EEC: C3 survey shows wage gains, lower staff separations and growing program capacity

Agency staff told the board that the Commonwealth Cares for Children (C3) program continues to show measurable system-level impacts in workforce compensation and program stability.

Adrienne Murphy, presenting survey findings, reported that application and survey data show a nominal increase of “more than $4 per hour” in early education teacher wages since the start of the grant program and an inflation-adjusted increase of about $0.80. She also reported declines in program-level separation rates: from 28% to 20% for center-based teachers and from 53% to 33% for center-based assistants. “...these numbers are certainly promising in a trending direction,” Murphy said.

Ellen Song summarized participation and capacity findings: more than 86% of programs completed the surveys; the statewide number of licensed and funded programs rose by over 400 in a 12-month span to more than 9,000 programs, and total seat capacity increased by more than 7,600 seats to exceed 260,000 seats. The C3 application changes (November application) require an attestation that programs are willing to accept families with childcare financial assistance, and staff said most programs attested to that willingness.

Survey data also show program spending patterns: center-based programs report spending about 80% of C3 funds on workforce-related expenses; family childcare programs report almost 90% on compensation, professional development and occupancy-related costs. More than 1,800 centers reported using C3 funds specifically to raise wages.

Board members asked about where educators go when they leave programs and whether the separation metric overstates sector exits (staff said the dataset counts program-level departures regardless of whether educators stay in the sector, and the agency plans future survey and research enhancements to learn more). Staff said continued research partnership work (including with Boston University) will refine findings and adjust for inflation and other factors.

Ending: Staff said the team will continue to publish appendices and briefs on wage and turnover trends and that this data will inform future rate and policy work.