The True Cost of Quality Child Care in Washington A report by the Washington Child Care Collaborative Task Force | Page 18

parents currently billed private-pay tuition rates , the cost of child care is already a disproportionate burden : A family in Washington currently spends about 35.5 % of its income to send two children to child care — well beyond the federal standard of affordability of 7 % of income for a comparable family . 26 The task force recommends further analysis to identify effective mechanisms to raise wages for all child care workers , to be implemented in parallel to the subsidy rate increase . See recommendations number 2 and number 3 , below .

Recommendation 2 : Distribute significant relief payments to licensed child care programs serving children from birth through age 12 and to individual members of the child care workforce .

Relief payments should be available in FY 2023 through FY 2025 , or until implementation of a wage supplement system for the entire child care workforce occurs ( see Recommendation 3 ).
Stabilization grants were a temporary fix applied to a long-term structural issue . Washington must act now to address this funding disparity . In Washington , stabilization grants funded through American Rescue Plan Act ( ARPA ) kept many businesses afloat during the pandemic . 27 Before stabilization grants , DCYF provided three rounds of COVID-19 grants using stimulus funds . DCYF also used stimulus funds to expand eligibility for child care subsidies , reduce subsidy co-pays and increase subsidy base rates . All stimulus funds are now either spent or dedicated to initiatives underway .
The task force recognizes what P5FS notes : That the pandemic affected all parts of the system , not just publicly funded programs , and that child care plays a vital role in the economy . Washington can build upon the approaches used in other states to supplement provider wages . States such as Alabama used ARPA funds to pay child care staff up to $ 3,000 in quarterly bonus payments , and the District of Columbia recently announced a plan for short-term direct payments of $ 10,000 to $ 14,000 until a long-term payment mechanism can be identified and implemented . Policymakers should also consider strategies for retaining Early Achievers coaches , who are a fundamental part of Washington ’ s quality system .

Recommendation 3 : Recommend and develop implementation plans for delivering publicly funded wage supplements and benefits to the child care workforce in conjunction with the transition to the cost of quality care rate setting model .

In the 2023-25 biennial budget , the Legislature should provide funding for the DCYF to develop recommendations and implementation plans to deliver wage supplements and benefits to the child care workforce , all in partnership with providers , parents , and stakeholders . By Dec . 1 , 2023 , DCYF should submit an interim progress report to the Office of the Governor and the Legislature . By Sept . 1 , 2024 , DCYF should submit recommendations and implementation plans to the Office of the Governor and the Legislature .
As noted in recommendation 1 , it is possible that significantly raising subsidy rates to cover the cost of quality care without simultaneously increasing wages for all child care workers will put pressure on private-pay providers to increase their rates , thus making care even less affordable for private-pay families . Raising subsidy rates alone could also disrupt the private market by causing providers who do not currently accept subsidies to lose staff to programs who can offer higher subsidized wages . To avoid these potential
26
Economic Policy Institute . Child Care Costs in the U . S ., Washington
27 Julie Kashen and Rasheed Malik , “ More than Three Million Child Care Spots Saved by American Rescue Plan Funding ,” The Century Foundation , March 9 , 2022 .
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