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SCOE presents UPK expansion impact study; providers report enrollment and staffing shifts
Summary
SCOE's early learning team presented results of a countywide UPK expansion impact study showing 123 survey responses across Solano County, provider reports that more than one-third changed services due to TK expansion, and recommendations for training, business support and a Spanish-language cohort and stipends.
Solano County Office of Education staff presented a countywide study of Universal Pre-Kindergarten (UPK) expansion and outlined follow-up programs to support local providers.
Dr. Taycee Rogers, who led the study, said outreach used a combination of California Department of Social Services lists and SCOE membership contacts; the team reported a 98% delivery rate and a 34% response rate, producing 123 unique responses countywide. "We had 123 unique responses," Dr. Rogers said, noting respondents represented a mix of home-based and center-based settings.
Analysis identified four primary themes: family-and-child needs (scheduling, meals and transportation), the need for clearer public messaging about UPK as a mixed-delivery system, workforce challenges (recruitment and staff shifting from private settings to TK), and business-model adaptations for providers. Presenters said more than one-third of respondents indicated they had changed service age groups or offerings because of transitional kindergarten implementation.
In response, SCOE described several supports: expanded professional learning for birth-through-age-8 educators, the ECE workforce pathways program that provides stipends for career advancement, a business-optimization cohort with workshops and past mini-grants (up to $3,000 awarded in the prior cycle), and a new Spanish-language cohort offering workshops and PD stipends. "We provided mini grants to childcare business owners up to $3,000," Lisa Eckoff said when outlining prior program elements.
SCOE staff framed these as practical steps to help family childcare providers and centers adapt to enrollment shifts and staffing challenges tied to UPK and TK expansion.
