News

The deadline has been extended to November 9, 2018 for the Request for Proposal, Child Care Funding and Finance in Pennsylvania: The True Cost of Quality Part II.

The Berks County Intermediate Unit (BCIU), in coordination with the Office of Child Development and Early Learning (OCDEL) and the Pennsylvania Early Learning Investment Commission (PAELIC), released the RFP for submission of proposals to investigate the cost of providing high-quality early care and education across Pennsylvania.

Part I Conclusions

Part I of this project, CHILD CARE FUNDING & FINANCE IN PENNSYLVANIA: Budgeting for Survival or Paying for the True Cost of Quality? conducted by Research for Action found that:

• Infant and toddler care is more expensive than pre-K or school-age care.
• Current revenue streams and reimbursement rates are inadequate to cover the cost of infant and toddler care and, as a result, child care providers opt to serve more preschoolers and fewer infants and toddlers.
• Low compensation in child care programs leads to significant staff turnover and hiring of less-qualified staff.

Part II Overview

Knowing that the cost of infant and toddler child care is high, and the current public financing system is inadequate to cover the costs of quality in Pennsylvania, particularly teachers’ wages, leading to turnover and a less qualified workforce, Part II of this study aims to answer the question ‘What does it cost to support high-quality child care across Pennsylvania?’

Part II will build upon the previous work conducted in Part I, using a more robust data set to estimate the true cost of high-quality child care, as compared to child care that meets only regulatory standards, and how those costs vary across regions in the commonwealth.

The findings from Part II will inform the evolution of Pennsylvania’s child care financing and quality systems to enable the greatest access to high-quality child care for the most at-risk children.

Deadline

The Request for Proposal represents the requirements for an open and competitive process. Proposals will be accepted until 5 pm EST, Friday, November 9, 2018.

See the RFP for more information, including proposal guidelines, project description, project timeline and more.

Information provided by PA Early Ed News.