Tuesday, May 24, 2022
Addressing the ECE Workforce Shortage
Make Your Educator Voices Heard!

ECE champions across CA are advocating to bring financial security to our early educators and ensure the final budget honors the needs of parents and child care providers that is necessary to support every child in California. We are still calling on the Governor and Legislature to prioritize parents and providers in the final budget.

Help inform how the state of California may set future reimbursement rates by participating in the California Cost of Quality Study. This study is being led by national experts Jeanna Capito and Simon Workman of Prenatal to 5 Fiscal Strategies. For this study to be successful, input is needed from all types of providers (center-based, licensed family child care, and license-exempt family, friend, and neighbor providers).  

Here’s how you can help: 
  1. Complete the online provider survey. The survey will collect information about your expenses, including compensation (pay) and occupancy (rent or mortgage), as well as program characteristics and the ages of children served. The survey is intended to collect information from as many providers as possible. Personal identifying information will NOT be included in the study results or reports.
  2. Participate in an interview or a focus group. The study team will be holding a series of group input sessions with providers across the state to help inform the development of the cost model. The input sessions will provide an opportunity for providers to share more about the true cost of operating their programs and what it really takes to provide high-quality early learning and care. 
If you are interested in participating in an input session or helping to organize one in your community, more information is available on the Prenatal to Five Fiscal Strategies website, or you can email california@prenatal5fiscal.org.

This survey is an early childhood (0-5 years old) childcare provider wellbeing survey designed to gather essential information in a continuous manner regarding the needs, health promoting behaviors, and wellbeing of childcare providers during the COVID-19 outbreak.

Here’s how it will work:
  • Answer a couple eligibility questions and sign a form saying you are interested
  • Take a 5-10-minute survey
  • You will receive a $5 gift card (depending on your preference) via email the following week

The California Department of Education would like to hear from you! This is an exciting time for California in which we are reviewing and revising the Desired Results Developmental Profile (DRDP) assessment to align with updates to the Preschool Learning Foundations. In support of the CDE’s Preschool to Third Grade (P-3) initiative, we are also exploring the potential K-2 extension of the DRDP in some domains, as well as the use of structured assessments in math and literacy for use in preschool to second grade. To inform this work, we invite you – preschool, TK, and K-2 California-based educators who use the DRDP or other student assessments – to share your suggestions, questions, and feedback in virtual focus groups.

If you are interested in participating in a focus group on the DRDP (Preschool, TK) or a focus group on math and literacy student assessments (K-2) please read more and fill out an interest form. Those selected for a focus group will receive a $50 stipend as compensation for participating and groups will be scheduled at times to accommodate working professionals. All participants need to be working in California.

There will be focus groups in English (PreK-TK-K-2) and Español & 中文 (PreK-TK).
Are you an Early Care Educator in San Francisco?
¿Es usted un educador de cuidado infantil en San Francisco?
您是舊金山的早期護理教育工作者嗎？
ECESF is a grassroots organization bringing San Francisco early care educators together across diverse ECE community and public sites. We are peers supporting each other, making sure we all know what's happening, and ensuring that new programs implemented to help us and the important work we do really do make a difference. If you are passionate about child care and education and know that a well-paid, stable workforce and great working conditions are essential to deliver great services, you won’t want to miss out on the discussions happening in our ECESF community including:

  • Educator focus groups
  • Core leadership meetings 
  • Teacher-only advocacy meetings  
  • Special events & community discussions

If you or an educator you know is ready to get involved, fill out our ECESF Interest Form below and we'll make sure you get connected!
Support our work to create a well-compensated and valued ECE workforce by making a financial contribution. Your gift is fully tax-deductible.
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ECESF receives funding from the Office of Early Care and Education to provide field building and peer supports to early care educators, as well as generous donations and in-kind contributions to build our advocacy and community work from individual early care educators, and allies, community organizations and agencies. Support our work. Donate!