In an effort to gain greater understanding of its child care early learning workforce, the Early Learning Coalition of Seminole commissioned a workforce study in April, 2006.

This report presents the results of the survey conducted with both centerbased personnel and family child care home providers. Understanding the characteristics of the workforce is the first step in establishing a baseline, developing and implementing targeted strategies, measuring results, and benchmarking progress. The results are not dissimilar to state and national data sets investigating similar characteristics.

The annual turnover rate in Seminole County is approximately 34% for teachers and 39% for assistant teachers calculated by the number of staff who left their jobs within the 12-month period preceding the survey. High turnover rates such as these affect the ability of children to develop meaningful sustained relationships with their teachers, an important factor in the learning process. The costs of hiring and re-training teachers are an ongoing concern for child care directors as well.

The survey results show that more than half of the teachers in child care centers have a high school diploma, a GED or less as their highest educational achievement. The challenge to educate the workforce and provide compensation to retain them is an issue to be confronted.

As the demand for higher standards and accountability in early childhood programs rises, there must be equal attention given to the practitioners who deliver services to children. These results are intended to inform policy and decision-making to assist the Coalition in addressing these fundamental issues critical to the success of the child care and early learning system.

Download Child Care Workforce Study 2006

PDF format, 3.4MB, 60Pages. Provided by Thechildrensforum.com.

Table of Contents:

Executive Summary............................................................2
Introduction.........................................................................2
Population............................................................................3
Method..................................................................................4
Response Rate......................................................................4
Limitations of the Survey Data.........................................5
Findings
Child Care Centers...........................................................7
Family Child Care Homes.............................................24
Implications of Findings...................................................36
Next Steps...........................................................................37
References..........................................................................38
Appendices.........................................................................40
Surveys
Child Care Center Survey.........................................41
Family Child Care Home Survey.............................51
List of Tables, Charts and Graphs...............................56

Acknowledgments:

The Children’s Forum extends sincere appreciation to the child care centers and family child care homes that returned completed surveys to us. Their participation made this study possible.

Through the Kaplan Early Learning Company, we provided gift certificates for survey respondents as a token of appreciation for completing the surveys. We appreciate Kaplan’s ongoing support of efforts to improve the lives of children in our state and nation.

Finally, the Early Learning Coalition of Seminole is to be commended for embracing the challenge of preparing its children for success in school and life.

The supportive role of Executive Director Karen Willis and the Coalition staff was important to the completion of this study.

Researchers / Authors
Beverly Esposito, Ph.D.
Phyllis Kalifeh, M.S.

Research Assistant
Prisha Malone

Graphic Designer
Joy Stover

Children’s Forum, Inc.
2807 Remington Green Circle
Tallahassee, FL 32308
850-681-7002
www.thechildrensforum.com

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