BESSIE TARTT WILSON INITIATIVE FOR CHILDREN
January 2011

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The Task Force strongly urges Massachusetts and the Department of Early Education and Care to fully develop, within
12 months, a career ladder that requires increased compensation for career growth and both incremental wage increases and annual bonuses for achieving performance benchmarks and obtaining additional education. The implementation of the career ladder should happen shortly after development and should require that there are no decreases in base pay to early educators.
The Task Force strongly supports the creation of an early education endowment fund that provides monetary support for the career ladder, and supplements the market rate for high quality programs.
The Task Force strongly supports the creation of a refundable 15% earned income tax credit for early education providers from Massachusetts within the next 12 months.
Create a loan forgiveness program for early educators that requires a commitment to the field.

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The development of a career ladder by the end of 2011 that requires increased compensation for career growth and both incremental wage increases and annual bonuses for achieving performance benchmarks and obtaining additional education. The implementation of the career ladder should happen shortly after its development and should require that there are no decreases in base pay to early educators.

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 Since September 2010, BTWIC has been assisting the Department of Early
Education and Care in their creation of a career ladder that will encompass centerbased care, family child care, and out-of-school-time care.
 The ladder has been presented to two different focus groups for feedback and has been revised to reflect the suggestions from the field and stakeholders.
 Focus Groups were held in Boston and Worcester with a total of 28 participants.
 Next steps for the career ladder are to present the revised version to the
Commissioner for distribution to the appropriate committees on the EEC Board of
Directors.

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 The career ladder includes:
 descriptions of responsibilities at each level
 required education and experience
 in-service training and continuing education
 Individualized Professional Development Plans (IDPD)
 The career ladder does not include job titles (currently) to ensure it is universal across the three types of care settings.
A career ladder based on Washington state’s model would cost MA $13.4M annually.
These numbers are based on 51% of 11,690 early educators (excluding Preschool and Kindergarten) and 20% of 7,369 family child care providers receiving a 25¢/hour increase for an AA and a 75¢/hour increase for a BA or higher. This estimate also includes a $1,000 annual bonus.
These estimates are based on findings from The Massachusetts Capacity Study (2005) from Wellesley
Centers for Women, Wellesley College on past levels of degree attainment within the field.

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The creation of an early education endowment fund that may provide monetary support for compensation, the career ladder, and supplements the market rate for high quality programs.

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 How will an endowment work?
 An early education fund would best be administered as a statewide “field of interest” fund in collaboration with an existing early education organization and managed by a board of advisors who determine how funds are allocated and invested.
 Funding for the endowment should come from public, private and foundational partners.
 BTWIC’s goal is to gauge the feasibility of an early education endowment fund for Massachusetts and is currently in the Assessment Phase.

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 In January, BTWIC will convene a meeting to introduce the concept of an early education endowment fund move further in our analysis of the feasibility of such a fund.
 The next step will be to establish a Planning Task Force to recommend a structure for the
Early Education Endowment.
 The Task Force would be comprised of decision makers from corporations, non-profit funders, higher education, and early education stakeholders.
 It is possible that this Task Force will develop into the endowment's governing body.
 There are numerous cases of early education endowment funds throughout the country.
The most successful is the Nebraska Sixpence Fund. However, Minnesota offers a strong model as an endowment fund based on research and public/private collaboration.

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The creation of a refundable 15% earned income tax credit for early education providers in the state.

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 The proposed15% tax credit for early educators will be modeled on the state’s existing earned income tax credit.
 The average benefit to each early educator would be $255. Combined with the state’s existing Earned Income Tax Credit, the benefit becomes $510.
Additionally, the average benefit for the federal earned income credit is
$1,700, making the average benefit eligible early educators $2,210.
 It is estimated that the proposed tax credit will cost the state between $3.4-
$3.6M dollars to fund.

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 BTWIC has developed a bill for filing and is currently meeting with legislators to secure a sponsor.
 Legislators have responded favorably to the idea.
 While we move forward with the proposed early educators tax credit, BTWIC will engage the field to file for the existing earned income tax credits.
 BTWIC has partnered with United Way and other tax assistance providers to promote their services.

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 BTWIC is hosting state-wide meetings with early educators to educate them about the EITC and urge them to take advantage.
 BTWIC has contacted 53 centers (with a capacity of at minimum 50 children) in December, and has planned to do info sessions for at least 138 early educators (both center-based and family child care providers) throughout Boston and Central
Mass in January 2011.
 BTWIC ultimately plans to visit multiple locations within the six DEEC regions of the state.
 We estimate we will speak with at least 300 early educators about the Earned Income Tax Credit.
Since September 2010, BTWIC has met with the following groups to discuss the proposed tax credit as well as efforts to support the existing Earned
Income Tax Credit:
• The City of Boston Earned
Income Tax Credit Campaign,
• Action for Boston Community
Development,
• The Massachusetts Association of Day Care Agencies,
• Thrive in 5 Boston,
• United Way of Central Mass,
• The Massachusetts Asset
Building Coalition, and
• Boston Community Partnerships for Children.

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The development of a loan forgiveness program for early educators that requires a commitment to the field.

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 How does loan forgiveness benefit compensation?
 Loan forgiveness programs provide assistance, allowing early educators to use wages to buy food or other necessities.
 Loan Forgiveness programs make is possible for early educators to return to school by keeping their loans in good standing, which is necessary to access the Scholarship Fund in future years.
 Pennsylvania’s “Quality Early Education Loan Forgiveness Program” was active up until June 30, 2008 and provided up to $3,300 per year for up to 3 years.
 Illinois’ Teachers and Child Care Providers Loan Repayment Program provides up to
$5,000 to students who enter the child care profession and serve in low-income
areas.

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 BTWIC has been working with Boston
Equip since October 2010 to study the early education field via focus groups and questionnaires.
 This research will help BTWIC build the case for a loan forgiveness program, allowing us to estimate how many people would take advantage, how much it would cost the state, and how it will improve quality of care for children and compensation for early educators.

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 350 survey respondents to date (December 17, 2010)
 37.4% work at a child care center
 29.1% work at a family child care home
 17.4% work at Head Start
 4% work in a public school
 33.5% of those currently in school have current public and/or private loans.
 52% have taken out student loans at some point.
 64.6% were not aware of the existence of loan forgiveness programs.
 10.8% have had a bad experience with a previous loan forgiveness program.

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Why and where does the corporate world and early education intersect?
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Reliable early education and care enables business to attract and retain employees, and reduces absenteeism to increase productivity.
High-quality early education prepares children to grow into a skilled labor force, benefitting local business and communities within Massachusetts.
Community engagement is more than a buzzword for businesses. It is vital in ensuring a strong, healthy workforce and maintaining employee satisfaction.
The economic viability of Massachusetts is bolstered by a thriving, high-quality early education and care industry.
Investments in early education and care have a high return on investment.
On An Early Education Endowment Fund:
An early education endowment fund offers sustainability to a field the corporate sector relies on to succeed. An investment in an early education endowment fund makes sense.