From February to April, New America conducted over 30 interviews with experts, care providers, and union representatives, focusing on three states. This report outlines key considerations for improving care worker job quality through organizing. We also include case studies on care worker organizing in California, Illinois, Washington, and the…

In the 2017-2019 operating budget, the Legislature appropriated $5,000 to create a child care workforce development technical workgroup (Workgroup) and directed the Department of Early Learning (now the Department of Children, Youth, and Families, or DCYF) to convene a group consisting of 13 stakeholders to develop recommendations for the…

High-quality family childcare (FCC) can positively influence all areas of a child's growth and development. Thus, it is important to invest in efforts to increase quality, including providing professional development to enhance the skills of those caring for children in their homes. This study explores the characteristics of FCC providers who…

In 2006, the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation launched the Early Learning Initiative (ELI) to improve the school readiness of Washington State's children through three main strategies: (1) development of high-quality, community-wide early learning initiatives in two communities; (2) enhancement of statewide systems that support early…

This policy brief discusses the Early Childhood Education Career Development Ladder being implemented in Washington State. The initiative institutionalizes a career ladder with wage increments based on experience, job responsibility, and relevant education with a unique mix of public and private funding. The brief builds a case for the career…

The Washington State Department of Social and Health Services (DSHS) subsidizes child care for about 30,000 children each month. In 1992, telephone interviews were conducted with 1,179 child care centers and 1,277 licensed family child care homes throughout the state. An estimated 140,000 children were in licensed care at that time. Three major…

The teaching guidelines, presented as working papers, are related to the training of preschool assistants, child development center assistants, early childhood assistants, and preschool children's assistants. Content, learning experiences, and resources included are based on an analysis of tasks that workers perform in working with young children.…

A curricular articulation project was developed and conducted as a coordinated effort among ten school districts, two vocational-technical institutes, and three community colleges, comprising a regional area north and east of the city of Seattle. The purpose of the project was to test the feasibility of developing and conducting an articulation…