Executive Summary Pennsylvania’s comprehensive early care and education system spans a child’s formative years, from birth-to-age-5. This system provides an opportunity to ensure every child in the commonwealth begins their life positively. Pennsylvania Partnerships for Children, a partner of Early Learning PA (ELPA), advocates for access to voluntary, high-quality early care and education and healthy development opportunities for every child in Pennsylvania. Two issue- focused advocacy campaigns within the ELPA coalition, Start Strong PA and Pre-K for PA, seek to increase access to high-quality, affordable child care and high-quality pre-k programs. 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.
Key Findings 1. 68% of young children in Pennsylvania have all available caregivers in the workforce and require external care arrangements. 2. P ennsylvania loses approximately $6.6 billion annually when families cannot access reliable, consistent child care options. 3. On average, costs for infant child care 4. In Pennsylvania, the average hourly wage of a child care worker is less than $12.50/hour, which is less than $26,000 annually. 5. T he average salary for pre-k teachers in Pennsylvania is $33,120 compared to $68,170 for kindergarten teachers. 6. O nly 21% of eligible children under 3 are served by Child Care Works, leaving over 83,000 eligible infants and toddlers unserved. 7. Only 46% of all child care capacity in Pennsylvania meets high-quality standards, and only 35% of providers serving children under 5 in subsidized child care have achieved high-quality. comprise approximately 17.5% of the Pennsylvania median family income. 8. Only 43% of eligible 3- and 4-year-olds in the state participate in high-quality, publicly funded pre-k, leaving over 87,000 without access to a high-quality program. 9. Only 23% of all children served in Pre-K Counts and Head Start Supplemental Assistance Programs in Pennsylvania are Non-Hispanic Black, compared to 41% of children identifying as Non-Hispanic White. 10. C hild care programs comprise the largest share, 46%, of Pre-K Counts providers in the state. 11. P ennsylvania ranks 14th in per capita spending compared to 26 other states with similar quality ratings for pre-k programs. 12. 9 6% of kindergarten teachers agree students
who attend high-quality pre-k programs are ready for success when they enter kindergarten.
August 2023
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