Happy Groundhog Day! Unfortunately, just like Bill Murray’s day in the movie, things seem to be repeating themselves. Child care workers continue to be at the bottom of the wage scale of the civilian workforce, earning barely more than fast food cooks, according to data from the Bureau of Labor Statistics.
A Child Trends Report provides details on the recently passed Child Care and Development Block Grant bill, described as “a watershed moment in the history of the child care program” that “will have far-reaching implications for the over 1.4 million children served by the Child Care and Development (CCDF) program as well as the children cared for alongside them.” But the report also explores the nagging problem of lack of adequate pay for the early childhood workforce that remains frustratingly immovable.