December 17, 2025 Child Care Programs Still Recovering from Budget Impasse, Advocates Optimistic About New Investments Some early childhood education centers are still recovering from the months-long state budget impasse, despite additional child care investments in the 2025-26 budget that Governor Josh Shapiro signed into law last month, according to a new report by the West Hills Gazette. Several long-time partners of Trying Together discussed with the Gazette how they were forced to dip into their reserves during the impasse and how getting a $25 million early childhood education retention and recruitment line item in the budget is a great start for alleviating teacher shortages. Presbyterian Day School Mary Merryman, director of Coraopolis’ Presbyterian Day School, said that low wages in the early childhood education profession has made it challenging to find teachers and resulted in a shortage of child care centers. Merryman, an alum of Trying Together’s advocacy fellowship, said that Coraopolis is a “child care desert,” meaning there are not enough centers or programs to support the number of children under age 5 in the area. Merryman, who has traveled to Harrisburg to advocate for early childhood education, said the state budget’s $25 million line item is a good start to combatting the shortages. “That will definitely help,” she told the Gazette. “If we can retain teachers, we can offer more services to families.” Riverview Children’s Center Stephanie Heakins, director of Riverview Children’s Center in Verona, said she took over the reins at the center in the middle of the impasse. Earlier this month, Shapiro and Lieutenant Governor Austin Davis dropped by the center to discuss the recently-passed child care investments in the 2025-26 budget. Riverview has been a long-time partner of Trying Together and has a history of advocacy work. Heakins told the Gazette that loans were not an option during the impasse because paying interest on them was “not feasible,” while laying off teachers was also not possible because she knew the center would never get them back. Riverview receives about $55,000 per month from the state for its Pre-K Counts program, which provides free pre-kindergarten classes to low-income families, the Gazette reported. More than 50 students are currently enrolled and there is a waitlist. Because Pre-K Counts and Head Start – which Riverview does not offer – did not receive state dollars during the impasse, programs like Riverview were forced to dip into their reserve funds. “(The impasse) was a big thing, but now we are hoping we can get back on track and start planning for the future,” Heakins told the Gazette. Data According to PA Partnerships for Children, there were about 3,000 open staffing positions in the child care workforce, with an average salary of $29,480, as of September 2024. Kindergarten teachers, on the other hand, make an average $67,670. The 2025-26 budget’s $25 million Child Care Staff Recruitment and Retention Program would provide about $450 annually to employed licensed Child Care Works providers. The bonuses would support approximately 55,000 child care workers.
December 2, 2025 Shapiro Touts Child Care Recruitment and Retainment Program During Riverview Visit Governor Josh Shapiro and Lieutenant Governor Austin Davis joined child care workers, legislators, and community leaders at Verona’s Riverview Children’s Center on Monday to discuss child care investments in the 2025-26 budget that the governor signed in November. Learn More Shapiro dropped by the center, with which Trying Together has a long relationship, to talk about how investments in the budget would help Pennsylvania to recruit and retain child care workers, expand access to quality care, and ensure that more parents can stay in the workforce. The state’s child care industry currently has 3,000 unfilled jobs that, if filled, could serve an additional 25,000 children. Providers also continue to struggle with low wages that make it difficult to hire and retain staff. The result is closed classrooms and families being turned away. To address the shortages and expand child care availability, the 2025-26 budget established a $25 million Child Care Staff Recruitment and Retention Program that will provide about $450 annually per employed to licensed Child Care Works providers. The bonuses would support approximately 55,000 child care workers. “When parents can’t find affordable, reliable care, they can’t work – and our entire economy feels it,” Shapiro said during the event at Riverview. “We’ve taken real action to lower costs by tripling the Child and Dependent Care Tax Credit for nearly 219,000 families, but affordability isn’t enough. We also have to expand access. That’s why we’re making investments to help child care centers hire and retain talented educators. These bonuses will help to strengthen the workforce, open more slots for children, and make sure families across Pennsylvania can find the care they need.” The budget also invests an additional $7.5 million for Pre-K Counts to help providers raise wages and stabilize the early educator workforce. It also includes a $10 million increase for early intervention services to support families with children experiencing developmental delays. Riverview Children’s Center is a state licensed, four-star Keystone STARS early learning center that serves about 154 children from infancy through school age and employs 32 educators. About 15% of the center’s annual revenue comes from Child Care Works. “As a working mother, I know firsthand how essential high-quality early education and dedicated educators are – not only for our children’s development, but for the stability and success of families across the commonwealth,” said Stephanie Heakins, the center’s director. “At RCC, we are deeply committed to providing high-equity care so every child, no matter their background, begins with the strong foundation they deserve.”
April 16, 2025 Trying Together Honors Early Childhood Educators at Annual Celebration Dinner Nearly 800 early childhood educators and advocates joined Trying Together on April 10 for its Annual Celebration of Early Childhood Educators Dinner at Acrisure Stadium. The Westinghouse Academy marching band greeted attendees as they arrived at the event, which included a dinner, photo booth, raffle prizes, and networking. The formal presentation featured a video from Governor Josh Shapiro, who spoke about the importance of early childhood education in Pennsylvania and proposed investments for recruitment and retention. Honorees Trying Together Executive Director Cara Ciminillo paid tribute to the dinner’s two honorees – Riverview Children’s Center Executive Director Betty Lisowski and Dr. Aisha White, program director for the Positive Racial Identity Development in Early Education (P.R.I.D.E.) at the University of Pittsburgh’s Office of Child Development. “With more than 40 years’ experience, Betty has been the catalyst for sustained, high-quality early care and education and expansion at Riverview Children’s Center,” Ciminillo said of Lisowski. “Betty has positively impacted thousands of children, families, and colleagues through the high-quality care and education Riverview provides while also being a working mother of three.” Lisowski’s co-workers at Riverview paid homage to her work at the center in a video. Lisowski cited author and speaker Jim Collins’ quote that “great vision without great people is irrelevant” in describing those with whom she has worked in early childhood education. “I am truly blessed to have spent my entire 43-year career in this field,” she said. “It has been a journey I wouldn’t trade for anything. I’ve loved the work, but more importantly I’ve loved and cherished the people I’ve had the privilege to work with.” Ciminillo noted Dr. White’s work in helping children find pride in their racial identity as well as her decades-long engagement in the arts, social activism and work involving racial awareness. During a speech following her own tribute video, White noted that many children in America are struggling, citing Black infant mortality rates that are nearly two times higher than the national average for all races or ethnicities and the fact that 11 million U.S. children live in poverty and 400,000 in foster care. “While things are not good for children across the board, there’s an extra burden on children of color – and especially Black children – and that’s the burden of racism,” she said. “With respect to race, what we can do is pretty simple: Support children’s positive racial identity development in as many ways as we can, as often as we can, and as effectively as we can.” Ciminillo also recognized two regional educators – Lesely Crawford, executive director of the ABK Learning and Development Center, and Eva Wood, executive director of Ligonier Valley Learning Center in Latrobe – who were recent honorees at the PennAEYC Voice for Children Awards. Valuing Educators During a toast to all of the early childhood educators in attendance, Ciminillo said that a society that values its children must also value those who care for them. “Tonight, we gather during the Month of the Young Child not just to celebrate, but to honor you,” she said. “Your work is essential. It always has been. But more and more, the world is beginning to understand what you’ve long known – that care is not just an individual act of kindness, it is a public good.”
