Until we put enough public money into the system to make child care a competitive employer (and ideally a well-paying job instead of a low-wage one altogether!) nothing else really matters.
—Elliot Haspel, author and policy expert

“In the face of historic leaps in pay demands, along with associated increased costs of benefits and training, as well as other operating cost increases such as food and supplies, adjusting tuition rates as the needs of the business change is critical to the successful balance of the financial picture. As a recovering industry, increases in tuition have been steady at the pace of cost increases, and at the same time, the industry is beginning to report pricing fatigue,” writes Kathy Ligon in the “Thirty-Seventh Annual Status Report on For-Profit Child Care.”

The reduction of child care stabilization grants has had a hand in recent tuition increases. Ligon quotes David Post of Little Sprouts, “Federal sustainability funding has been a lifeline. We have always assumed it would have an expiration date, so we have used it for situational benefits for our workforce in the form of bonuses, additional training dollars, recruitment strategies, etc. In many ways, this secondary revenue stream has supported lower tuition increases as well – that may have to change if the governmental support goes away.”

Clearly, creativity is required. Karen Foster-Jorgenson has reminded us of business lessons learned from the pandemic and recovery funds:

1. We can innovate and pivot more than many of us thought we could.
2. We can travel in the economic and business development circles with confidence and speak of the child care field in new terms relating to business productivity and economics of communities.
3. Both monetary and non-monetary support and engagement are essential to attracting and retaining an effective early childhood workforce.
4. Early childhood organizational leaders are, and always will be, the key to successful organizations where children, families and staff thrive.

What are you experiencing around costs and tuitions? Let’s talk on social media #exchangeeveryday.