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
20170HR0437PN2238 - 2 -
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
10
11
12
13
14
15
16
17
18
19
20
21
22
23
24
25
26
27
28
29
30