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The District of Columbia Early Childhood Educator Pay Equity Fund provides large and sustainable wage supplements for early childhood educators working in child care. Synthesizing qualitative evidence from 11 key informants, including DC early childhood education leaders, advocates, and implementation partners; 39 parents and legal guardians of young children enrolled in licensed DC child care facilities; and 29 child care center directors and home and expanded home providers, this case study highlights the historical context behind the Pay Equity Fund, the vision and goals of the fund, early implementation successes and challenges, and future goals. These findings can inform jurisdictions across the country as they design and implement compensation improvements for the child care workforce.

In 2021, the DC Council established the Early Childhood Educator Pay Equity Fund ("Pay Equity Fund") to improve compensation for early educators in licensed child development centers and homes. The fund leverages a tax on individuals earning more than $250,000 a year to sustainably fund supplemental payments to early educators in efforts to address longstanding inequities and achieve pay parity with public school teachers with a comparable degree. In spring 2022, the authors surveyed 137 DC residents who had newly enrolled a child in a licensed DC child care program. They held virtual focus groups with a subsample of 39 survey respondents in fall 2022, just as the first Pay Equity Fund payments were rolling out, to probe on specific survey findings around search process difficulty and child care experiences. During the focus groups, the authors asked parents and legal guardians about their experiences with staff turnover in their child care programs as well as their thoughts about the pay supplements and how their children's teachers could benefit. In this fact sheet, the authors summarize parents' thoughts on the Pay Equity Fund payments and their suggestions for additional ways the District could help child care programs recruit and retain qualified staff.