Made on 9-16-16

Updated on 9-20-16

WOW Facts Early Care and Education

Montgomery Moving Forward
1. The first five years of a childs life can positively or negatively affect the costs
on society, depending on the support they receive (Rolnick, 2013).
If a childs life from birth to age 5 includes support for growth in language,
motor skills, adaptive abilities, and social-emotional functioning, the child is
more likely to succeed in school and to later contribute to society. Without the
support during those early years, the child is more likely to drop out of school,
depend on welfare benefits, and commit crime- thus imposing significant costs
on society.
2. By age 3, a childs brain has reached about 85% of its adult weight (Business
Case for Early Childhood Investments, 2014).
3. The learning gap between advantaged and disadvantaged children shows up
as early as 9 months of age. Disadvantaged children can start kindergarten as
much as 18 months behind their peers. Many of these children never catch up,
and are at an increased risk of dropping out of high school. (Business Case for
Early Childhood Investments, 2014).
4. The majority of fourth or eighth graders are not proficient in both math and
reading in any state (Business Case for Early Childhood Investments, 2014).
5. The return on early childhood development programs that focus on at-risk
families far exceeds the return on other projects that are geared towards
economic development. (Rolnick, 2013).
Several longitudinal studies like that of the cost-benefit analysis of the Perry
School Program, the Abecedarian Project, the Chicago Child-Parent Centers and
the Elmira Prenatal/Early Infancy Project showed returns ranging from $3 to
$17 for every dollar invested. This implies an annual rate of return, adjusted for
inflation, of between 7 percent and 19 percent.
6. Research clearly demonstrates that the greatest predictor of student
achievement is socio-economic background. The most vulnerable members of
society will be a majority of the workforce (Bonner-Tompkins, 2014).
According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, the civilian labor force will increase
by 40 million between 2012 and 2050 (from 155 million to 190 million). The
White civilian labor force of workers will shrink and all of the increase in the
workforce will be driven by increase in workers of color with Black and Latino
workers accounting for 80% of all new workers.

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7. The future of the local and national economy are at risk if Black, Latino, and
low-income students continue to demonstrate lower levels of academic
performances and educational attainment than their White, Asian, and more
affluent peers (Bonner-Tompkins, 2014).
a. Only 25% of young people ages 17 to 24 would qualify to serve in the
U.S military. The rest could not meet the physical, behavioral, or
educational standards for service- standards similar to those
employers use.
8. The data of the 2014-15 Marylands Ready for Kindergarten early childhood
comprehensive assessment system aligned with the states Pre-K to 12 College
and Career Ready standards and 2013 U.S Census data of Montgomery County
revealed that 49% of the Countys children compared to 45% statewide
entered Kindergarten were ready to learn while 34% had approaching skills and
17% had emerging skills needing targeted or specialized assistance (Ahluwalia,
n.d.).
Research indicates that the skills and knowledge children have upon entering
school are strongly predictive of future academic performance. Only 28% of
Hispanic children demonstrate kindergarten readiness 21 points behind their
county peers. African American kindergarteners are within 9 points of their
peers at 40% to the countywide percentages of 49%.
9. 70% of DLL or ESOL students are also U.S citizens (Bonner-Tompkins, 2014).
-Montgomery County
DLL (Dual Language Learners) or ESOL (English for Speakers of Other
Languages) enrollment in also increasing from 10,000 students in 2000 to
20,000 students in 2013. Sixty-four percent of ESOL students are Latinos.
10.Over 30% of Montgomery County children under the age of six live below
300% of the federal poverty level and more than 6,000 are living below the
federal poverty level (Ahluwalia, n.d.). (add numbers 30% = ? and what % is
6,000)
The estimated current median family income as of 2012 ACS survey in
Montgomery County is $134,487. Single parent households make a little less
than half of the median two parent earning household incomes. The selfsufficiency wage for a family of four is about $82,877.
An estimated 28,075 out of 75,496 Montgomery County children under the
age of 6 years are living at or below 300% of the Federal Poverty Level (FPL).
Based on a 300% FPL income standard, roughly 37% of the under 6
population would qualify for services. More than 6,000 out of 75,496 (8.57%)
Montgomery County children are living below the Federal Poverty Level
Montgomery County's median family income as of 2012 is $ 116,846. As of
2012 the self-sufficiency standard of one adult and one preschooler is
$62,606. One adult, one preschooler, and one school-aged is $77,933. Two

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adults, one preschooler and one school age is $84,877. For 2012, the federal
poverty level for Maryland was $15,130 for a household of 2 people, $19,090
for a household of 3 people, and $23,050 for a household of 4 people.
(Demographics Report: Families and Children Birth to Six Montgomery County,
Maryland, 2014)

11.There is a big shift in MCPSs demographics. It is best reflected in the beginning

and ending grades. Among K-2 students, Latinos comprise 31% of MCPS
enrollment and Whites 30%. Among Grades 10-12 students, Whites comprise
34% MCPS enrollment and Latinos 25% (Bonner-Tompkins, 2014).
12.The first five years of life are the most critical in the development of a childs
brain, and there are economic advantages to investing in early childhood
development for disadvantaged children, according to research by James
Heckman, winner of the Nobel Memorial Prize in Economic Sciences (Gurchiek,
2016).
13.The pending retirement of 77 million Baby Boomers have placed tremendous
workforce pressures on American business (Rocha, Watson, Yalow, & Rees,
2010).
14.JetBlue launched Soar with Reading in 2011, and between 2011 and 2013
donated $500,000 worth of books to best-selling author Mary Pope Osbornes
Classroom Adventures program, which targets underserved children in the U.S.
In 2015, it partnered with Random House Childrens Books to provide free book
vending machines in three locationsa church, a grocery store and a branch of
the Salvation Armyin southeastern Washington, D.C. (Rocha, Watson,
Yalow, & Rees, 2010).
15.Research on the rates of return to human capital investment at different ages
clearly shows that the earlier the intervention occurs, the greater its payoff.
Investments made from birth to age five yield the highest return. The later the

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investments are made, the lower the return on investment (Rocha, Watson,
Yalow, & Rees, 2010).
16.High-quality pre-kindergarten education,
especially for disadvantaged children, has
been shown to:
a. Decrease special education placement
by 49% and reduce grade retention by
50%;
b. Decrease child abuse and neglect by
51% and juvenile arrests by 33%;
c. Increase high school graduation by
31% and college attendance by more
than 80%; and
d. Increase employment by 23% (Business Case for Early Childhood
Investments, 2014).
17.A per-child investment of just $6,692 in quality pre-k for disadvantaged
children yielded a lifetime societal return of up to $67,937an ROI of greater
than 10:1 (Business Case for Early Childhood Investments, 2014).
18.At-risk children who participated in one high-quality, voluntary nurse home
visiting (parent mentoring) program were 42% more likely to graduate from
high school than their peers who did not receive services (Business Case for
Early Childhood Investments, 2014).
19. The majority of Early Care [in MC?] is from Family Care providers (Child Care
Demographics 2016, 2016). Montgomery County

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20.Child care
programs and especially
family child
care programs serve the
infants and
toddlers in the County, and
they are crucial
to the early learning and
development
experiences of young
children. Low income parents tend to take advantage of this type of care
option and it is inevitable to support the family based child care providers to
improve quality and achievement of standards and benchmarks (Ahluwalia,
n.d.).
21.Researchers estimate that 60% of children aged five and under and not yet in
kindergarten in the United States are in at least one weekly non-parental care
arrangement, of which 56% receive care in a center, 42% receive care from a
relative, and 24% receive care in a private home from a non-relative
(Carrizosa, 2015).
22.Families with low incomes or with limited English proficiency often face
additional challenges in accessing appropriate child care (Carrizosa, 2015).
33,415 children under twelve years old were in families with incomes under
185% of the federal poverty level ($44,863 for a family of four), which is the
income limit to receive Free and Reduced Price Meals (FARMS) in school.
23.Low-income parents often work nontraditional schedules, the table displays
the number of providers offering evening, overnight or weekend care
(Carrizosa, 2015).

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24.Only a small portion of eligible families use subsidies, with estimates ranging
from 7% to 34%. (Carrizosa, 2015).
25.The majority of families with young children in the County must spend
significant portions of their incomes for regulated child care, particularly if the
family has two children in full-time care. Single parents in particular face
extremely high child care costs relative to their incomes (Carrizosa, 2015).
Median child care center costs ($30,004) constitute about 21% of the median
income for a married couple ($137,000) and 50% of the median income for a
single female householder ($58,000). A family with one infant and one
preschooler would need a minimum income of approximately $300,000 in
order for median child care center costs to not exceed 10% of income and an
income of $160,000 in order for child care center costs not to exceed 20% of
income (Carrizosa, 2015).
26. The latest Census Bureau data found that 10 percent of preschoolers in a
2011 survey of employed mothers fell into the "self-care" category, meaning
the only supervision they received was at school (Paquette, 2016). (Laughlin,
2013) https://www.census.gov/prod/2013pubs/p70-135.pdf pg. 9
27. # of children under 5 in MC and their
their demographics (especially low SES and Limited English Proficiency.
In 2013 there were 65,617 children under 5 years old in Montgomery County.
Demographics:
(Demographics Report: Families and Children Birth to Six Montgomery
County, Maryland, 2014)

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28. Data (DHHS report from April/May) on affordability of child care in MC.
% of a family's Income Spent on Child Care? What income does a family have
to have to support 2 children in child care?
Median child care center costs ($30,004) constitute about 21% of the median
income for a married couple ($137,000) and 50% of the median income for a
single female householder ($58,000).
A family with one infant and one preschooler would need a minimum income
of approximately $300,000 in order for median child care center costs to not
exceed 10% of income and an income of $160,000 in order for child care
center costs not to exceed 20% of income (Carrizosa, 2015).
29. Info on current capacity of child care/early education/preschool in MC
School readiness #/% of children not ready for K from:
http://earlychildhood.marylandpublicschools.org/prekgrade2/marylandearly
learningframework/ready4 kindergarten/201516kindergartenreadiness
http://earlychildhood.marylandpublicschools.org/kra -> I think its this one:
http://earlychildhood.marylandpublicschools.org/system/files/filedepot/13/part
ners_spring_2016.pdf 10,881 (18%) children lack most of the foundational
skills and behaviors to prepare them for kindergarten. (Maryland State
Department of Education -Division of Early Childhood Development, 2016)
30. Statistics that show low wages of early care and education workers
Nationally, in 2015 child care workers had the lowest wages of all
early childhood education practitioners, earning an annual median
income of $20,32030% less than Head Start teachers and more
than 60% less than kindergarten teachers.
--U.S. Department of Education and Health and Human Services
http://www.clasp.org/issues/child-care-and-early-education/in-focus/federalreport-child-care-workers-in-32-states-earn-wages-below-poverty-levelandsignificantly-less-than-head-start-preschool-and-kindergarten-teachers

According to a 2016 report by researchers at the University of

California at Berkeley, nearly half of childcare workers receive some
kind of government assistance (food stamps, welfare payments or
Medicaid) and their median hourly wage is $9.77about $3/hour
below the average janitor. In addition, the average annual turnover
rate among early childhood education staff is around 30%.

https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/wonk/wp/2016/07/11/the-people-takingcare-of-our-kids-live-in-poverty/

According to new research by The Century Foundation (TCF),

childcare workers averaged about $10.70/hour last year (2015)less
than a fast food workers hourly pay. (Article Inequality is Even
Seeping Into Preschool Classrooms by Michelle Chen in The Nation)

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https://www.thenation.com/article/inequality-is-even-seeping-into-pre-schoolclassrooms/

According to the Center for the Study of Childcare Employment at

the University of California-Berkley, even at highly rated programs,
nearly 40% of teachers surveyed worried about not having adequate
food.

http://cscce.berkeley.edu/files/2016/Early-Childhood-Workforce-Index-2016.pdf

From the TCF studyLow pay and the stress of economic instability
can have a negative influence on a teachers performance.

http://cscce.berkeley.edu/files/2016/Early-Childhood-Workforce-Index-2016.pdf

From the Center for the Study of Child Care EmploymentLow

wages dissuade early educators from pursuing a higher degree
because the cost of higher education is not worth the low wages
they will receive even after completing the degree.

Preschool teachers are paid less than mail order clerks, tree
trimmers and pest control workers and child care workers make less
than hairdressers and janitors. (From the U.S. Department of
Education Fact Sheet (6/14/16)

http://www.ed.gov/news/press-releases/fact-sheet-troubling-pay-gap-earlychildhood-teachers

The national median annual wage for preschool teachers is

$28,570, only 55% of the wages earned by kindergarten
teachers ,$51,640. (From the U.S. Department of Education
Fact Sheet (6/14/16)
Early learning caregivers and teachers with a Bachelors
Degree earn nearly half the earnings of individuals with a
Bachelors Degree overall.
According to the Maryland Department of Labor, in the
Montgomery County Workforce Region childcare workers
have an entry wage of $19,841 and a mean wage of $29,318.
In Maryland the median wage of:
o Child care workers= $22,120
o Head Start teachers=$34,074
o Preschool teachers=$27,980
o Kindergarten teachers=$55,900
o Elementary School Teachers=$61,620

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1. Economic imperative ROI of investing in early childhood
Costs of not investing (DHHS Report cost of repeating a grade, etc)
2. Statistics that show how an investment in EC&E yield the worker pipeline of tom
orrow?
Statistics that demonstrate Absenteeism in the workplace tied to families lack o
f childcare and employee productivity?
Nearly half (48%) of infants and toddlers live in families who are poor or
near poor. An alarming number of todays babiestomorrows workforce
are spending their early years in distressed economic circumstances,
impacting their health, their families, and their opportunities for learning.
--Matthew Melmed, Executive Director of Zero to Three
From the Economic Policy Institute report Its time for an ambitious national
investment in Americas children by Josh Bivens, Emma Garcia, Elise Gould, Elaine
Weiss, and Valerie Wilson:
A prime impediment to a career for families with young children is a lack of high
quality childcare possibilities. And its an unfortunate fact of culture, history, and
past policy decisions that this curtails womens labor force opportunities to a much
greater degree than mens. The benefits of boosting womens labor force
participation through the provision of more and better childcare access and
affordability are potentially enormous. Women are, of course, half of the potential
workforce, and each 1 percent boost in the overall workforce increases total
national income by 1 percent, or roughly $180 billion.

3. Facts/Quotes re Early Childhood Education and Care From Ready Nation:

Results from three rigorously studied early learning programs in which atrisk c
hildren
participated in the programs were followed into adulthood, demonstrate the sig
nificant
outcomes of these quality programs. Children who participate in these programs
can: Increase premath skills by as much as 21% Increase prereading skills by as much as 52%74% for lowincome children
Cut special education placements by as much as 43%
Increase graduation rates by as much as 44% and
Increase median earnings by as much as 36%.
From Child Trends 9/23/16:

Half of the early childhood workforce are home based care providers.
The average early childhood teacher or caregiver has 10-14 years experience
according to the National Survey of Early Care and Education.
The average center-based teacher works 39 hours/week and the average
home-based caregiver works nearly 54 hours/week.

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As of 2012, only 45% of center-based preschool teachers, 19% of centerbased infant-toddler teachers and 16% of home-based providers had earned
bachelors degrees.

From U.S. Department of Education Fact Sheet (6/14/16):

97% of early education teachers are women.
From the Institute for Womens Policy Research:
Student parents make up 26% of community college students and many
have young children, but the child care available only meets a tiny fraction
of the need.
From the National Institute for Early Education Research (Steven Barnett,
Director):
At the current rate it will be another 50 years before states can reach all
low income children at age 4 and it will take 150 years to reach 75% of all
4 year olds. (RATIONALE TO SPEED UP THE PROCESS)
From Business Roundtables Early Childhood Education: A Call to Action
from the Business Community:
Estimates on the return on investment of high quality programs for low income
children range from$4 to $7 for every $1 spent. However, the research is clear: the
return on investment is linked to quality; simply increasing participation without
increasing program quality will not produce positive results.
The National Institute of Child Health and Human Development has stated that the
majority of Americas day-care programs are fair or poor; just 10 percent offer
high quality care.
According to a 2013 report by Child Care Aware America, a national organization of
child care resource and referral agencies, the annual cost of day care for an infant
exceeds the average cost of in-state tuition and fees at public colleges in 31 states,
including Maryland.
Typically, about 40-60% of children are considered not ready for kindergarten, with
children of color and children living in poverty having significantly lower readiness
rates. And school readiness challenges are greatest for children with disabilities,
children who experience ongoing stress, such as living in poverty or with abuse.
From the School Readiness Playbook: A Guide for Community Partners by Dana E.
Friedman, EdD and Nina Sazer ODonnell, MEd

From the Annie E. Casey Foundations report, Creating Opportunity for Families: A TwoGeneration Approach:
Working parents regularly struggle to find the safest, most convenient and
enriching child care, preschool or babysitter. Choices for low-income families are
automatically limited by cost and erratic job schedules, as few childcare centers
accommodate last-minute changes or evening and weekend hours. Although some
do find safe and stable care, the affordable, flexible options in low-income
communities often fall below standards of quality, to the detriment of their

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childrens development. The ramifications are stark when children start elementary
school. Less than half of kids from low-income families are ready for kindergarten,
compared to 75% of those from moderate or high-income families. In later years,
they continue to lag behind their peers academically and developmentally.
From the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation:

The United States ranks 25th out of 29 among industrialized nations

in early childhood education investments.
Only 15 states currently require students to attend kindergarten.
About 25% of children attend kindergarten for only half a day.
Fewer than half of children eligible for Head Start are able to access
it, and fewer than 4% of at-risk children under age 3 receive Early
Head Start services.
In 2013-2014, only 29% of Americas 4 year olds were enrolled in a
state-funded preschool program.
Childhood development programs are estimated to save between
$2.88 and $17.07 per dollar spent, depending on the program and
length of follow-up.
Contemporary research shows the benefits of a more holistic or
whole child approach that addresses childrens social, behavioral,
physical and emotional health as well as their academic potential.

Universal need--Middle Class as well as low income:

From Institute for a Competive Workforce document Why Business Should Support
Early Childhood Education:
http://www.smartbeginnings.org/Portals/5/PDFs/Research/ICW_EarlyChildhoodReport
_2010.pdf

Middle income children also experience educational challengesduring the

2005-6 school year more than half of all drop outs were from middle income
families and 10% of all middle income children aged 16-19 had repeated a
grade at least once. Also, middle income families are being squeezed by the
cost of early education and carethe average family of four with two
children spends 29% of its monthly income on it.
Nationally families pay 60% of early care and learning costs for children
under 5; local, state, and federal governments pay 39% of the costs and the
private sector (businesses and philanthropy) pay 1%.
Eight states (Florida, Georgia, Illinois, Iowa, Louisiana, Oklahoma, New York,
West Virginia) plus Washington, DC have committed to pre-K for all children.
Some of the states dont have full funding in place yet and are starting out
by targeting at-risk children first. 32 states offer pre-K only to at risk children
(i.e., low parental income, homeless, language barriers) and ten states do
not provide any state funding for pre-K.

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According to the Montgomery County Early Care and Education Policy Office, there
are 12 employer-sponsored child care centers in Montgomery County with a total
capacity of 1,225.
From the OLO 2016 Report on Child Care in Montgomery County:

The total capacity for child care slots for children age 0-5 in the County is
27,588 and there are 2.31 children age 0-5 for every slot so there are no slots
for more than half the children in the County.
For the state sponsored child care subsidy program for children aged 0-11
under 125% of the federal poverty level, there are 1375 slots with 13.7
eligible children for every slot.
For the Countys subsidized Working Parents Program for children aged 0-11
between 125% and 200% of the federal poverty level, there are only 407
slots and 44.1 eligible children for every slot.

References
Maryland State Department of Education -Division of Early Childhood Development.
(2016). 2015-16 Kindergarten Readiness Assessment (KRA) Report is Released.
Retrieved from
http://earlychildhood.marylandpublicschools.org/system/files/filedepot/13/partners_s
pring_2016.pdf
Ahluwalia, U. (n.d.). Early Childhood Educations Services
Bonner-Tompkins, E. (2014, December 9). OLO Memorandum Report 2015-4 Ready
for Tomorrow Education and Workforce Summit Proceedings. Retrieved September
16, 2016, from
https://www.montgomerycountymd.gov/OLO/Resources/Files/OLOMemorandumRepo
rt2015-4.pdf
Business Case for Early Childhood Investments. (2014). Retrieved September 12,
2016, from http://readynation.s3.amazonaws.com/wp-content/uploads/ReadyNationBusiness-Brief-Endnotes-2.pdf
Carrizosa, N. (2015, December 8). Child care in Montgomery County. Retrieved
September 6, 2016, from
http://www.montgomerycountymd.gov/OLO/Resources/Files/2015_Reports/Report20
16-3ChildCare.pdf
Child Care Demographics 2016. (2016). Retrieved September 16, 2016, from
http://www.marylandfamilynetwork.org/wp-content/uploads/2015/01/Montgomery1.pdf

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Demographics Report: Families and Children Birth to Six Montgomery County,
Maryland. (2014, December). Retrieved September 20, 2016, from
https://www.montgomerycountymd.gov/HHS-Program/Resources/Files/CYF
%20Docs/ECAC/DemographicReport12-14.pdf
Gurchiek, K. (2016, May 18). Business Investment in Early Childhood Education =
Future Skilled Workforce. Retrieved September 16, 2016, from
https://www.shrm.org/hr-today/news/hr-news/pages/business-investment-in-earlychildhood-education.aspx
Laughlin, L. (2013). Whos Minding the Kids? Child Care Arrangements: Spring 2011
(p. 9). United States Census Bureau. Retrieved from
https://www.census.gov/prod/2013pubs/p70-135.pdf
Paquette, D. (2016, September 15). What Clintons and Trumps child-care plans
mean for parents. Retrieved September 16, 2016, from
https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/wonk/wp/2016/09/15/what-clintons-andtrumps-child-care-plans-mean-for-parents/
Rocha, E., Watson, S., Yalow, E., & Rees, N. (2010). Why Business Should Support
Early Childhood Education. Retrieved September 16, 2016, from
https://www.azftf.gov/Why/Evidence/Documents/ICW_EarlyChildhoodReport_2010.pd
f
Rolnick, A. (2013, June). Real Economic Development: Early Childhood Intervention
on a Large Scale. Retrieved September 9, 2016, from
http://www.mayorsinnovation.org/images/uploads/pdf/1_-_Rolnick_Testimony.pdf