October 17, 2025 Pre-K for PA, Start Strong PA Surveys Find Devastating Impacts from Budget Impasse Recent surveys conducted by the Pre-K for PA and Start Strong PA campaigns and the Pennsylvania Office of Childhood Development and Early Learning (OCDEL) of early childhood providers found widespread, devastating impacts resulting from the state’s budget impasse. Learn More The surveys found that 95 Pre-K Counts and Head Start Supplemental Assistance Program providers in 32 counties have collectively taken on nearly $20 million in loans to continue serving working families while state funding has been frozen. Many of the loans were business lines of credit taken out at an average interest rate of 7.5%, while others have been personal loans with higher interest rates. Many providers indicated that loans will only sustain operations for a short period of time and the accumulated interest liability may have severe consequences for future operations. “This survey represents just a small portion of early learning providers, but it is clear that the continued state budget impasse is further destabilizing a sector that was already in the midst of a crisis with financial and staffing challenges,” said Kara McFalls, executive director of the Pennsylvania Head Start Association. “Early learning providers cannot withstand additional insecurity.” While numerous providers have taken on debt to keep classrooms open, others have been forced to take more dramatic measures, such as layoffs and closing classrooms completely. Through outreach across 21 grantees operating Pre-K Counts or Head Start programs in 16 state counties, OCDEL documented closures, planned closures, or delayed openings of classrooms that affect more than 4,000 slots in Pennsylvania. As a result, working families across the state are struggling to arrange and pay for alternate care for their children during working hours. Both Pre-K Counts and Head Start are free programs for qualifying families. “Shutting our youngest learners out of classrooms will certainly have negative impacts on school readiness for this cohort of three- and four-year-olds in years to come,” said Robert S. Carl, Jr., president of the Schuylkill Chamber of Commerce. “It’s time to compromise and pass a budget that invests in the early learning workforce.” Previous surveys have documented thousands of unfilled early learning teaching positions due to low pay. Providers fear that closures and layoffs resulting from the state budget impasse will exacerbate these staffing challenges and further destabilize programs. Polling from March 2025 shows that Pennsylvania voters overwhelmingly support increased state funding for early learning programs – including 83% support to allocate state funding to increase child care worker wages, 73% support to increase funding to serve more eligible children in pre-k programs, 73% support to increase funding to help more low-income families afford high-quality child care, and 72% to allocate funding to increase compensation for pre-k teachers. Pre-K for PA and Start Strong PA urge state lawmakers to pass a final budget that includes: A $55 million investment in a new and recurring Child Care Recruitment and Retention line item to grant licensed child care providers participating in the child care subsidy program with $1,000 per educator $17 million in additional funding for Pre-K Counts $9.5 million for the Head Start Supplemental Assistance Program A $16.2 million increase for infant/toddler Early Intervention and a $38.1 million increase for preschool Early Intervention
June 6, 2025 Allegheny County Leaders Hold Roundtable to Address Child Care Teacher Staffing Crisis Allegheny County Executive Sara Innamorato joined Trying Together, the Allegheny Conference, state legislators, and child care providers Thursday for a roundtable to discuss new state and local survey data showing how a worsening child care teacher shortage – driven by low wages – is closing child care classrooms and causing parents to struggle to find the care they need to be able to work. Learn More During the roundtable at Providence Connections, results from a September Start Strong PA survey were shared to demonstrate how the staffing crisis is affecting programs in Allegheny County and across the state. “Of the 118 providers that participated in the survey, 89% reported staffing shortages,” Innamorato said of the Allegheny County providers. “Those programs have 373 unfilled teaching positions, and if those positions were filled, they could serve an additional 3,000 children.” A total of 1,140 Pennsylvania child care providers took the survey, of which 92% reported difficulties in recruiting staff and 85% said they struggled with teacher shortages. The shortages, which are leaving more than 3,000 unfilled positions statewide, could serve an additional 25,320 children if programs could recruit and retain the staff they need. The numbers represent only 17% of the total open registered programs in the state. Leslie White, director of early childhood and youth programs for Providence Connections, said low wages are preventing programs from finding qualified early childhood educators. “They are doing some of the most important work in our society – nurturing the next generation. But the reality is that many teachers can find other jobs that require far less specialized skills and pay more an hour, often with benefits,” she said. “I’ve been doing this work for nearly 40 years and fighting for better pay. The time is now to invest in the child care teaching workforce.” During the event, Matt Brown, an early educator at Providence and participant in the Your Career, Our Future campaign, shared his passion for teaching young children and why more qualified educators matter for the field. The initiative shares the experiences of current early educators and the families they serve in the hopes that more people will answer the call to become early educators. Speakers said the foundational role child care plays is a critical part of the state’s economy and the bipartisan support that it has garnered to date. “The report shows this is not just an inconvenience for working parents – this is a major economic issue that affects every business, every community, and every family in Pennsylvania,” Trying Together Public Policy Director Emily Neff said. “It is no surprise that this impact is understood by Pennsylvanians and, as such, they want lawmakers to prioritize early learning in the budget.” Majestic Lane, chief opportunity officer for the Allegheny Conference, noted that the staffing crisis is a detriment to the economy, citing a recent economic analysis conducted by the Conference citing child care as one of the top barriers for employment in the region. “Child care is vital to the future of our economy and the quality of life in our region,” Lane said. “When families don’t have the resources they need and their ability to work is severely diminished, it has a measurable economic impact on our communities and our commonwealth.” At the press conference, participants encouraged state lawmakers to prioritize early learning in the 2025-26 budget by including Gov. Josh Shapiro’s proposal to invest $55 million in a new and recurring Child Care and Recruitment and Retention line item to grant licensed child care providers participating in the child care subsidy program an additional $1,000 per educator. “We’ve heard the problem, we’ve heard the solution, and we know the cost of inaction,” Trying Together Executive Director Cara Ciminillo said. “To grow our economy and support working families, we must invest in child care.” State Reps. Lindsay Powell (D-21st District) and La’Tasha Mayes (D-24th District) and representatives from other state legislators attended the press conference and expressed their support for the investment in the child care workforce.
November 25, 2024 Start Strong PA Urges Advocates to Add Their Name to Child Care Staffing Crisis Petition Start Strong PA is calling on Pennsylvania residents to add their names to a petition that calls on the state to take action regarding its ongoing child care staffing crisis. Currently, a total of 3,100 people have signed the petition. Start Strong PA is aiming to get 3,500 signatures before the petition closes on Friday, Nov. 29. Learn More As Gov. Josh Shapiro and state legislators begin to consider funding for the 2025-26 state budget, Start Strong PA is urging the governor’s administration to invest $284 million in new and recurring state funding for early child care. The organization is calling for funding to implement a child care teacher recruitment and retention initiative to fix the state’s child care staffing crisis. Pennsylvania currently has tens of thousands of parents struggling to find the care they need to work and support their families. As more child care classrooms close due to a lack of staffing, the number of families without reliable child care will increase. Start Strong PA argues that the crisis can be fixed by addressing the industry’s unlivable wages. Child care staff are so low that they do not meet the cost of living in any Pennsylvania county. Advocates are asked to add their names to a petition by filling out an online form. Start Strong PA is an advocacy campaign that is part of Early Learning Pennsylvania (ELPA), a statewide coalition of advocates focused on supporting young Pennsylvanians from birth to age five.
