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PRINTER'S NO. 2238
THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF PENNSYLVANIA
HOUSE RESOLUTION
No.
437
Session of
2017
INTRODUCED BY ORTITAY, GROVE, PHILLIPS-HILL, STEPHENS, WARD,
WATSON AND WHEELAND, JULY 21, 2017
REFERRED TO COMMITTEE ON CHILDREN AND YOUTH, JULY 21, 2017
A RESOLUTION
Directing the Legislative Budget and Finance Committee to study
the cost of providing high quality child-care services
compared to existing child-care subsidy rates of the
Commonwealth.
WHEREAS, The last study by the Legislative Budget and Finance
Committee on child care was published in 1999, nearly 20 years
ago; and
WHEREAS, In the interim, Pennsylvania's Office of Child
Development and Early Learning has been created; and
WHEREAS, The office has implemented many programs to
incentivize continuous quality improvement and affect subsidy
rates, including Keystone STARS, tiered reimbursement and Pre-K
Counts and Head Start Supplemental Pre-K programs; and
WHEREAS, Despite these improvements, the percentage of
employees in the early childhood field who continue to receive
poverty wages has not changed substantially in the last two
decades; and
WHEREAS, Many providers struggle to blend public dollars with
private payments to effectively maintain operations and provide
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quality care; and
WHEREAS, Among the largest costs are staff wages and
benefits, staff professional development and facilities costs;
and
WHEREAS, The number one factor affecting the quality of a
program is staff-child interactions, meaning investments in
human capital are essential for the industry; and
WHEREAS, For children at risk, the most common form of public
support is subsidized care through Pennsylvania's Child Care
Works program, and child-care subsidy rates in Pennsylvania have
been frozen since 2007 despite the fact that expenses for child-
care providers continue to rise; and
WHEREAS, In 2015, Pennsylvania's subsidy rates fell in the
33rd percentile of what providers charge, far below the 75th
percentile that the Federal Government cites as necessary for
giving low-income families a similar choice of quality programs
as more affluent families; and
WHEREAS, As programs accepting children on subsidy decrease,
high numbers of children on subsidy are becoming more
concentrated in fewer programs and the revenue received for
children on subsidy is not sufficient to retain quality staff
and meet the Commonwealth's standards; and
WHEREAS, Programs that do not receive revenue through Child
Care Works subsidies also struggle to make ends meet; therefore
be it
RESOLVED, That the House of Representatives direct the
Legislative Budget and Finance Committee to study the cost of
providing high quality child-care services compared to existing
child-care subsidy rates provided by the Commonwealth; and be it
further
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RESOLVED, That the Legislative Budget and Finance Committee
prepare a written report of its findings from the study and
submit the report to the House of Representatives within one
year of the adoption of this resolution.
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