Washington, D.C., to roll out largest-in-the-nation direct cash grant program for early-childhood educators.
Operators of day-care centers also face challenges. To boost their workers pays, they would have to charge parents more for day care, putting the cost of child care out of reach for many families that need it the most.
"I think this is yet another milestone for our city as we lead the nation in investing in the educational foundations of all of our children," council member Janeese Lewis George said at Tuesday's meeting. George hopes other cities and states will follow D.C's lead in helping early educators earn a living wages, which experts say is necessary for reducing the field's high rate of turnover. Parents of young children rely on caregivers to have careers and go to work — without them, many parents would be forced to withdraw from the labor force altogether.
The Office of the State Superintendent of Education will distribute the $53.9 million as direct supplemental payments to educators' salaries over the next year.