What is the Program?  Research shows that early care and education staff’s education and turnover rates affect children’s development, and low wages are often what cause early care an education staff to leave the field.  Research has also shown that the quality of care children receive significantly increases when teachers are better educated.  The Child Care WAGE$ Florida program, funded in Broward County by the ELC and administered by the Children’s Forum, http://www.thechildrensforum.com/wage$.htm, provides education-based wage supplements to low-paid early care and education teachers working with young children in centers and family childcare homes. 

Who’s Eligible for the Program?  The education, position and work schedule for each applicant is assessed to determine the annual reward.   Teachers are rewarded for staying with the same employer and furthering their education.

Who’s Involved in the Program? In the 2006/2007 fiscal year, there were 529 early care and education teachers active in the program receiving wage supplements.  Approximately 51% of the participants have been employed at their center for more than 5 years.  The salary supplements made a significant impact on individual participants in the program, the centers that employ them, and the children that they teach.  Because these supplements reward teacher education and continuity of care, approximately 20,000 children ages birth to five in Broward County benefited from more stable relations with better-educated teachers.