Kindergarten teacher salaries . This option uses data from the
Bureau of Labor Statistics on kindergarten teacher salaries across the state . Total annual salaries are used , not adjusted to account for the length of the child care year versus the school year . MIT Living Wage Calculator . This option uses workforce demographic data on family compensation to establish the living wage base for the teacher assistant position . Other positions in the model are adjusted to account for additional responsibilities of those staff . Living wage data from MIT is used for
each county and aggregated metropolitan statistical area to create a regional living wage for use in the model .
29 User input , which requires completion of wage data for each position .
For more detail on the components of the model that affect the cost of care , see the full technical report in Appendix E .
According to the Prenatal to 5 Fiscal Strategies report , mandatory benefits are included for all salaried staff as part of the cost estimation model , including FICA-Social Security at 6.2 %, Medicare at 1.45 %, unemployment insurance at 1 % and workers ’ compensation at 2 %. By default , 10 days paid sick leave and 10 days paid leave is included for all staff . This is captured as an expense by including the cost to pay a substitute teacher to provide classroom coverage .
Discretionary benefits can be included at either $ 6,000 or $ 9,000 per employee per year . This might be used as a contribution to health insurance or for a suite of discretionary benefits . Data from the
Kaiser Family Foundation finds that the average annual single premium employer contribution to health insurance in Washington is $ 6,305 . A contribution to retirement can also be modified by the user , based on a percentage of an employee ’ s salary . By default , the model includes a 6 % contribution .
30
1 ) Program size : The default program sizes used in this section of the report are based on analysis of data from the child care provider survey and input from the ad hoc provider workgroup .
2 ) Benefits : The default scenario includes $ 6,000 per employee in discretionary benefits and a 6 % contribution to health insurance , as well as 10 days paid sick leave and 10 days paid vacation . All results are shown as an annual cost per child for each of the seven regions and as a statewide average . 31
29
Family composition of teacher assistants was not available in Washington , so the study team used data recently collected in the California ECE Workforce Study as a proxy .
30 Jeanna Capito and Simon Workman , Understanding the True Cost of Child Care in Washington State : A cost estimation model to
inform policy change , Prenatal to Five Fiscal Strategies , 2022 .
31 Ibid .
2022 COST OF QUALITY CHILD CARE LEGISLATIVE REPORT 19