Career and Wage Ladder. This report is available at www.econop.org/early_learning/reports/ECELadderModelImprovingQuality-Jul04.pdf.
Supply, Demand and Accountability: Effective Strategies to Enhance the Qualify of Early Learning Experiences Through Workforce Improvement (March 2004), by Richard N. Brandon with Juliet P. Scarpa, University of Washington, includes an extensive analysis of State wage incentive programs. The paper is available at www.hspc.org/publications/pdf/SupplyDemandAccountability.pdf.
Updated August 2008