Illinois launches pilot program to improve child care in rural communities
The Illinois Governor’s Office of Early Childhood Development (GOECD) announced a new pilot program to address obstacles faced by rural child care providers in meeting the state’s quality of care standards. In partnership with the Illinois Department of Human Services (IDHS), GOECD is providing 35 centers in rural counties with $3.8 million in funding per year to hire additional staff or increase the salaries of existing staff. The pilot program is expected to run for three years.
Center- and Program-Level Factors Associated with Turnover in the Early Childhood Education Workforce
Staff turnover is a pressing problem in early childhood education. High turnover can create organizational instability and distract from the care and education mandate of early childhood education centers. The Early Childhood Workforce Development Research Alliance of the Regional Educational Laboratory Northeast & Islands wants to better understand the factors associated with turnover in the early childhood educator workforce. Using data from the 2012 National Survey of Early Care and Education, this study found that a low average turnover rate across early childhood education centers obscured systematic variation in turnover patterns across types of centers and programs, with high turnover rates in some types. Higher wages were associated with lower turnover rates across centers.
