Early care and education(ECE)/early childhood development is a critical issue facing Wisconsin – not only from a long-term education and workforce readiness standpoint, but also from the standpoints of workforce recruitment and retention, and the overall economic well-being of the state. Consider for instance that Wisconsin loses $4.2-$6.4 Billion per year from the loss of workforce participation alone due to the lack of available early childhood education seats in our state (approx. 117,000 seats short of demand.)
Unfortunately, there isn’t one specific cause of the challenges facing the ECE industry in Wisconsin, or across the country. Talk to individuals who have been in the industry for years, or businesses who are trying to implement in-house solutions for their current employees and they will tell you that…
● Parents are staying out of the workforce due to the financial impact of ECE
o A majority of families in Wisconsin can’t afford the costs associated with ECE. If families in Wisconsin can find available ECE seats in their local communities, they are still spending 20% of their income on ONE child. These families are choosing to stay at home and out of the workforce due to these financial pressures.
● There simply isn’t an ECE Workforce…especially in rural communities
o The ECE workforce in Wisconsin is almost non-existent due to a lack of individuals moving into the ECE workforce pipeline and the fact that the average pay for ECE workers is $11-$14/hr. At this wage rate, it is better to find employment at Kwik Trip or a pizza delivery job – and there is a lot less stress in those jobs.
● The funding model for ECE is a significant barrier to current and future ECE operations
o While k-12 education is largely funded through state dollars, ECE operations do not receive the same level of public per pupil funding. Tied to the two bullets above, the lack of adequate per child funding for ECE results in a lack of necessary seats to meet demand, childcare deserts (only one slot for every 3 children under the age of 5), businesses that can’t find workers, and significant economic losses for Wisconsin.
● Regulatory and policy issues present a barrier for current ECE operations around the state, and also present a barrier to innovative ideas that may provide immediate relief
o ECE is a heavily regulated industry – probably more heavily regulated than the k-12 system. The costs associated with these barriers translate into razor thin margins for ECE operators and limit the ability of operators to attract a high quality workforce to engage life-long learners. They also inhibit ‘out-of-the-box thinking’ that may help address key issues facing the industry, our businesses and our state.
On top of these issues raised by business, economic and education leaders across Wisconsin, we also face the reality that the private sector, the public sector and the education system (k-12 & Higher Ed), have been slow to understand, emphasize and prioritize the importance of ECE in Wisconsin. The same can be said about the public’s understanding of the value of ECE and its positive economic impact on our state.
Wisconsin Education Business Roundtable Blue Sky Commission
High-level thought leaders around the state need to be more actively engaged in the issues facing ECE and identifying short-term and long-term solutions that will not only begin to address the challenges facing ECE in Wisconsin, but also the critical workforce recruitment and retention issues facing our state.
WEBR is in the process of engaging a statewide group of ‘positively-disruptive’ thought leaders from all sectors to engage in an 8-10 month exercise to identify opportunities – both local and statewide – to address one or two of the key ECE issues identified above (PLEASE NOTE: If the group decides they would like to focus on more than two issues, the length of time and the amount of engagement will increase). It is important to bring multiple perspectives to the challenges in order to identify multiple opportunities for solutions. WEBR will be engaging leaders in each of the state’s 9 economic development regions.
The work of this group will focus on local, statewide and national efforts that have made an impact on ECE, but also distinctive approaches that each industry has brought to other challenges that could be applied to the ECE challenges. The work will involve monthly in-person and virtual/zoom meetings geared toward identification of specific and unique action items that can be implemented in the next 24 months to address the most pressing issues facing the Early Care & Education industry in Wisconsin which are also placing greater pressure on Wisconsin to address its critical workforce challenge.
