"Folks are really excited and are applauding the governor for this."
Harrisburg, PA - Governor Josh Shapiro unveiled his 2025-26 budget proposal earlier this month and made a pitch for Pennsylvania to make major investments in the child care workforce through competitive wage increases and retention bonuses for child care workers.
Governor Shapiro knows that too many young parents are forced to exit the workforce because they can’t find affordable, quality child care, and that to tackle affordability, we have to increase the availability of child care. Pennsylvania has 3,000 unfilled jobs in child care, and if we filled those jobs, 25,000 more children in Pennsylvania could have access to child care and parents could have the peace of mind that their kids are well taken care of so they can go to work.
That’s why the Governor’s budget invests:
- $55 million to give child care providers in Pennsylvania’s Child Care Works Program at least $1,000 per employee in recruitment or retention bonuses.
- An additional $10 million through DHS to increase Early Intervention (EI) provider rates, to ensure every Pennsylvania child has the support and resources needed to succeed — regardless of family income.
- Another $14.6 million for EI through the Department of Education to meet the current needs of service providers.
- An additional $15 million for the Pre-K Counts program to raise wages for pre-K educators and stabilize the early educator workforce.
Read more about the Governor’s 2025-26 budget proposal here.
See what Pennsylvanians are reading and hearing about the Governor’s child care proposal:
Spotlight PA: Child care workers could get a raise under Shapiro plan to address shortage
Shapiro's budget would shore up child care by providing $55 million in retention and recruitment grants. The governor said this funding would boost annual pay by roughly $1,000 per employee at licensed child care centers that receive funding from a state program for low-income families.
For years, early childhood staff and teachers have left classrooms for industries offering higher wages, say advocates of early childhood education.
The Start Strong PA coalition lobbied Shapiro to budget $284 million for the child care workforce. Though the proposed $55 million is a fraction of that initial ask, Jen DeBell of the Pennsylvania Association for the Education of Young Children still sees it as a victory.
"Folks are really excited and are applauding the governor for this," DeBell said of advocates. The proposal recognizes that Pennsylvania’s anemic child care industry requires state support, she added.
Fox43: Child care providers applaud Shapiro's proposed educator investment
Shapiro proposed $55 million in new spending to provide funds to licensed child care centers for teacher recruitment and retention, which would be doled out in the form of grants of roughly $1,000 per teacher.
Child care providers say the money would be a boost to their employees who are experiencing a significant pay gap between them and kindergarten teachers.
"Any amount of money helps," said Sara Bradley, the executive director of York Day Early Learning in York. "They make significantly less than their public-school counterparts. With inflation going up as quickly as it is, they will appreciate any dollars going into their pockets to support their families."
WTAJ: Governor’s Office calls for investments in child care workforce
All of the challenges parents in Pennsylvania are facing is something that has touched Governor Josh Shapiro’s office close to home, according to Davis.
“We’re unique in the sense that I think we’re the first governor and lieutenant governor in quite some time to have young school age children. And so we recognize the challenges that parents are facing all across Pennsylvania,” Davis said.
To address these issues, Governor Shapiro proposed a $1,000 retention and recruitment bonus for child care workers. His new budget proposal also includes a tax credit for employers who are helping to offset the cost of child care for their employees, something he believes will stimulate economic growth and job creation in the Commonwealth.
“Child care and economic growth are linked together,” Davis said. “We cannot have a strong economy here in Pennsylvania without a strong child care system in place and that’s what the governor and I are working every day to do."
The child care grant program already has a bipartisan show of support. In addition to Kim and Democratic state representatives Justin Fleming, Dave Madsen, and Nate Davidson, Republican Rep. Tom Mehaffie also attended Thursday to show support.
Shapiro’s proposal, Mehaffie said, speaks to concerns on both sides of the aisle about Pennsylvania’s stagnant standardized test scores. Giving children a leg up early on will help them throughout their entire academic careers, Mehaffie said, and is cost-effective.
“When legislators complain about poor testing performance,” Mehaffie said, “there’s a reason for that, and it’s because we don’t invest in early childhood education.”