Financing Child Care in the United States - Ewing Marion Kauffman ...

POPULATION SERVED
All accredited child care centers and homes are eligible
for the one–time accreditation bonus. Accreditation must
be awarded by the National Association for the Education
of Young Children or the National Family Child Care
Association. Centers and homes that serve subsidized
children are eligible for the subsidy bonus. (Homes may
substitute a Child Development Associate credential for
accreditation.) The credential bonus will target
practitioners who attain a CDA credential or early
childhood degree (including a B.A./B.S. or M.A./M.S.),
have a professional development plan and are employed
in a home– or center–based early childhood program.
STRATEGIC CONSIDERATIONS
• The subsidy bonus had almost no impact at the 5
percent level, but when it was raised to 15 percent,
providers began to take notice. While the percentage
of accredited centers and homes has increased
significantly, the overall numbers are still low. At
present, approximately 40 child care centers (out of
500 licensed centers statewide) and 28 family child
care homes (out of 1,450 statewide) receive the
subsidy bonus.
• Using accreditation and the CDA credential as the
quality measures makes it relatively easy and
cost–effective to administer the program. Some
providers are concerned, however, that the initiative
assumes that accreditation and/or a CDA credential
are the only measures of quality. They believe that the
initiative should be broadened to include other
measures of program and provider quality. Vermont is
currently exploring other means of doing so.
• The need to improve quality is not limited to programs
that serve subsidized children. All families need
high–quality care and all child care programs have
difficulty generating the funds they need to maintain
high–quality standards. The one–time bonus of $1,000
is seen as a nice gesture, but one that does not
address the need for an ongoing source of revenue to
meet the cost of maintaining a high–quality program.
To this end, Vermont is currently looking at model wage
and benefit compensation initiatives in other states.
• The effectiveness of subsidy bonuses and “tiered”
reimbursement rates is limited when the base
reimbursement rate is too low. Vermont recently raised
its base rate by 13 percent and hopes to implement
another 13 percent increase in 2001.
• In addition to the bonus program, Vermont has other
programs to assist providers in attaining standards and
degrees. For example, Vermont allows child care
centers and homes to apply for mini–grants to help
cover the cost of accreditation fees as well as
necessary training, supplies and equipment. The Child
Care Services Division supports an interactive
television Child Development Associate program that
allows participants to obtain college credit for course
work linked to serving children with special needs.
• Some help in pursuing accreditation is also available
from the private sector. The Vermont Association for
the Education of Young Children (VAEYC) has
obtained a grant from the Child Care Fund of Vermont
to assist child care providers with some of the costs
related to obtaining accreditation and provides peer
assistance in completing the self–study and validation
process.
OTHER SITES WITH SIMILAR STRATEGIES
Fifteen other states pay more for higher quality care
(Florida, Kentucky, Michigan, Minnesota, Missouri,
Nebraska, New Jersey, North Carolina, Ohio, Oklahoma,
South Carolina, Utah, West Virginia, Wisconsin, and some
counties in Colorado.) However, most of these states
do so as a “tiered” reimbursement rate, rather than a
subsidy bonus. Several states have compensation
initiatives that include bonuses for staff who attain a
credential or degree.
CONTACT
Kim Keiser
Director, Child Care Services Division
Vermont Department of Social and Rehabilitation
Services
Agency for Human Services
103 South Main Street, 2–North
Waterbury VT 05671
Phone (802) 241 3110
Fax (802) 241 1220
E–mail Kkeiser@srs.state.vt.us
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